by Weiss, Sonya
“I’d offer you a place to stay, but my sister and her family are at my place,” Kevin said.
“That’s okay,” Lincoln said.
Josie could tell from the absent way he responded that nothing was registering. Since their father had dog allergies, and Rafferty probably had a girl staying over at his place, the brothers couldn’t stay there. Planning to buy a home jointly, Kent and Casey had sold their houses and were currently staying with his parents until they could close on their new home. Which left Lincoln and Grayson the option of staying at a hotel or with her.
“They’re coming home with me,” she said and slipped her hand into Lincoln’s, holding on tightly in an effort to telegraph that she was here for him.
He glanced down at her and tightened his fingers.
More cars arrived, and Lincoln’s parents ran over to him, drawing him and Grayson into a hug and saying how relieved they were. Kent and Casey followed.
Jean joined them, and for the first time since Josie had known the older woman, there was fear on her face. She stood beside Josie and surveyed the damage. “Well, isn’t this a kick in the shorts.”
They watched until the car was hauled out of the house and taken away on a tow truck.
The fire chief walked over to the group.
“Is the driver okay?” Lincoln asked.
Josie wasn’t surprised that Lincoln’s first thought was for someone else.
“He was speeding and lost control around the curve. He’s shaken up and has a few bumps and bruises, but he’ll live.”
“That’s his mother’s car, and knowing Carrie, he probably won’t live long,” Jean said with a snort. “I’ll bet he didn’t even have permission to take the car out.”
The chief looked at the hole in the house, then back at Lincoln. “Go get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When Lincoln turned around, Josie gave him a reassuring smile. “Let’s go home.”
…
The next morning when his alarm went off, it took Lincoln a second to realize he was in a guest bedroom in Josie’s house. He sat on the edge of the bed for a second to wake up, then headed for the kitchen, drawn there by the scent of coffee.
Josie was at the stove making pancakes. Her wet hair was pulled back with a headband and her face was makeup free. She was as beautiful as ever. He leaned against the doorjamb and watched her movements.
When she sensed his presence, she looked his way and smiled while shaking the spatula at him. “The pancakes aren’t as good as your mom makes but they’re not as bad as Rafferty makes.” She took a mug from the cabinet and filled it with steaming coffee. His fingers brushed hers as he took it from her and a surge of desire twisted through him.
“I’m sure they’re fine.”
“I let the dogs out.”
He glanced over his shoulder to check out her living room. “I hope they didn’t sleep on your furniture. I didn’t think about trying to get their beds.”
“They stayed in my room because I invited them to.”
Lucky dogs…
“In your bed, right? You big softie.”
Josie shrugged. “They were fine.”
“I’ll hit the shower and be back in five.” A shower sounded like the smartest thing to do at the moment. He was attracted to Josie, but it was a misguided attraction. He cared about her. He had from the moment he’d first met her. But she was too good for him, too sweet and kind. He needed to end this thing between them. Put some space between them again.
Relieved that he had his head screwed on straight, he asked, “Anything I can do to help before that?”
“Nope. The pancakes will be done in a second. Your grandmother says she’s stopping by. She wants to check on you two,” Josie said as she deftly flipped a pancake.
“I’m going to shower then.” Lincoln banged on the door of the other bedroom as he passed it to wake Grayson and then he grabbed the clothes Kevin had given him last night. He rushed through a shower, and by the time he returned to the kitchen, Grayson was at the table digging into a stack of pancakes.
“You on today?” he asked as Lincoln took a fork from a drawer and sat down across from him.
“Yeah. Casey gave me another wedding to-do list to take care of. Wanna help with that?”
“When is it?” Grayson asked.
“Couple of days from today.”
Grayson got up to pour himself more coffee. “Wish I could help, but I’m on call then.”
“I don’t have anything scheduled,” Josie said. “I’ll help.”
Crap. “That’ll work,” Lincoln said.
She pulled a yogurt out of the refrigerator and pulled off the top. “What is it that we have to do?”
“Scout locations. Casey gave me a handful of places where they’re interested in having the wedding,” he explained. Romantic stuff, of course.
When the doorbell rang, Josie went to answer it and a moment later his grandmother swept into the kitchen. She clapped Lincoln on the back, then Grayson before she sat down.
“What are you doing here so early?” Grayson asked.
“I hired Josie to do a documentary about my days as a stripper.”
Lincoln nearly choked on his coffee. “On a scale of one to ten of things I didn’t want to know that’s a minus one hundred.”
“She’s kidding,” Grayson said.
Jean arched an eyebrow and stared him down, unblinking. “Am I?”
Lincoln pressed a hand to his stomach. “Those pancakes are sitting like a rock now. Thanks, Granny.”
She laughed. “Don’t call me granny, punk.” She tapped the side of her face. “Now you boys give me a kiss and haul ass so I can talk bad about you to Josie.”
Lincoln rose at the same time that Grayson did. “Josie, thanks for breakfast. I’ll see you later.”
“Hold on, Romeo. Where’s Josie’s kiss?”
“I’m gonna take off,” Grayson quickly said and left Lincoln alone with their grandmother and Josie and the attraction he was hoping to end.
The best thing would be to not kiss her, but with his grandmother looking on… He closed the distance between him and Josie. If he kissed her enough times, maybe he’d become immune to the sensations.
She put her hands on his chest and his body flooded with warmth. Or maybe he’d just drown in those sensations. He pulled her closer and kissed her longer and more deeply than he should have.
He raised his head and even if a freight train had been heading straight toward him, he couldn’t look away. Without warning, it struck him what an idiot he’d been to see Josie all these years and not recognize the significance of her in his life. As long as he had Josie, everything would always be okay. The thought shook him to his core and didn’t give him high hopes for putting a stop to the attraction. He had to end this farce between them for both of their sakes. Her eyes widened, and she darted a look past him toward Jean.
He realized that he’d been staring at her. Forcing a smile, he held his hand out to her. “Walk me out?”
The second they were outside, away from his grandmother’s prying eyes, he released her hand. “I think we should keep up the pretense between us until after Casey’s wedding so that there’s no gossip swirling that might add to her stress. We should go out on a fake date. Then after the wedding, we go our separate ways.”
“A fake date? What about the freaking-out face back in the kitchen?”
“I wasn’t freaking out.”
She shook a finger. “I know you and that was you freaking out.”
He tried to come up with something funny and failed. Tried to come up with something spectacular and blew that, too. How could one woman in such a small, delicate package mess up his carefully structured world?
“Nothing to say?”
No, there wasn’t. He couldn’t tell her that every time they kissed the neurotransmitters in his brain scrambled to desperately seek signs of intelligent life to keep him from doing something even dumber.
&n
bsp; Bypassing him, she stopped at the side of his truck and leaned against it. “I think I know what’s going on.”
“You do?” He cleared his throat and deepened his voice. “You do?”
“Yes.”
“What?” Lincoln squeezed the truck’s door handle until his knuckles whitened.
“You’ve been thinking how lucky you are to have me for a girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend? Fiancée.” He stressed the word, relief coursing through him. “A guy gets splinters in his knees from sliding across the stage, the least you could do is get the relationship right.”
Josie flung her arms around him in a tight hug. “My bad, honey.”
He closed his eyes and gave himself five seconds to enjoy holding her. Five agonizing seconds to feel her body against his. Then he’d push her away. Five more seconds.
“You have no idea all the things that went through my head while I was standing on that stage,” she said.
“I can imagine.”
“And then the next thing I knew, there you were.” She stepped back.
Five seconds passed already? He lowered his suddenly empty arms. “I’d better go.”
“Before you do, your grandmother said something really strange during girls’ night.”
“Stranger than drunk dialing me?”
“Yeah.” Josie rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “She said the hayride was the best hundred-dollar check she’d ever written. Do you think someone tricked her out of money?”
“She’s too savvy for that, but I’ll check it out.” He hesitated. The longer he spent in her company, the harder it was to leave.
“So then I guess you’ll pick me up when for our fake date?”
Lincoln thought for a second. “Tomorrow work for you?”
“It’s a ‘date,’” Josie said with a grin, using her fingers to put air quotations around the word date.
“I’ll pick you up early enough so we can grab something to eat, too.”
“Sounds good. See you.” She gave him an enigmatic smile and walked across the lawn to the front porch. After she went inside, Lincoln watched the front door for a second, feeling strangely unsettled. Dating Josie, even though it was fake, made him feel like he was walking an inch-wide plank across alligator-infested waters while trying to maintain his balance.
Chapter Fourteen
The next day, Josie danced around her bedroom as she wiggled into a pair of jeans. She lay down on the bed and tugged them up over her hips, then stood so she could button them. Lincoln had called and told her they were going rock climbing for their date. She didn’t know a thing about rock climbing but if she was ahead of Lincoln on the wall she at least wanted her butt to look good in her jeans. She dressed in a lightweight sweater over a T-shirt so she could take if off in case she got hot.
The neighbor’s cat jumped up onto her bed and sat near her pillow, lazily swishing his tail.
“Where’s my phone?” She pried it out from under the cat’s paw and slid it into her purse, then looked around the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. The diamond ring on her finger sparkled and Josie hesitated. The thing made her think thoughts that were foolish. Like how different tonight would be if this was a real date.
The phone buzzed with a text from Lincoln. Running late. Helping at accident scene.
Be careful, Josie texted back. She blew out a breath, then decided that while she waited, she might as well as finalize Lincoln’s video for the contest. She only had to tweak a couple of things before he could submit it. He’d received the money from the councilman for the station, but winning the contest could still do a lot of good for the station since they were so underfunded. Plus, he deserved recognition for all his hard work for the community.
An hour late, Lincoln showed up. “I’m sorry. I was taking Rafferty to his place when we saw a car get T-boned at the intersection.”
“No problem. Is everyone okay?”
“Everything’s fine.”
The quick, clipped way he spoke made Josie wonder if he was protecting her from knowing the details the way his father had protected his mom. She could only imagine the things that they’d both seen in their line of work.
Outside at his truck, he opened the passenger door for her and helped her in. After he shut the door and walked around the front, Josie could easily read the tension in every line of his body. She didn’t want to push him. If he wanted to talk about it, then he would. She turned the heater vent onto her feet. “In all fairness, I’ve never been rock climbing, so be prepared to catch me if I fall.”
“You don’t climb without a safety harness and rope. My brothers and I go here all the time. They have a zero-accident history.”
“You know what a klutz I am.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think you’re a klutz. You’re exuberant.”
“Nicely done. Very supportive.”
Lincoln grinned, but even then Josie could see he was distracted. Ten minutes later, he pulled up at the indoor climbing center and they walked inside.
Josie looked up at the high wall. Butterflies danced in her stomach. “I don’t know…”
“I’ll keep you safe.”
Lincoln’s quiet reassurance stilled the butterflies, but when she looked into his handsome face, butterflies of a different kind fluttered. Once one of the employees had the safety gear on her, Josie grimaced. “Not that comfortable is it?”
“No, but it’ll keep you from falling if you slip.” Lincoln checked to make sure she was secure. “A few things. When you climb, use both the inside and outside edge of the shoe to help you.”
“Edges, got it.” Josie nodded.
Lincoln put his hand on her stomach and she sucked in a breath. “You need to locate your center of gravity to balance yourself.”
“Balance myself,” she repeated as they moved closer to the wall.
“You’ll use the center of gravity to help you when you shift your weight.”
Josie reached for a handhold.
“Don’t let your butt sag away from the wall.”
“That’s all natural.”
Lincoln blinked. “Uh…”
Josie laughed. “Just kidding.” She tucked her butt in. “No sagging.”
“When you’re on the wall, don’t pull yourself up with your arms. Use the strength in your legs to help you climb.”
Josie took her first position and Lincoln said, “Straighten your arm and keep your legs bent. There you go.”
Josie made herself keep her mind on moving up at what felt like a snail’s pace. At this rate, she wouldn’t be done until Christmas. Lincoln kept pace beside her when no doubt he could have easily blown right by her. She would have taken a second to admire the muscles in his arms as he moved but she was too afraid to look away from the wall. The safety gear gave her a wedgie from hell as the straps gripped her thighs, but she pushed on, determined that she would not quit until she reached the top.
In what felt like ten hours later, she reached the top and paused there, wanting to pump her fist in triumph but afraid of losing her balance.
“You did it and in only forty minutes. Good job.”
“Forty minutes? I thought it was tomorrow already.” Josie clung to the wall. “This is more exhausting than it looks. Can’t I let go and let a net catch me?”
“There’s only the gear, honey.”
“Which will yank my legs up over my head when I freefall, I’m sure,” Josie said.
Lincoln laughed. “C’mon, you’ve got this.” He started back down but waited for her every step of the way.
Josie made the painstaking climb back down. When she reached the floor, she was thankful her legs were able to support her. As soon as the safety gear was off, she stretched. “Okay, that wasn’t so bad. I think I could get used to that in a few years or so.”
Lincoln laughed. “Once you get the hang of it, it is fun.” His laughter faded. “Let’s get something to eat and then I have a surprise for you.�
�� He pushed open the door for Josie to walk outside.
“Give me a hint about the surprise.”
“It doesn’t involve climbing,” he said as they walked to the truck. “But you’re welcome to try and guess.”
Josie thought about it and after they were in the truck and headed to a restaurant, she said, “Skating?”
“Nope.”
She huffed out a breath. “Does it involve a crowd of people?”
“It’ll just be the two of us in the dark.”
Josie shot him a look, unsure if she should say what she was thinking.
Lincoln smiled. “I know you too well, Josie Moore. Get your mind out of the bedroom.”
“You should be so lucky.”
He gave her an amused glance. “Give up already?”
“I don’t quit easily.” She thought for a second. “Driving to the planetarium in Wellsford?”
“It’s already closed for the day.”
“Okay, I give up. Tell me.”
He shook his head. “It’ll lose something in the translation.” He parked outside a taco place.
Josie got out. “Did you ask your mom for date ideas?”
Lincoln arched an eyebrow. “Like she’d suggest I take you rock climbing.”
“Hmm…you’re right. That’s not her style.” Inside the restaurant, Josie turned to him. “Give me a strong hint.”
“There will be music.”
Josie frowned as they settled at a table. “Music in the dark. Just the two of us.” She sighed and waited a second until after they gave their order to say teasingly, “Making out?”
He gave her a look.
To get her mind away from things better left alone, she said, “Let’s share three things we like, love, and hate.”
“Ladies first,” he said.
“First category, things we like. I like raspberry white chocolate, dancing in the rain, and winter.”
He nodded. “I like rock climbing, sports, and action movies.”
“Next up is love. I love your family, and I also love books and animals.”
Lincoln rubbed his jaw. “I love my job, my family, and helping people.”
“Good ones,” Josie said and paused as their food was brought to the table. She picked up one of the taco chips and flicked off a piece of Jalapeno pepper. “I hate injustice, weak sweet tea, and ghost stories.”
