One Last Call

by Susan Behon

  He flexed enough to make his erection known. “Do I feel insulted to you?”

  “No, you feel…”

  “I feel what? Go on and tell me. Say it.”

  “You feel hard.”

  “And who made me that way?”

  “Me.”

  “Are you sorry?”

  “No.” Sarah’s playful grin was sexy as hell.

  “Me neither.”

  The little imp ground down against him.

  “Okay, enough of that. I haven’t driven home with a hard-on since I was seventeen. This one’s got your name on it too. It’s amazin’ how some things never change.”

  Her smile slipped. “Some things do.” She climbed off of him and took her place on her side of the bench seat. “I can’t believe we did this! Anyone could have seen us, Josh!”

  “No one saw us.” Josh looked around the empty field. Unless someone was hiding in the trees with binoculars, they were good.

  “We can’t do that again.” Sarah’s neck was pink from where he’d nipped her. He liked that there was proof of where his lips had been.

  “Okay, we’ll wait ’til dark.”

  “No, I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I don’t know where the hell my head is. You touch me and…”

  “And?”

  “And I lose control.”

  “Good.” He wanted Sarah to feel as out of control as he was.

  “Why is that good?”

  “I got a feelin’ you try to control too many things in your life. It’s okay to let go. Especially with me.”

  She tossed his T-shirt at him and buckled up. “I’ve let go enough for one day. Take me home.”

  He got his clothes straightened out and stared at her mutinous expression. “So, how about those kisses? Sloppy or not?”

  Sarah folded her arms over her chest and stared out the passenger window, without answering.

  Josh started the ignition and put the truck in gear. “Well, what’s the verdict?”

  Her color was still high from their encounter. “Shut up.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  Chapter 10

  SO, that just happened.

  Sarah was appalled by her own behavior. Well, she was mostly appalled. The rest of her was zinging with post orgasmic tingles. She hadn’t enjoyed that much pleasure in years. Sad but true. Not that she’d tell Josh that. It was enough that she’d melted all over him after straddling him like a cowgirl out to win the rodeo.

  She was having an odd sense of déjà vu. Making out with him in his truck by the Falls and then getting driven back to her mother’s house was oddly familiar. The only difference was a dozen years and no curfew. Sarah flushed when she thought of another difference. They’d gotten hot and heavy in broad daylight. Normal people waited until after dark. She didn’t think it was normal to be thirty and still parking by the Falls anyway, so the rules were out the window.

  As crazy as it was, Sarah was trying not to shimmy into a happy dance right there in her seat. She must have lost her mind today. Josh kept stealing glances at her and grinning.

  “You’re not going to tell anyone what we did, are you?” In this town, ten people probably already knew. The wildlife sure got an eyeful. Take that, Bambi.

  Josh did a double take. “What? Is there a reason you’re whisperin’? Are you worried about gettin’ a reputation at school?”

  Sarah cleared her throat and raised her voice to a regular volume. “Shut up.”

  “First off, no, I’m not tellin’ anyone because I’m not an asshole. That said, I’m not gonna be your dirty little secret either.”

  “I never said you were. Give me some time to process what happened.”

  “What’s to process?”

  “I’m not sure what”—Sarah waved a hand between them—“this morning means.”

  “It means we’re gonna see more of each other, sweetheart.” Josh eyed her up and down like he couldn’t wait to get her naked and see the more he was talking about.

  “That’s probably not a good idea.” It sounded like an awesome idea to her body, but her brain overruled it. Her heart was still undecided. “I need some time.”

  “Sarah, twelve years have gone by. How much time do you need?” He tunneled a hand through his hair in frustration. That tawny brown hair was so soft. She wanted to run her fingers through it again. And again.

  Sarah thought about Sophie when they passed the Cookie Jar. Tonight was karaoke night at the Suds and Spuds. Her sister and her brother-in-law, Reed, would be there with the rest of their friends. She was going to have to sneak her away so they could talk.

  She needed to get her head on straight. “Josh, things are different now. We can’t jump into a thing. We have to get to know each other again.”

  “I’d say we made a damn fine start.” He met her eyes again, and her pulse sped up. So sexy. This was so not good.

  “I mean talk. We can’t just go at each other like bunnies in heat.”

  Josh’s teeth flashed white against the golden tan of his skin. He turned right onto her street. “What if I let you call me Thumper?” He winked at her. “Kiddin’! Still, I like it when you’re a bunny.” He bit his lip to hold back the grin. “So, we’ll talk. I’ll talk your ear off, if that’s what you need.”

  That would make it worse. With that swoon-worthy southern drawl of his, he could read the phone book to her and it would sound appealing. Josh knew how to work it as verbal foreplay.

  “I need…are those flowers on the front porch?”

  Josh pulled up next to the house. A dozen red roses were arranged in a crystal cut-glass vase by the steps leading to the door.

  He gave her a sidelong glance. “Not from me. You don’t like red roses.”

  “You remember that?”

  He didn’t answer. Josh got out of the truck and had her door open before she could get it. Sarah scooted out of the truck with only a few mild twinges. Josh had worked wonders on her muscles. He’d worked wonders everywhere.

  Josh watched her, cobalt blue eyes sparkling. He knew what she was thinking.

  “Shut up.” He was right.

  He raised his hands in innocence. “I didn’t say anythin’.”

  “You were thinking it.”

  He leaned in, and a whisper-soft breath caressed her ear. “So were you.”

  There was a miniature cream-colored envelope tucked into the blooms. Her name was scrawled on the outside in bold black ink. Richard’s handwriting. Sarah plucked it from the bouquet and stared at it. Josh was propped against the porch with his arms folded across his chest. She got another glimpse of the tattoo on his arm when the pale blue sleeve stretched across his impressive biceps. She was distracted, to say the least, when his shirt was off earlier. Damn. Sarah wanted to get a look at it, run her fingers over it…

  “Aren’t you gonna open it?”

  Yes! Oh. He meant the envelope. “I’d rather not. It’s from Richard.”

  “He sent them?” Josh straightened, and all signs of his casual pose were gone. “You want me to read the card?”

  “No, I’ll do it.” Sarah ran her finger under the flap and pulled out the card.

  Sarah,

  Wanted to let you know I was thinking about you.

  All my love,

  Richard

  P.S. Call me

  “What’s it say?” Josh stood right behind her and read over her shoulder. “Call me? Is this guy for real?”

  Sarah shook her head. “Where the hell is Rod Serling?”

  “Who?”

  “Never mind.” “All my love” was the part that bothered her. Richard didn’t love her. She wanted to crumple up the card and throw the wad of paper as far from her as possible. Instead, she slipped it back in the envelope and wedged it between the flower stems. The flowers were one more surprise she didn’t need.

  Red roses were so overdone. So Richard. Sarah always thought
that if a man were going to give a woman flowers, he should take her preferences into account, and possibly—here’s a stretch—ask her what kind she liked. Sarah had told her ex-husband a few times she didn’t care for red roses. Richard never listened and bought her what he liked. He thought if they were the most expensive, that meant they were the best.

  This time, it didn’t really matter what type of flowers they were, Sarah didn’t want them. Not from him. He was up to something and whatever it was, she wasn’t falling for it. He was scheming. Calling him was out of the question. Richard would take that as encouragement and never leave her alone.

  Sarah hated to waste perfectly good roses, really she did, but she didn’t want to look at them either.

  “What are you gonna do with them?” Josh stared at the bouquet as if the flowers had insulted him personally.

  She held the vase away from her body. “I want to throw them away. Is that childish?”

  “Not from where I’m standin’.” Josh relieved her of the vase. He poured the water out on the front lawn and headed for the garbage can in front of the garage. He flipped the lid up and upended the vase until the flowers plopped out into the trash. The vase was still in his hand when he made his way back to her. “Here, keep the vase. Give it to your mom. I’m sure Dad will get around to givin’ her flowers sooner or later.”

  “Tell Kenny she likes lilies.”

  “I’ll mention it to him. He probably knows. They talk quite a bit.” Josh gave her a sidelong glance. “I caught him takin’ a selfie and textin’ it to her.”

  “What? That’s, well, that’s kinda cute, really.”

  “In a weird, ‘these are our parents’ sort of way, I guess.” He rolled a shoulder. “I didn’t think he knew how to text, much less know how to take a picture of himself with his phone.”

  “Mom has been smiling at her phone a lot now that I think about it. I thought she was looking at cute cat pictures, not selfies from her new boyfriend.”

  Speak of the devil, Lucy opened the door, keys in hand and purse over her shoulder, ready to go somewhere.

  “Sarah? Oh, hello, Josh. Why are you holding an empty vase?” Lucy set a hand on his forearm and gave him a kind, yet somewhat worried smile. “Honey, it works better if you put flowers in it before you give it to her.”

  Josh shook his head, and an amused smirk played at his lips. “It’s not my vase, ma’am.”

  “Why do you have it?” Lucy wasn’t quite convinced.

  Sarah took the vase from Josh, not sure she wanted to keep it either. “It’s from Richard, Mom. He sent flowers here.”

  Lucy’s lips pursed up when she heard Richard’s name. “Where are they?”

  “In the trash.”

  That news didn’t seem to faze Lucy. “Good. Okay, well, I’m off to run a few errands.”

  “Mom, wait. Can I borrow your car?”

  “I’m using it right now, Sarah.” She shot a knowing look at Josh. “Josh, could you drop her off where she needs to go? I’m running late.” To Sarah, “Are you feeling any better, sweetie? I still think you need to check out Dr. Anthony. I mean have Dr. Anthony check you out, I mean over.” Lucy waved a dismissive hand. “You know what I mean.”

  “I’m fine, Mom.” Sarah had already been checked out. Thoroughly. She tried not to look at Josh. “Do you think you can drop me off at the bar?”

  “Oh, no, sorry sweetheart.” Her mom looked longingly at her car. “I’m due to a, well, um, a thing, and I really need to get there.”

  “What thing?” Lucy was being strangely vague.

  “Oh, a well, you see…” Lucy checked her watch. “Sorry, Sarah, I have to go.”

  “Where?”

  “I’ll see you later, honey.”

  Sarah watched her mom back out of the driveway and head toward town. Josh ran his fingers down her bare arm and took the vase out of her hands. He gave her instant goose bumps.

  “Don’t worry. I’m headed back to the garage so I can take you to work.”

  “Suds and Spuds is on the other side of town. Isn’t that out of your way?”

  “Nope. Wouldn’t matter if it was. You need a ride, and I’m still the guy with the chariot.”

  * * * *

  Josh would have loved to spend the whole day with Sarah, but he had work to do. He wanted to get the tune-up on Gladys Jenkins’ old Buick finished before closing time. He planned on going to karaoke night tonight at Sarah’s. He couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, but he liked listening to everyone who got in front of the microphone. Some were good singers, like Reed Sutton, and some were downright terrible. Sonny Connelly, owner of the diner, butchered “Piano Man” every time he got up there. The guy still had a hell of a good time while doing it.

  Sarah scheduled it once a month, depending on when the latest MMA pay-per-views were on. Josh thought the ladies liked the fights even more than the men did. It was bloody and brutal, but he’d seen little Sophie Sutton stand up and cheer when a guy got choked out. Sarah usually stopped what she was doing to watch a fight or two. The Brandon women were beautiful and bloodthirsty. How hot was that?

  He usually met Chris King at the bar. They were the last soldiers standing when it came to love, so they hung out together in the group. Josh and everyone else knew Chris had a thing for Fiona O’Malley. For reasons he wouldn’t discuss, Chris didn’t pursue her. The guy was torturing himself. He watched her like he was on a diet and she was a tasty piece of cake. She watched Chris too when he wasn’t paying attention. If they did make eye contact, Fiona looked at Chris like he was an idiot. He was an idiot. His piece of cake wanted him too, and he wouldn’t go for it.

  There wasn’t anything Josh could do, so he had to stay out of it.

  Josh had his own love life to work on now. He’d driven a clearly reluctant Sarah to the Suds and Spuds. She’d been quiet the entire ride across town, staring at the passing scenery of shops and storefronts. He figured she was lost in thought, trying to come up with an excuse for what happened in the truck earlier. Josh had a pretty good idea that Sarah would fortify her defenses and try to put some distance between them. She could try, but he wasn’t going to let that happen.

  As soon as she was out of the truck, Sarah thanked him and rummaged in her purse for her keys. He asked to see her phone and typed his number in her contacts list. She didn’t look happy about it. She didn’t delete it either. Josh told her to text or call if she needed him for a ride or whatever. Then he pulled her to him and stole a kiss before she could protest. When they parted, the smoldering look in her emerald green eyes made him want to drag her back in the truck for round two.

  Jesus. A thoroughly kissed Sarah was a sight to behold. Josh managed to let her go with a, “Later, sunshine.” He spent the ride back to the garage in a loved-up daze. He was surprised he hadn’t wrecked his truck thinking about Sarah’s pink-tinged cheeks and shiny, kiss-swollen lips.

  “Anythin’ change in the last ten seconds?”

  His dad caught him checking his phone again. “You’re one to talk. That phone hasn’t left your hand in the last half hour.”

  Kenny laughed. “Pot meet kettle, huh?” They both set their phones on their Snap-on roll-around tool chests at the same time. His dad leaned over Sarah’s car. “Can’t figure out why anyone would try to hurt Sarah. She’s sweet like her mama.”

  He worked on removing Sarah’s power steering pump while Josh replaced spark plugs. A few moments later, Kenny called out to Josh. “You think her ex-husband had anythin’ to do with it?”

  Josh flicked a short glance at his phone to see if it was lit up. No luck yet. “I don’t know. Somethin’s not right there. Sarah said they weren’t on speakin’ terms and now he sends her flowers and calls her his wife. Sounds creepy to me.”

  He thought he caught the flash of a wedding ring on the ex’s left hand this morning. Josh knew for certain that Sarah didn’t wear any rings. He’d already checked. Besides, he would have felt
something when she had her fingers tunneled in his hair, gripping it, holding on while he explored her everywhere.

  “What does Sarah think?”

  If their truck interlude was any indication, she had no interest in her ex-husband. Josh was still walking on wobbly knees after touching her so intimately. He wanted to do it again and again.

  “Son? Back to earth. What does Sarah think?”

  “Sarah thinks he’s up to somethin’. So do I. Her ex is still livin’ with the woman he cheated on her with. He has to be nuts if he thinks she’ll take him back.”

  “That man treated her poorly. He never deserved her.”

  “And I do? I treated her poorly too.”

  “You did what you had to do. You didn’t cheat on her, did you?” Kenny looked him in the eye, gauging his honesty.

  “No, but I left her.” That was the biggest regret of his life.

  Kenny nodded at the truth of it. They both knew Josh couldn’t rewind the past. “Did you tell her about your headaches?”

  Josh shrugged. “I told her I had a few twinges here and there and that I was okay.”

  “Twinges, my ass! Why didn’t you tell Sarah how bad they get?”

  He got back to work on the spark plugs. “I’ve already confessed enough for one day. She got all teary-eyed when I told her about the accident. I don’t want her to feel sorry for me, and I’m not gonna play the pity card to win her over.”

  “If you plan on gettin’ serious with her, she needs to know what’s goin’ on. You might be walkin’ around just fine now, but you’re still healin’, Josh.”

  Josh knew that better than anyone. “I’m fine. And I don’t get headaches every other day. Sometimes, I go a week without anythin’ happenin’.” When I’m lucky.

  “You gonna tell her about the nightmares?”

  Sarah didn’t need to know exactly how screwed up he was yet. Josh was still working on maintaining their tentative truce. “Everyone gets nightmares, Dad.”

  Kenny narrowed his eyes at Josh’s offhand remark. “I don’t give a damn about everyone.”

  Josh and his dad had reconciled years ago. He’d always known that his dad cared about him. It took him a few years to man up and appreciate that for what it was worth. This was the part of family that he was telling Sarah about. He needed the connection.