Let It Ride

by Vivian Arend

  “Naked pictures. Yeah, I can see how that proves you have lots in common.”

  He gestured toward the phone. “That one was pretty tame. You should see some of the stuff people send.”

  Okay, teasing him might be wrong, but he seemed to think she was some kind of raw innocent. Cameron would have poked him so hard. Maggie pretended to be shocked. “To a total stranger?”

  “Yup.”

  Maggie laid a hand over her chest and gasped like a blue-haired grannie. “Oh God, really? Men too?”

  “It happens. I don’t send out pictures of my junk, I mean—oh, fuck.”

  God, he was adorable, flushing like this was the first discussion he’d ever had regarding sex when she knew that wasn’t true. She’d overheard him and Cameron plenty of times, and both of them had been plenty frank in their discussions.

  It was no use. She gave up and laughed until she had her hands curled around her stomach, gasping for air. Every time she’d nearly gotten herself under control, she’d catch another glimpse of his face, and that would set her off again.

  Clay watched with resignation, shaking his head as it finally sank in she’d been pulling his leg.

  By the time she’d settled down, he’d grabbed them both drinks and put a plate of snacks on the table in front of her. “Now that the first part of the evening’s entertainment is over, we can get back to work.”

  Happiness bubbled inside her. It felt good to laugh until her stomach ached and her cheeks were warm. She laid her hand on top of his knee and gave it a light squeeze. “You’re a good guy, Clay.”

  “Yeah, I am. Along with a touch gullible…” He shrugged good-naturedly. “Just wait until you set up a profile with a dating service. Then we can compare horror stories.”

  That she couldn’t imagine. “When I start dating again it will not involve naked selfies.”

  Just saying the words “dating again” made her wonder. She missed Cameron so much, and yet…

  There was still laughter in the world. Still love. Maybe even for her.

  It was something she’d have to think about more, but not now. Now she had another task. A task that would make a better future for some deserving people, and she was glad to have a good friend at her side as they worked on it.

  Clay’s expression had gone slightly bemused. “What? What’s that look for?”

  “Just happy to be here,” she confessed. “Ready to get to work, or are you expecting more calls?”

  “Very funny.”

  She chuckled softly as they bent over the blueprints and made plans.

  She gave him another dirty look, and it was so damn cute. “It’s a waste of time for you to put on your boots and coat. I do know where I parked,” Maggie complained.

  “Never said you didn’t.” Clay let her hang onto his arm as he guided her down the snow-covered front sidewalk. “Good manners aren’t a waste of time.”

  “You’re so old fashioned,” she teased.

  He held the car door for her as she got in. “About some things, yeah. I suppose I am.”

  Clay stood on the sidewalk after she waved goodbye, waiting until the taillights of her car vanished around the corner.

  The urge to sweep in and care for her wasn’t going away. The attraction he felt kept growing, and it wasn’t just sexual. He’d enjoyed her company before, but he’d been a closer friend with Cameron, especially after Gage’s life had gotten busier with Katy and Tanner.

  There was definitely a connection between them—him and Maggie. The ease with which she’d laughed made him feel good. Made him want to put that happy expression in her eyes every day, and every moment.

  But when? When would it be safe to move?

  He’d blundered during a relationship before. Once he’d assumed someone wanted him when they didn’t, and that misstep haunted him to this day. Not because he’d been rejected, but because he’d frightened the woman. Seeing her recoil and respond in fear had been enough to scare him off ever making assumptions.

  Hurting another person had broken something inside him, and he’d sworn he’d never do it again.

  Back in the house the contrast between the icy-cold winter evening and the warmth struck like a wall. Hell, it had been hot when Maggie was there, his entire body sensitized by her closeness.

  He returned to the living room and tidied up, grabbing his phone off the chair where he’d tossed it. He reluctantly worked through the texts, deleting until he got to the only one he needed—the one from Katy with the time to come and look after Tanner so she and Gage could go out on a date.

  As he clicked past some very racy tweets from potential dates, his frustration peaked. Tracking down Troy and sitting on him until both the phone and the damn dating site were fixed moved to the top of his list.

  He wandered into his bedroom, stripped his shirt over his head and kicked off his jeans. Tomorrow he’d deal with all the things that had been wrong about tonight, but as he stepped into the shower and turned on the water, his thoughts dwelled on Maggie and where their relationship might go in the future.

  He soaped up his hands and ran them over his torso, washing slowly as he considered. Spending the evening with her had fueled the desire for more. And her comment about dating?

  While he was glad she didn’t plan to mourn forever, her simple words gave him both a rush of hope and kicked his protective instincts into overdrive.

  Maggie dating—seeing her dressed up and out on the town for a good time with some other guy—the idea infuriated him.

  Like hell would she ever sign up for a dating service. He might’ve been the one to suggest it, but his joking words were to cover up what he really wanted to say. What he wanted to offer her, when she was ready.

  The sad part was once she was ready, some people in Rocky would judge her. Even if she wore sackcloth for the next ten years, there would be those who assumed her moving on meant things must not have been good between her and Cameron, and Clay knew that was the farthest thing from the truth.

  Listening to her laugh had made something inside him come alive in a way he hadn’t felt in years. He wanted to savour those moments between them then take the next step. To be allowed to cradle her in his arms. To cup her cheek as she smiled. To lean over and press a kiss to her laughing lips.

  Or stroke his hands down her body until he turned her smile to one that was softer, filled with the pleasure he would give her. The pleasures she would give him—

  And he was standing in the shower with his fist wrapped around his cock, stroking himself to the thought of her. He was such a fucking bastard.

  Didn’t mean he was going to stop.

  Not when he closed his eyes and could picture her. Soft and happy like she’d been after teasing him. A bright light shining in her eyes as she shared the evening with him. Her lips parted, her body relaxed.

  He worked himself harder, running his fingers over the sweet spot on the bottom of his shaft every upstroke. His hand slicked easily over his rock-solid length, between the soap and the water and the fantasy of Maggie sliding her fingers around his dick and taking over. Slipping her tongue along his shaft, teasing him sweetly before wrapping her lips around the head and sucking.

  Her big green eyes staring at him full of trust. Full of other emotions—lust and need and fire. Fuck it, he wanted to see her lose control. To be so focused on the pleasure whipping through her body that she turned to him and let him care for her in the most intimate of ways.

  The tingling at the base of his spine warned him he was close. His balls drew up, his breathing rapid. He leaned an elbow on the wall of the shower as he stroked faster and imagined her under him. Thrusting into her as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. She’d clutch him tight, her lips open in pleasure, finger nails digging into his back, heels to his butt—

  His cock jerked in his hand, seed spurting out in tight, sharp pulses. The warm water cascaded over his shoulders as he worked the last rocking beats of his climax, his breathing ragged, a rush
of blood going to his head.

  Holy shit.

  Clay pressed both hands to the shower wall and leaned over as he fought to catch his breath. The water washed away the signs of his recent entertainment, but they couldn’t wash away the visions playing out in his head. Things too good to be ignored.

  It was a fine line to walk. For now he had to keep pretending. For now he had to keep what he felt a secret from everyone, including Maggie. He wanted to be her friend, but he wanted to be so much more. She wasn’t ready, but when she was, no matter how long it took…

  He would be there.

  Chapter Seven

  Days passed in a blur. Clay kept to his usual routines, spending time with his family and helping Maggie. Planning for the landscaping work they needed to do in the spring gave him the perfect excuse to drop in on a regular basis.

  Sometimes they’d discuss the upcoming work. Sometimes she’d talk about what was happening at school, or listen with laughter in her eyes as he’d share about his day at the garage with his brothers.

  Slowly she seemed to be waking up, like an echo of spring creeping in on the foothills. One moment the cold clung tightly, the next, dazzling sunshine worked to melt the lingering piles of snow. Clay longed to move forward even as he held himself back.

  But today they were gathering for a far more festive reason—Gage and Katy were about to tie the knot.

  The late-March day started with cloud-covered sky, but by noon the snow that had threatened moved on. The hustle and bustle around the repair shop had been redirected into tuxedos and formalwear. There were party plans for after the ceremony, and a good old-fashioned dance planned to warm the night.

  No way would Maggie miss it, and Clay had every intention of being by her side as much as possible.

  “Why the hell do we have to wear monkey suits when you’re the one getting married?” Troy complained.

  Gage didn’t answer. He bounced on the balls of his feet in front of the mirror in Clay’s bedroom, adjusting his tie for the third time, a goofy grin on his face as he got ready.

  “Monkeys, clowns, take your pick,” Mitch drawled, the flame-red tattoos on the backs of his hands peeking out as he adjusted the cufflinks on a pristine white dress shirt. “You’re part of the three-ring-circus that is a wedding. Stupid invention.”

  “Says the man who has been engaged for nearly nine months,” Len taunted.

  Mitch shrugged. “We’re working around her schedule. There’s some fancy RCMP ritual we can do if we wait until this coming summer. Seems like a lot of fuss to me, but if it makes Anna happy, I can put up with a little bullshit.”

  “Len’s got the right idea,” their youngest brother commented, leaning over Gage’s shoulder to check in the mirror as he struggled with his tie. “He and Janey just moved in together. I don’t see why people do anything else.”

  “It doesn’t matter what you think.” Gage rotated on the spot and worked on fixing Troy’s tie. “It’s what the girls want that matters, and if Katy wants me to dress up to make things official, I have zero problem indulging her.”

  “Pussy whipped,” Troy muttered.

  “Just like you wish you were,” Mitch said with a grin, slapping his brother on the back as they moved into the living room.

  They were only moments away from the trip to the hall where the ceremony would take place. Clay was torn between staying with his brothers and best friend, and running ahead to make sure that everything was progressing properly.

  Maybe finding Maggie and latching on to her.

  But his father was already there taking care of the final details, and the venue had been double-checked. Katy’s friends were all over the rest of the organizing that needed to take place.

  This was where he was supposed to be, no matter how much he longed to get moving. To take the next step, especially in terms of tracking down Maggie—

  —and damn his brain for refusing to lay off thinking about her every other second.

  “Five minutes,” Troy announced.

  Clay and Mitch exchanged glances before closing the gap on Gage.

  His best friend glanced up from where he was nervously playing with the ring box. “Why’re you looking at me like that?”

  Mitch grabbed the box out of Gage’s fingers and handed it to Clay. “In the time-honoured tradition of brothers everywhere, this is your final warning. If you ever do anything to break Katy’s heart, we’ll kill you.”

  Gage’s grin just got wider. “What? You’re not going to punch me in the face again?”

  “You need to look pretty in the wedding pictures. You get a pass for now.”

  The bridegroom raised a brow. “Your sister and I have been together for more than a year. We have a nine-month-old son, and you’ve seen how easily she wraps me around her little finger. You really think you need to warn me to take care of her?”

  A ripple of laughter stole over them before Clay laid a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “We’ve been through a lot together since we were fifteen. You’ve been my best friend through some of the roughest times in my life, and you’re already like a brother to me.”

  Gage nodded slowly, waiting…

  “But Katy’s our sister. Hurt her, and we’ll skin you alive.”

  His lips twisted into a cocky smile. “Good thing I don’t plan on doing anything to make her unhappy. Ever.”

  Good-natured teasing continued all the way to the reception hall. There was a rush of last-minute things to deal with before Clay found himself standing at the front of the room next to Gage, the Justice of the Peace at their side.

  Katy and her friends had decorated the hall the night before. Simple folding chairs were lined up in rows, twisted streamers looping along the edge to create a path to the front of the hall. Instead of flowers, they’d filled silver feed-buckets with branches from willow trees that had been forced into budding early. Above the white pussy willows were cutout snowflakes hung on fishing line, dozens of them tacked to the ceiling until the room looked as if they were in the midst of a storm where the snow never hit the ground.

  Background music played softly. Clay looked through the audience gathering as Len and Troy seated the guests as they arrived.

  “The longest five minutes of my entire life,” Gage whispered under his breath.

  “Nah. Longest five minutes will be when Katy hesitates before saying I do, and you wonder if she’s about to freak out and run, or not.”

  The colour drained from Gage’s face. “She wouldn’t.”

  God. Clay hurried to reassure him, but couldn’t hide his grin. “No, she wouldn’t. For some reason she’s crazy about you, so relax.”

  Gage gave him a dirty look then focused on the back of the room, stiffening then releasing a tormented sigh as the doors swung open another time without it being Katy and the start of the ceremony.

  Maggie arrived. Len walked her down the aisle and seated her right where Clay had a direct line of vision to her face.

  He didn’t even pretend not to stare.

  Her long brown hair had been cut to shoulder length, reddish-gold flashes reflecting the light as she turned to greet her neighbors. She wore a pale-green sweater that looked soft to the touch, and Clay wanted to leave his post immediately to test his theory.

  Only the sound of people rising to their feet and processional music beginning to play kept him in place. But his focus stayed on her, taking in every detail, every line—soaking her in.

  She looked fragile, but more rested than she’d been lately. Her green eyes were highlighted by the colour of her top. She glanced forward, smiling as she spotted Gage, the man constantly shifting his weight as he waited for Katy to appear.

  Then her eyes met Clay’s.

  He wanted to think there was a connection. That she somehow reacted to him, but suddenly all attention turned to the wedding party breaching the back doors, and the moment slipped away.

  Janey came first, holding a bright-eyed teeny-tuxedo clad nine-month-old T
anner in her arms as she paced directly in front her friend. Katy stepped slowly down the aisle, fingers clasped around their father’s arm. Keith’s expression was dead serious, as if he was holding back tears.

  As soon as Janey reached the front of the room, Tanner thrust out his arms to Gage, loudly demanding a transfer. The entire group of friends gathered to witness the wedding chuckled as Gage took his son from Janey with a grin.

  “No reason why he can’t be a part of this.”

  He held Tanner with an experienced air as Katy joined him, and they faced the JP to begin the ceremony.

  The words rolled over them. Clay listened, but he was more interested in the deep satisfaction spinning in his gut as his family surrounded the couple. His father nodded in approval as Katy and Gage exchanged vows, making promises to be there for each other—in the good times, in the bad. As the ceremony continued, Clay let his gaze drift to take in the rest of those he cared for. Len and Janey stood next to Anna Coleman who was beaming suspiciously hard as she held Mitch’s hand. Troy fidgeted a little, his gaze darting to the back of the room, but he too was smiling.

  Maggie’s gaze remained fixed on the bride and groom, and Clay gave himself one last moment to linger on her before refocusing his attention as well.

  “I’ll always be yours, and you’ll always be mine.” Gage adjusted his son then slipped the ring on Katy’s finger. He offered Tanner the empty box, and he caught hold with two hands, instantly lifting it to his mouth to chew on it.

  Katy’s eyes sparkled.

  “Going forward,” Gage promised, “the only thing that’ll ever change is I’m going to love you more every single day.”

  The officiate said a few more words, and then there was kissing accompanied by applause from the audience.

  The JP cleared his throat. “Before any of you leave, we need just a moment.”

  Clay stiffened. This wasn’t on the agenda.

  Katy and Gage whispered together, both of them grinning widely as they stood in the middle of the platform, looking out at their friends as Tanner played happily in Gage’s arms.