by Kait Nolan
“So what’s the story here? You know?” She had a hard time seeing the entire business due to the shadows.
Dallas made a face. “I have no idea. Why don’t you call the number and find out.”
That sounded suspiciously like a very well-placed goad.
“Maybe I will,” she teased then immediately regretted it. The look of hope that lit in Dallas’s eyes said he’d like nothing more than for her to turn this trip home into something more permanent. She reached out to rub his arm and soften the blow. “If I do, it will be after careful consideration of all factors. It’s just not that easy to leave a successful business behind.”
“Believe me, I understand.” Dallas slid his arm around her shoulder and eased her away from the storefront. “Still, I won’t be upset if you decide to call the agent and find out about the space.”
She gave him what she hoped was an enigmatic smile and took a pic of the sign so she’d have the number. Still, if she was to come back to Florida and stay, there would have to be ground rules. Not with Dallas, but with her family.
Oh, it was a pipe dream. Logistically it might prove to be a nightmare with the elder Steeles. Then again, as it kept being pointed out, Suwannee Grove had grown exponentially in the last few years. Just because she lived in the same town as her father and Emma didn’t mean she had to see them.
“You’ve gone quiet all of a sudden.” Dallas swung their joined hands, lifting them to kiss the back of hers. His gaze was questioning.
“Only thinking.”
He cracked a smile. “About the space for rent back there?”
“Logistics.”
“Interesting topic.” His smile dampened a bit, though he kept any further comments to himself.
He’d done that a lot back in high school. Sometimes she’d taken it to mean he didn’t care to comment, or hadn’t really been listening. Now she wondered.
“So where do you want to go now?” Dallas had one hand on the orange snake.
Shelby smiled. “He needs a name.”
“It’s Frank. He already introduced himself.”
In all the horror and awfulness of the last few days, it was good to hear Dallas had not lost his sense of humor. That he could still make her smile. It made her love him even more. She slid her arm through his and started toward the cars.
“Why don’t we take Frank home and get him settled in.”
“Sssssounds like a plan.”
Chapter Twelve
Dallas helped Shelby into the truck and gave her a chaste kiss before closing the door and walking around to the driver’s side. Southern chivalry was not dead. Not growing up with Jess Lane as a mama. She’d have pitched a fit if he didn’t show manners to a lady. He climbed up into the cab, and they started away from River Row, down a winding back road that took them to his house.
He glanced at Shelby sitting next to him. A mixed bag of emotions welled up. Was it possible to feel both good and bad at the same time?
“What?” Shelby glanced back at him. She had Frank in her lap rubbing the orange synthetic fur between her fingers.
“Nothing. It just seems like old times. Driving down the road with you in my front seat.”
Shelby gave a bark of sound that he assumed was a laugh. “No, if it was old times, Asa would be hanging over the back seat, telling you how to drive.”
“Oh, God. He was awful about that.” Dallas smiled at the memory. “Why do you think I stopped driving us places? I was tired of hearing him complain.”
Shelby gave him a look. “You always were the better driver.”
Heat filled his chest. He wanted to get a hell of a lot closer to Shelby, but damn the timing sucked. For a lot more reasons than the fact her sister just died. Too many memories swirled in the space between them. Some happy, some not so much. They had a history together—a past that mattered to him.
“Slow down.” Shelby studied something out of the windshield. A look of stark pain stretched across her features.
He hit the brakes, sending them forward and the seat belts pulled taut. He searched the road but didn’t see an animal in the beam of his headlights. “What is it?”
She pointed to the busted guardrail along the road and the ravine down to the river where it wound a course through town. “That’s where Lana went through.”
His stomach dropped down to his shoes. “Christ, Shelby. I’m sorry. I had no idea where she died.”
“No. It’s okay.” She reached out to him. “Can we pull over?”
“Sure.” As if he’d tell her no. Hell, it wasn’t a good idea, but who was he to decide the path someone took in their grief?
He pulled over onto the shoulder and put the truck in park. Shelby jumped out and was to the guardrail before he’d even removed his seatbelt.
She ran her hand over the bent metal. “She broke through here and slid down the embankment. Her car hit a tree, but I’m not sure which. It’s hard to tell in the dark.”
“Is it important for you to find it?”
Shelby glanced up at him. Her face stark in the headlights. “No. I guess not.”
“Because if it is, I’ll go get a flashlight and we can look.”
Shelby shook her head and came to him, sliding her arms around his waist. She rested her head against his chest. “You’re one hell of a man, Dallas Lane.”
He let his arms enfold her and closed his eyes as he propped his chin on top of her head. “I don’t know about that, but I appreciate hearing it.”
She backed up and looked into his face like a sad angel. “You know it’s always been you. Right?”
No, he hadn’t, but hearing it didn’t ease the ache deep inside knowing she was hurting and that she was going to leave in the morning. None of which he had the ability to change.
“You’ve always been my girl, too. Even you moving to New York didn’t change that.”
“Come on, let’s go. There’s nothing for me here.”
As they walked back to the truck, Dallas wasn’t sure if she meant the accident scene or Suwannee Grove in general.
Their drive to his house was largely done in silence. Once there, he opened the door and let her walk in ahead of him. Light from over the kitchen sink spilled into the living room. He reached over and turned on a lamp. “Can I get you something to drink?”
She made a sound in the back of her throat. “Do you have any wine?”
“Sorry. I have beer, sweet tea, water, and orange juice.”
“Water.” Shelby sunk into the sofa, and buried her face in her hands.
Dallas went into the kitchen and pulled a couple bottles out of the fridge then joined Shelby on the sofa. He sat down beside her, turning his body so he faced her.
She cracked the plastic lid on her bottle and took a long drink. When she lowered it she shook her head. “Lana wasn’t the type of person to end her own life. Of all the people I know, she’s the last one I’d think to do something so drastic.”
The words hit him like a punch to the gut from an old drunk—hard as fuck and slightly off-center. Lana killed herself? Wait. What? Hold the phone. For a moment his mind disconnected and he felt an odd free-fall sensation. His hands tingled and feet went numb. Sweet baby Jesus, was he having a heart attack?
He didn’t know quite what to say to Shelby, other than a low, muttered sorry.
When his brain started working again he asked, “Do you know why?” Then he realized how horrible that sounded and raised his hand as if to erase the words. “Forget I asked. Not my business.”
Shelby took his hand in hers. “No. I wanted you to know, though my family decided it’s best to keep it in the family.” She gave a small shrug. “I just wanted you to know. It makes losing Lana so much worse.”
She lifted her free hand and held it to her mouth, collecting herself. She swallowed then said, “She didn’t mention the reason why when she called Max to tell him she’d taken an overdose and left instructions, only that she had. She didn’t even tell him where she was
at the time. He was in a panic to find her. In turn, he called me. The police called him and said she’d wrapped her car around a tree.” Tears rolled down her face in earnest now. “They think she might have had second thoughts after speaking with Max and tried to drive herself to the hospital.”
The story just got worse and worse.
“That was why I was so looking forward to meeting Rhys. I thought maybe he’d have some answers as to why she did it.”
He had to swallow to keep from throwing up. What if he did something to cause it? Was he responsible for her decision? Had he not played out the script the way he was supposed to?
Guilt swamped him. Thoughts of his culpability warred with the fact he couldn’t tell Shelby of his involvement. At least not yet. He had to find out if he was still legally bound.
With a gentle tug, he pulled her into his arms and simply held her. The act broke loose a dam in her.
Shock moved through him with each breath. Why had he not heard rumors about a possible suicide? Wouldn’t the police have known, or the local media gotten wind of the story? Shit, even Asa should have heard something. News as big as a popular local woman killing herself—well, people were going to talk.
And yet, no one had. The real reason for Lana Steele’s death was the best kept secret in Suwannee Grove.
Shelby took a large shuddery breath that vibrated against Dallas’s chest. She pulled away from him and gazed up into his face. “Thank you.”
He ran a thumb along the underside of each eye. “You don’t need to ever thank me for being there for you. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
She ran her hand up his chest. “I needed to hear that.”
Dallas brushed a hand down her hair. “I will always be here for you, no matter the distance.”
She moved closer. The soft slide of her lips over his neck nearly sent him into orbit. “I don’t want distance. Not anymore.”
Heat rose. Desire exploded along the entire length of his body. No matter how much he wanted to be with her, the timing sucked hard.
He closed his eyes, lowering his face and caught the scent of her hair. God she smelled like every memory he’d ever had of her. So much so it was painful. “Don’t say things like that if you don’t mean them.”
“I’ve never meant anything more.”
Dallas held her face in his hands, and moved his lips over her cheeks, and spoke against her skin. “This is really bad timing. I think we should wait.”
She pulled away from him. “If this weekend has taught me anything, it’s not to wait. We have to grab opportunity with both hands and hold on for all we’re worth.”
Dallas blew out a breath. “You’ve also been emotionally beat up this week. I don’t want to add to it.”
God knew she was a vulnerable mess at the moment. The part of him that his mama drilled into being a Southern gentleman pushed the idea of making love to her away. The part that had loved her forever told his other half to shut the hell up; he was perfectly fine with getting a whole lot closer. Problem was she never mentioned staying in Florida. Having sex didn’t guarantee her moving back to Suwannee Grove.
The war raged inside his head even as his lips met Shelby’s in a blistering kiss that blew away all his thoughts of gentlemanly behavior.
Shelby caressed his back, dipping her hands under his shirt, moving them around to his stomach. He groaned, praying she took her questing touch lower.
As Shelby worked on getting his shirt off, his guilt gene kicked into overdrive. He gently pulled her hands away from his clothes and wrested mouth from hers. His breath came hard and fast. “Are you sure about this?”
She leaned up and kissed his mouth. “Positive.”
He rose from the couch, taking Shelby by the hand. He led her through the house to the bedroom, giving her ample time to change her mind.
When they reached the bedroom, he stalled. “I’ll ask once more if you’re sure.”
Shelby brushed by him. The hard press of her nipples against his arm anchored him to the spot.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”
“If you’re game, so am I.”
He tried to tamp down the voice in his head that kept reminding him this was nothing more than comfort sex. Not to confuse it for anything else. He’d tried repeatedly to get her to change her mind, and call him a dog for agreeing, but as she’d said this opportunity might never come again, and he for one was going to carpe the hell out of her diem.
Dallas backed her up to the bed. She fell. He followed her down, caging her ribs with his hands. He moved them slowly up her sides.
She lifted the hem of her shirt. “No. Touch my skin.”
He might have moaned. He didn’t know. All his thoughts had short-circuited.
“I will. Give me time. If I’m going to love you, I’m going to do this right. Leave a lasting impression on every inch of your skin.”
He heard Shelby’s soft sigh.
“You’ve already left an impression on me. You won’t believe how many times over the years I thought about that kiss at Sutter’s.”
“Me too.” It had been the single most important kiss of his life—also the most heart-wrenching.
He had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that this might end up the same way. As any hero would do when facing certain danger, he pushed the thoughts aside and dove in, going to work on the tiny buttons of her dress.
Why in the hell had the manufacturer made them so damn small? These weren’t buttons, they were devices used to torture men with large fingers.
He finally got them undone and pushed the sides back to reveal a bra as plain as it was practical. Somehow he’d always imagined her in something racy and lacy. But this…oh, yes, this was so much better. Soft, natural cotton greeted his fingers. Earthy, just like her. There was a certain amount of comfort in the fact she wore such plain undergarments. Like she hadn’t set out to impress or seduce anyone.
He kissed a path down the middle of her chest, stopping over her heart to lay his forehead against the beat. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Always have been.”
Shelby put her arms around him. “You make me feel that way.”
“It’s true.” He moved lower, lifting the bottom of her sundress with his hands.
Stark white cotton covered her mound. Her panties were as unattractive as the bra. He smiled. Was it wrong to be turned him on even more by that?
The light banter gave way to nothing but the sound of their ragged breath and moans of pleasure.
Dallas took his time, savoring both Shelby and the moment. A wish that the night would never end fell silently from his lips.
~*~
Quiet descended on the room, punctuated by the sounds of their harsh breath. Holy shit! She had just had the best sexual experience of her life—with Dallas!
Shelby was afraid to move, or speak. If she’d been looking for comfort sex, it had been anything but comforting. No, this complicated everything. Dallas had been right to ask her repeatedly if she was sure.
Sweet suffering Jesus, was she ever wrong.
Shelby tried to catch her breath as she looked at the ceiling. The irregular pattern of a water stain marred the otherwise white surface. Typical of someone who wanted to own a home repair business, neglecting their own repairs. She glanced over at him. Poor guy probably worked himself to the bone most days.
He looked over at her and smiled. It never reached his eyes.
Panic laced with regret filled her. She placed a hand on her head. “I screwed up, didn’t I?”
He frowned. “What? No.” He reached out and pulled her to his side, snuggling her in the crook of his arm. “I’m just thinking that in the morning, you’ll leave and this will end up a one-night stand. I’m not a one-night stand kind of guy.”
Shelby ran her hand over his chest, loving the feel of him. Dallas had some unexpected ripped muscles. His clothes hid the body underneath very well.
“God,
Dallas. I didn’t even think of it that way. Not you. I think of one-night stands as someone who gets picked up in a bar, not someone I’ve known all my life.”
“You had many of those?”
Shock moved through her. “Who me? No. When would I find time?”
“Sounds familiar. I’m so busy most days the closest I get to sex is holding my dick when I pee.”
There was the Dallas she’d known and loved. The one who whipped out one-liners at unexpected moments. She’d missed that about him. She snuggled in closer and hid her smile against his skin. Even thinking she’d made a mistake, she couldn’t muster up enough energy to care at the moment.
Her eyelids grew heavy. “I might be about to fall asleep.”
“Go ahead. I’ll wake you later.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she drifted off.
She woke to the buzz of a phone set to vibrate, located on the nightstand. Sounds of a shower running came from the master bath.
The phone didn’t look like the one he normally carried. No, this one was cheaper, with few features. A text popped up on the main screen.
Hey sexy. You got a minute?
Shock moved through her, followed by curiosity. Was this the phone he used for the app company? How many clients did he have? More than one to make it worth his while, she’d think. He said nothing sexual happened with the other client. Was that true for all of them?
She picked up the phone, and her thumb hit the screen. A window popped up that stopped her heart. There in vibrant green and blue bubbles were the texts between Rhys and Lana.
She gripped the phone in white knuckles as the sickness of betrayal moved from her heart down to her belly. A wave of nausea rolled upward. She threw the phone to the floor and ran for the bathroom. The sound of her retching echoed against the titles.
The water turned off and Dallas stuck his head out of the shower. “Shelby?”
Sobs wracked her body, and she suddenly felt very cold.
“Holy shit. What happened?”
He climbed out of the shower, dripping wet and wrapped a towel around his waist.
“You fucking lied to me. That’s what’s wrong.” She went to the sink and rinsed her mouth, even though she’d not produced anything other than dry heaves.
