by Dylann Crush
I moved to the back of the boat to check on her. “You okay, Caroline?”
“Something popped. It hurts, Robbie. Really bad.”
“Can you swim over and climb up the ladder?” I asked.
She shook her head.
Dammit. I peeled my T-shirt off and jumped into the lake. I reached Caroline and helped her over to the edge of the boat. Ryan grabbed her hand and pulled while I put a hand on her ass and pushed and together we got her up over the edge and onto the boat. By the time I climbed back on board, Heather had examined Caroline’s ankle and decided we needed to head back to the house. She had two years of nursing school under her belt, so we deferred to her opinion. Cassie threw some ice from the cooler into a baggie and held it against Caroline’s ankle.
In the time it took to dock the boat and get everyone onto the dock, her ankle had doubled in size. Caroline threw an arm over my shoulder so I could help her hobble off the boat.
“Do you think you can make it up to the house?” I asked.
She took a long look at the expanse of lawn and shook her head.
I gathered her up in my arms to carry her to the patio. Her tiny top barely covered her tits. Each time my foot hit the ground they bounced in response. Caroline didn’t seem to notice; she snuggled against my chest, laid her head down on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I could feel Cassie’s gaze burning a hole in my back as I set Caroline down on a lounge chair.
“Jake, go put on some dry shorts and grab the keys. We need to get her to the ER,” Misty said.
Caroline pulled on my hand as I turned toward the sliding glass door. “Robbie, won’t you take me?” She batted her big blue eyes at me.
Cassie and I needed to talk. I hadn’t had a chance to tell that I’d broken up with Caroline. In that moment we’d shared on the boat…there was something there. I’d felt it. If I let it go, she might slip through my fingers. I couldn’t live with myself if I let that happen again.
Caroline gripped my arm. “Please?” A giant tear formed at the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek.
“You can take the Yukon.” Jake tossed a set of keys at me and instinctively I caught them.
“Fine. Let me put on some dry shorts real quick. Y’all get her into the truck.” I made my way to the stairs as Jake and Ryan made a basket out of their hands to carry Caroline up the steep incline to the driveway. “Cassie? Can I talk to you?” Her bedroom door was closed, and I knocked twice then turned the handle.
“Jesus, Robbie!” She stood in the middle of the room in nothing but her bikini bottom. Her hands scrambled to cover her naked breasts. “Get out!”
I covered my eyes and looked down at the carpet, but not before noticing how much she’d filled out in the years since I’d last seen her half-naked. “I’m sorry. I just wanted a chance to talk real quick.”
“Nothing to talk about. Go. Take Caroline to the ER. She needs you.”
I risked a glance. She’d pulled a T-shirt on over her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve gotta ask. On the boat…between us…did you—”
“Robbie!” Misty’s screech carried all the way downstairs and through the closed door. “Are you takin’ Caroline or what?”
Cassie lifted her gaze to the ceiling. “They need you upstairs. Better get going.”
“Can we talk? Later? When I get back?” Shit…did I sound as desperate as I felt?
“There’s nothing to talk about, Robbie. Go…now.”
I passed back through the doorway and turned toward the stairs. Dammit. How long would she fight me on this? Whatever had passed between us on the boat needed to be acknowledged. Would I be able to get her to see it? Before it was too late and she left Swallow Springs in her rearview mirror again?
16
Cassie
Robbie and Caroline didn’t get back until dusk. He carried her from the car to the living room and set her down in the corner of the giant sectional sofa. I watched from my post at the kitchen island. I’d been baking all afternoon, right up until I ran out of flour. The guys had made a hefty dent in the stash already, but still dozens of cookies sat on plates and platters on the kitchen table. I’d offered to make dinner but nobody wanted the ginger slaw and teriyaki turkey avocado burgers I’d suggested.
Caroline gave me a smug look from her perch on the sofa. “Cassie? Be a dear and get me a glass of nice cold water, will you?”
Misty hopped off the stool next to me and patted my shoulder on the way to the fridge. “I got it,” she said under her breath.
I raised my margarita toward her. She may have sworn off of them for the day, but as far as I was concerned, they were fair game. I’d managed to put away one or two while I manned my station at the island.
“So? What’s the damage?” Misty handed Caroline the glass of water she’d requested then leaned against the back of the sofa.
“Just a sprain, thank goodness. The doctor told me to stay off it for the next few days and keep it iced. Thank God Robbie was there. He stayed by my side the entire time.”
Robbie ran a hand over his brow and his eyes met mine from across the room. “The ER isn’t where you want to be on the Fourth of July.”
“Saved you some burgers. Do you want ‘em now, or can we get out on the boat to watch the fireworks?” Misty asked.
Caroline grabbed Robbie’s wrist. “Oh, Robbie was such a doll and ran out for dinner while we waited at the hospital. And I don’t think I should venture out on the boat again. We’ll just stay here and watch the fireworks from the deck while y’all go out.”
“Ryan and I can get you down to the boat.” Robbie twisted his arm away from her grasp.
“You’ll stay here with me, won’t you Robbie?” She gazed up at him and fluttered her implanted lashes.
I wanted to pull those unnaturally dark, long eyelashes out one by one with a pair of tweezers. Geez, the margaritas were getting to me.
“Alright, whoever’s going, let’s go.” Jake clapped his hands together and everyone moved toward the door.
Everyone but Caroline and Robbie. I glanced at his face. His eyes pleaded with mine. What the hell did he want from me? Why was I so pissed off? I never should have come in the first place.
Torn between going out on the boat and faking excitement over fireworks, or staying at the house and watching Caroline continue to assert her ownership of Robbie, I opted for the boat.
Jake and Ryan hauled the coolers while the rest of us tottered behind them down to the dock. My hand wrapped around a half-full pitcher of frozen margaritas. If I could survive the next fifteen hours, I’d be on my way back to the farm. Robbie would be coming too, of course. But if I could just get back to the house and focus on the renovations, we’d have something tangible between us again. Being out here made it hard to ignore the effect he had on me. I’d been fighting it, but it was so strong. The memories pulled me—back to a time and place when Robbie had been the most important thing in the world to me. The more time I spent around him the more I realized he hadn’t changed that much.
“You okay, Cassie?” Misty plopped down on the seat next to me as Ryan and Scooter pushed the boat away from the dock.
“Yeah. Maybe it was a mistake to come.”
“Don’t let Caroline get to you. She’s been after Robbie on and off for years. Who knows how long it will take for her to finally give up and move on.”
“I almost hate to ask, but what exactly is going on between them? Have they been together very long?” I sipped the cold, alcoholic concoction through my straw. Did I even want to know?
“Robbie came to the lake with us for a long weekend that summer of our freshman year. Caroline was here with Heather and the two of them hooked up. I don’t know the details, but they were pretty hot and heavy half the summer. Then Robbie ended it.” Misty shrugged her shoulders. “She still came around, but he wasn’t interested.”
“So they only dated for a few months?”
“Then. But she moved back to town abou
t a year ago and started in on him again. I don’t think she’s the kind of gal that likes to lose.”
“Yeah, I kind of picked up on that already.” I drained my glass and reached over for the pitcher for a refill.
Jake anchored the boat just as the first fireworks burst overhead. Being out in the middle of the lake, with no tree line to contend with, the view took my breath away. Explosions of pink, blue, gold, and purple, filled the sky. “The Star Spangled Banner” blared from speakers someone across the lake must have set up on their dock. I relaxed into the cushion, and let the gentle rocking of the boat ease the tension away.
When the smoke from the grand finale dissipated, Jake switched on the motor and we made our way back across the lake. Without the glare of the big city lights, the night sky reflected millions of small dots of light. I located the Big Dipper and followed the handle down to the cup, just like my mom had taught me. Most of my memories of her had faded, but we’d stared at the stars so many times, I could still hear her instructions as if she was whispering them right into my ear. “Just keep drawing that line through the Little Dipper, honey, and there you are.” The five stars making up the “W” of Cassiopeia sparkled. My fingertip ran over the matching pale birthmark on my forearm.
What would my mother think about me finally having my own place? My dad seemed thrilled. With the restaurant coming together, maybe he’d finally forgive me for dropping out of college before finishing my degree. He couldn’t understand how I’d chosen culinary school over a business degree. I had a feeling my mom would have understood, though. In the few blurry memories I had left, she spoke to me in the voice of a romantic, a star-gazer, someone who would have encouraged me to follow my dreams.
Would she feel the same about me selling the farmhouse? A stone dropped from my chest, thudding into my stomach and I wrapped my arms around my waist, folding over to quiet the ripples of guilt, shame, and fear.
The boat puttered across the lake and back to the dock. Back to Robbie and Caroline. Had she won him over playing the poor-pitiful-me card? I didn’t care. My head fuzzed with the amount of alcohol I’d consumed. Robbie and Caroline belonged together. If that was the kind of woman who appealed to him, there was no chance of anything being rekindled between us.
As Scooter hopped off the boat and tied up, I staggered to my feet. Damn margaritas. A tequila burp escaped my lips, and Misty turned to face me, a giant smile on her face. “Are you wasted?”
I waved my hands in front of my face. “Nah. I think that last one just went to my head.” My hand closed around the railing of the boat. I lifted a foot to climb over and step down to the dock.
“Let me help you off there.” Ryan held onto my hand, and I stumbled over the edge of the boat and into his arms.
He pulled me up against him, scooped my feet out from under me, then carried me up to the grass.
“What the hell’s going on?” Robbie met us on the lawn.
“Just helping Cass off the boat.” Ryan set me down next to Robbie.
“Hey Robbie, how’s the patient?” I attempted to stand up but my foot slipped in my flip flop and twisted, propelling me into Robbie’s side.
“Passed out from pain pills.” His arms curled around me, setting me upright. “You okay, Cass?”
“Mmm.” I placed my palms on his chest. My fingers pressed against the firm muscles under his shirt. Life wasn’t fair. He hadn’t had pecs made out of granite when I’d had all the time in the world to run my hands over him. I licked my lips.
“Jesus, Cass. Are you drunk?” Robbie stepped back, and I stumbled toward him.
Ryan grabbed my arm before I toppled over. “Come here, Cassie. I’ll make sure you get to bed okay.”
“The hell you will.” Robbie stepped between me and Ryan, taking my arm and flinging it over his shoulder. “Let’s get you up to the house.” With one arm around my waist, he half carried, half dragged me, my feet barely touching the ground.
“I’m fine. I don’t need your help.” The words slid out of my mouth, tumbling together.
“Oh yeah? You can barely stand up straight.” He pushed the glass door open and we staggered down the hall.
“I’m not wasted. Just had to get my mind off things.”
“What kind of things?” We’d reached the bedroom. Robbie flicked on the light and made a move toward the bed while trying to untangle me from his arms.
“You and me and bathtubs and churches.” I was tired of fighting it. Tired of constantly beating down the attraction. We fell on the bed, his weight pressing me into the mattress. I spoke into the softness of his T-shirt clad abs. “It’s so hard, Robbie.”
He rolled off to the side. “What is, sweetheart?”
I snuggled in beside him. Damn if we didn’t fit like two halves finally coming together again to form a whole. “Why couldn’t you stay in my past?”
A gazillion butterflies beat soft gossamer wings against my ear as Robbie whispered, “I don’t want to stay in the past. I’m your future.”
“It won’t work. My future’s in Dallas. And yours…yours is with Glamzilla.”
He pulled back, gazing into my eyes. “I broke up with Caroline over a week ago. I was just trying to be a nice guy and not embarrass her in front of everyone.”
His weight pressed into me, anchoring me. “Broke up with Caroline? What do you mean?”
“I can’t lead her on when my heart belongs to someone else.” He ran his hand down my cheek. “It’s not over for me. Whatever we had between us. I don’t want to let it go. I know you’re involved with Parker, but he doesn’t deserve you. He doesn’t know you like I do.”
So what if I’d killed any idea of a romantic future with Parker? We still had a plan. And helping me finally realize my dream of becoming a restaurant owner was something he could give me. “You don’t know me at all. I broke it off with Parker, but I still need to go back. He and I have the same goal.”
“Wait. You and Parker aren’t together?” Robbie studied me, his green gaze pulling at me.
“No, but it doesn’t matter. We’re still doing the restaurant together. Our needs align.”
Robbie snuggled closer, tossing a leg over mine. His hand rested on the sliver of skin between my shirt and shorts. “I think our needs are aligning pretty well tonight.”
Although I wanted to fight it, my body responded to his, just like it always had. “I’m not talking about the need you’ve got aligned with my thigh. I’m talking about plans for the future. Parker and I share a dream. He’s got a vision.” But Parker’s touch had never sent chills racing up and down my side. The firm, physical evidence of his desire pressing against my leg had never thrilled me to my core.
“What are you afraid of, Cassafrass? You were too chicken to kiss me back when I dared you.”
“I’m not too chicken. There’s nothing between us, Robbie. There can’t be. We’re not the same people we used to be.” As much as I wanted it to be true, he could tell I didn’t mean it. He’d always been able to read me, to know me better than I knew myself.
“Then you won’t care if I do this,” he murmured, pressing his lips against the firm set of my jaw.
A million tiny prickles danced along my skin, and I grabbed a fistful of the comforter. “Nope, don’t care at all. Are you done?”
His breath tickled my neck. “Just warming up.”
He leaned over me, his gaze meeting mine. I could see the need in his eyes. A flicker of insecurity flashed across his gorgeous stubbled cheeks and then his eyes drifted shut. His face came closer, his lips searching, seeking…I should move. Get out of the way before it was too late.
My limbs didn’t respond. Paralyzed, I braced myself for contact.
Our lips touched. Tentatively, his mouth pressed against mine. My arms took on a life of their own, wrapping around his neck and pulling him into me. What was I doing?
A wave of protest surged in my chest. But then Robbie’s tongue slipped into my mouth, crashing through the flimsy wal
l of resistance I’d propped up. My fingers tangled in his hair and I rolled toward him. His hands slid under my shirt, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. All that mattered was this moment. The restaurant, renovations on the house…it all faded into the background. The only thing I could focus on was the here and now, like the feel of Robbie’s thigh pressing into the space between my legs.
An ache pulsed, deep within me. With every flick of his tongue, it grew. I needed to feel him next to me, skin-to-skin. My hands pushed at his T-shirt, skating over his washboard abs, past the sculpted muscles of his filled-out chest. He jerked the shirt over his head, and it drifted to the floor. I yanked my arms through the armholes of my T-shirt. It settled around my neck like a bunched up infinity scarf.
A strangled moan tumbled from my mouth on an exhale. I couldn’t get a deep breath into my lungs. My lips wouldn’t separate from his long enough to draw in enough air. Yes, yes, and more yes. Why had I been so against this?
His palms skimmed over my navel. Higher, I silently urged. My body was desperate to feel him everywhere all at once. The deep ache throbbed within my core. I writhed against his leg, desperate to alleviate the painful, frantic need.
He wedged a hand between us to work on the button of my pants. I rolled onto my back giving him better access. He pushed my shorts down with one hand, unable to get them over my hips. I lifted my ass off the bed and slid them down, kicking them onto the floor. Clothing needed to be gone…now. His shorts followed. Briefs to panties, I rolled on top of him. His hands fumbled with my bra, unhooking the clasp. Before I could free my arms from the straps he palmed my breasts. I almost cried out as his rough, callused palms brushed over my sensitive nipples.
“So good, Robbie,” I mumbled into his kiss. My lips slipped from his mouth to his scruffy chin. Robbie the man was so much more, well, so much more man than Robbie the boy had ever been. I couldn’t get enough.
“It’s always been good, Cassafrass.”
He rolled us over, right over the edge of the bed. Thump! He landed on his back, and I fell on top of him. The air whooshed out of his lungs and he let out a laugh.
