by Barbara Lohr
Would conquering heights be this gut wrenching every time? She couldn’t think ahead. Brody wouldn’t be with her. The reminder made her slouch deeper in her seat.
He glanced over. “Hey, what brought that frown?”
She fiddled with the tear in her jeans. “Nothing really. Just thinking about how different everything is here.” Tossing her head back, she focused her attention outside. They were passing gas stations and small motels, the kind you saw in old movies. Strip malls here were smaller than in the Midwest, with fewer stores.
“Different good or different bad?” His eyes fell to the rip.
Carolyn stopped her nervous hands. “Neither. Just different.”
She’d forgotten how cautious he could be. Lounging in her classroom, he’d cock his head to one side when she called on him. Even back then, Brody had a sensitive side. Now she realized it may have been a defensive side. “Is that Taos up ahead?”
“Yep. I thought we’d park on the square, for starters. Are you up for another museum?”
She chuckled. “Yes. Are you?” Carolyn didn’t know many men who liked to trek through the past. But Brody might be different. Maybe he had a reason. Ancestry seemed so important to him. He was a man piecing together his family history.
“Your grandmother wanted me to take you to the Millicent Rogers Museum.”
“We don’t have to do everything my grandmother says, Brody.”
His grin widened. “Ah, teacher talk again. I love it.”
Her cheeks flared furiously. He could be so maddening but so much fun, all at the same time. “I just meant, that might be nice.”
He shrugged. “You’ll love it. At least I think you will.”
A man who knew what she would like. This was something new.
They’d stopped for the main traffic light and waited for it to change. Adobe buildings were everywhere, of course. But Taos felt different. The mountain town felt rougher. Like Brody. She grasped for Brody adjectives while they sat at the light. Hot. Funny. Real.
Real. The word rang in her head. Authentic. Brody had found out where he belonged. And the place where he fit in was sure different from where he’d been ten years ago. Back then he could be a clown one minute and a brooding teen the next.
Now he’d settled into a place where he could be himself. His high comfort level was so obvious, she almost felt jealous.
The light changed. Traffic surged forward and they turned left. “The buildings are pretty much the way they were a century ago,” Brody said while she craned her neck, taking in the small plaza with a gazebo.
The square was about the same size as Santa Fe’s plaza. But there the comparison ended. Santa Fe’s stores bustled, side streets shooting off in all directions. Taos looked contained. Quiet.
“This plaza was built to be defended,” Brody said, pulling into one of the diagonal parking spaces. “They could barricade it if they had to, like a fort.”
Feeling as if she’d stepped back in time, Carolyn got out and followed Brody onto the sidewalk that rimmed the plaza. “This town is a time capsule,” she said. “I feel as if Gary Cooper or Clint Eastwood could walk out of a saloon any minute, guns in their holsters.”
He chuckled. “I think you’re right.”
People relaxed on benches around the gazebo, enjoying the mild weather. One threw a frisbee for his dog to retrieve. Brody slung an arm around her shoulder. “Want to look around?”
“Sure. But I’m not much for shopping.”
“A woman who doesn’t like to shop? Didn’t know there was such a thing.” Pulling back in mock surprise, he kept his arm snug around her.
“You can wipe that smart-ass smile off your face,” she said under her breath. Was he talking about past girlfriends?
He stopped. “What is it?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” Carolyn kept walking. She didn’t want him to think she was the jealous type. “A friend sent me enough clothes to last a while. I don’t need to shop.”
His eyes swept her with approval. “Is this outfit from your friend?”
“Yep.”
“She has good taste. Leather is always good in the mountains.”
“That’s me. Wild West woman.” Her mother would laugh to hear that.
Stopping, Brody peered through a store window. “Looks like the usual touristy stuff.” But one store carried leather goods and they stepped inside. “Love the smell.”
When he dropped his arm to enter the shop, she missed it. Ever since graduation, Carolyn had gotten used to traveling alone, visiting friends from school. Being part of a couple felt new to her. Different. Nice. Just for now.
She snuck a peek while Brody examined the jackets. Did this feel natural to him too? Checking out the purses and totes, she told herself not to read too much into this. That would be foolish. A few kisses and holding hands don’t make a meaningful relationship. She followed him back out onto the square. In his boots and worn leather jacket, he belonged.
“What is it?” He turned to pin her with his piercing gaze.
“Nothing. Just enjoying the day.” Looking at you. Being with you. Feeling like a couple. “Enjoying the day in a mountain town.”
Her satisfaction must have been obvious. “You’re so pleased with yourself.”
“Today I am.” She could drown in his eyes.
When Brody’s tongue swept his upper lip, Carolyn wanted him so bad. Heat shimmered from the sidewalk. Maybe she would melt and become a puddle. He did this to her. And she cared for him, both the injured boy she’d taught and the strong man he’d become. But right now, the mindlessness of her feelings both unnerved and excited her.
“If we stand here much longer, we’re going to make a scene,” he muttered between set lips. “Want to go to the museum?”
“Yes. Sure.” Why was going to a museum with Brody sexy? She wondered about it on the short drive up the highway.
“You’re awfully quiet. Did I do something wrong?” Suddenly he was the teenager again. The guy who came to school with sleepers still in his eyes.
“Absolutely not. It’s all good.”
“Glad to hear it.” His hand fell to her thigh and that felt good too.
Then his fingers found a rip in her jeans. She swatted at it.
“Cold?” he asked teasingly.
She shook her head. “Burning up.”
“You should fix your jeans.”
“You should mind your own business.”
“Oh, I think I am.” His look seared her. Taking his hand from her leg, she placed it firmly on the steering wheel while he laughed.
Brody had turned down a road, taking them off the highway. Around them, the area was flat and it felt as if the earth dropped away at the edges, except for the mountains soaring on their left. “The sky feels so big here,” she said, ignoring her tumbling tummy. “Are those the same mountains we see in Santa Fe?”
He gave them a jut of the chin. “Yep. The Sangre de Cristo mountains extend a long way. Pretty great, right?”
“Takes my breath away.” She pressed one hand to her stomach.
Dust rose as they pulled into the parking lot. Turning off the car, Brody shifted to look at her, “Tell you what. You take my breath away.” Those laser blue eyes, the color of a Taos sky, had turned Lake Michigan blue. Warm and welcoming. When he opened his arms, she leaned into them.
“These lips are becoming mighty familiar,” she whispered after the third kiss or so. Not that she was counting.
“Glad to hear it.” Cupping her chin in his hand, he smiled. “Let’s go see the place.”
Her knees felt wobbly when she climbed out.
Inside a receptionist greeted them. Of course there was a map, which Carolyn snapped up. “You’ve been here before?” she asked Brody.
“Yep, two or three times.” They walked off to the right.
She hated the suspicion that crept over her.
Focus on the art.
She liked the way Brody worked through a museum.
A little impatient herself, Carolyn would size up a room and spend time on things that caught her eye. Brody took the same approach. Sometimes they’d be shoulder to shoulder studying a Navajo pattern while Brody made comments. The boy was smart.
“You know a lot of stuff,” she told him at one point.
“Stuff?”
“Good stuff.” God, she loved that square jaw.
“What? Am I preaching?” He looked horrified.
“Not at all. It’s just that, well, the shoe is really on the other foot, isn’t it?”
He tugged her to him. No one else was in the room. “How does that shoe fit? Comfortable or not?”
Standing together like this felt like coming home. “Well, we just have to find that out.” She could hardly breathe. His lips brushed hers. The tingling started. Casting a glance behind him, he nudged her against the wall.
“What if someone comes in?” she whispered, sinking into him.
“They’ll have one more thing to talk about when they get home.”
They pressed into a full body kiss. A few seconds later, she could hardly remember her own name. Placing one hand flat on his chest, she gently pushed him away. “We’re going to shock the woman at the desk.”
“I didn’t see any surveillance screens.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
He rolled his eyes. “There you go, using teacher words again.”
“Well, you are.”
“I think you like me that way.”
What could she say? He was right. Approaching voices made her pull away. She straightened her jacket. Ran a hand over her hair. They moved on.
Silver jewelry gleamed in the next room. “What did you call these? There are so many of them.” She motioned to a case heavy with necklaces, all variations of the same design.
“Squash blossom. Popular among Native Americans.”
“They look like they might weigh a ton.”
“Maybe you’re too delicate for one. Maybe your neck is made for other things.” But when he moved toward her, she scurried away. The voices still followed them.
Photos of Millicent Rogers stopped Carolyn short. A stylish blonde, the socialite looked very upscale. Maybe even snooty. Carolyn studied the photos. “She looks like a woman my mother would have lunch with.”
Brody didn’t look convinced. “A society girl? She looks a little like you, Carolyn.”
Her heart contracted. “Do I look that aloof?”
“That’s not what I meant. She’s a beautiful blonde, just like you.”
“You’re delusional.” But the words pleased her.
“You’re too modest.” The gallery was feeling too constrictive for her hammering heart. When she looked up at Brody, she forgot to breathe.
Breaking away before he could see desire radiating from her face, she stared at the next display. “Are these buttons?”
Bracing one arm over her head, he studied them. “Yep, pretty spectacular, right? The Indians didn’t have much use for buttons until later. But apparently she had a quite a collection. All silver.”
His body framed hers. She craved his heat in the worst way. And they were in a museum. Brody stroked her back absentmindedly, as if unaware that he was driving her crazy.
Would the exhibits ever end? The museum snaked back and forth until finally they were in a gift shop. Leaving the map there, they left. “You’ve taught me more about Indian culture than I ever knew before,” she told him once they were back in the car.
“Native American,” he said softly, shifting in his seat.
“Right. I’m trying to be politically correct.”
“I know. Come here.”
When he beckoned, she leaned in until his arms closed around her. Their kisses built to a new intensity. The more Brody revealed about himself, the closer she felt to him. A family came out of the museum, chattering away. Brody pulled away and started the engine.
“So. Hungry?” he asked, backing out of the spot.
“Starving.” Her body howled for him, like the stuffed coyote they’d seen that day at the restaurant.
He lifted a brow. “Want to stop to get something to eat?”
“Food isn’t what I have in mind.” She was going to put that right out there.
Brody went into his sphinx mode, staring at the road ahead.
“Too bold?” That teetering feeling caught Carolyn off-balance again.
“There’s no such thing, Teach. Not between us.” His lips barely moved. The tension ran that high.
After conquering the height in Truchas, she wanted to throw herself off one more ledge, or pier. Whatever. Brody was that ledge. She wouldn’t let herself worry about what came next.
She just wanted this. Now.
“My place?” He lifted a brow.
“Just what I had in mind.”
They hardly spoke on the way back. “Is this a different highway?” she asked after awhile on the road. “We’re not going through those small towns.”
“We’re taking the direct route.”
“I like your thinking.”
But she had to do more than lust on the way back. This trip had taught her a lot about herself. She was too controlling. Carolyn could see that now. A map and schedule person. Life wasn’t like a day of classes, with time neatly divided for each subject. That approach hadn’t served her well.
Here she was, thirty-two and single. Sure, she had a job she enjoyed. Teaching was fulfilling in a lot of ways. But she didn’t want to be end up being sixty-five and single. An unclaimed treasure.
As they drove through the late afternoon, she could hardly keep her eyes off him. If a woman could feast on a man with her eyes, that’s what she was doing. His Hotness. Bite by bite. “Hey, what’s going on with you?” He caught her staring in the mirror.
“Nothing.”
“We’re about to change all that.”
“Let’s not overthink this.”
“In the past week I’ve thought about it enough for both of us.”
Chills had a heyday, scampering down her spine.
“What I’m thinking is purely instinct. Pure, raw instinct.” He ran a hand down her thigh.
Her entire body hummed. “What’s the speed limit here anyway?”
With a dry chuckle, he hammered down on the accelerator.
~.~
Gravel crunched beneath the tires when Brody pulled in front of his house. The drive had felt eternal, like taking his architecture finals. Beside him, he’d felt Carolyn’s restlessness. He sure hoped that was excitement and not signs that she was having second thoughts. Why the hell had he suggested Taos today?
But who knows when a few kisses will turn to gut-wrenching need?
Jumping out of the SUV, he almost lost his footing. Not that he was in a hurry or anything. Carolyn wobbled unsteadily outside the passenger door. Her chest was heaving.
“Ready?”
Her long, steady look did nothing to calm him. Then she gave his shoulder a shy push. “Onward, cowboy.”
Good God. Taking her elbow, he steered her to the door, jammed his key in the lock and shoved it open. Inside, he tossed his keys onto the side table and turned. Where to start? “Why do girls always wear so many clothes?”
“Always?” The look on her face froze the blood in his veins. “As in I’ve had so many women back here I’ve lost count?”
“That’s n-not the way it was. Is.” Hell, he could blow this whole thing right here. His heart hammered in his chest. No way did he want her to see him as a player. “Trust me, okay?”
The concern sharpening her high cheekbones eased. “Oh, Brody.” With a sweet sigh, she fell against him, all warm curves and soft skin. Her arms encircled his neck. The jackets had to go. He hung them up on the floor. As he ran his hands up under the blouse, the feel of her skin almost undid him. When he tried to whisk the top up and off, he caught it on the gazillion chains around her neck. “I’m no good at this.” He raised his hands, palms up.
�
�Oh, I think you are,” she said with a slow, secret smile. One minute later, the necklaces were laid out on the coffee table. He helped her off with her boots and kicked off his own with a few hot kisses along the way. They unwrapped each other like Christmas packages. She was more exquisite, more delicately defined than he’d ever imagined.
“Do you know how many times I undressed you while I sat in class?”
“No way. You did?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Hey, I did it with respect, okay? I was just a boy back then.”
“And now?” she whispered. Dropping her arms, she reached out to graze the angles of his body. Carolyn was driving him nuts.
“And now you’ll see.” Before his knees could buckle, he swept her up.
“Brody?” She gave a faint squeak.
“No more talking.”
She was a woman of many words so that was a tall order. Hands cupping his face, Carolyn used her lips. He almost dropped her on the way to the master suite.
Up in his room, he laid her on the bed. Her eyes shifted to the mountains. The setting sun touched only the peaks. “Oh, my. How beautiful.”
God, she looked like an angel. “Yes, you are.”
She rolled toward him. “Brody, come.” Her arms beckoned.
Chapter 17
Carolyn crept into the kitchen, the cold tiles curling her bare toes. In sleep pants and a hoodie, she needed caffeine bad. What time had she gotten in last night? Or had it been early morning? With any luck, Mama V would be at the gallery.
But her grandmother sat at the table, sipping coffee and throwing her a coy smile. “Good morning, sweetheart. Late night?”
“Kind of.” Taking a mug from the cupboard, Carolyn grabbed the pot and filled her cup.
Mama V’s shoulders shook. Was she laughing? “Brody’s a nice young man,” she finally managed to say between the giggles. “I like him.”
“Me too.” Like him? Last night had been amazing. Curling up on the hard kitchen chair, Carolyn longed for his big warm bed...and the man in it. He’d begged her to stay but she’d said no. Not this time.
