One in a Million

by Susan Mallery

  “Kevin and I were talking,” he said. “I happened to mention that once a year the Glenwood sheriff’s department along with local firefighters and paramedics get together with the army base about fifty miles from here. We break up into teams and spend a couple of days playing war games. The more experienced men are paired up with new recruits, giving them a chance to learn. What with your background and all, I thought you might be interested.”

  Nash could see Stephanie out of the corner of his eyes. She stood on Travis’s right. At the mention of war games, she rolled her eyes.

  “Gage already said yes,” Kevin said. “I did, too. If Quinn shows up in time, I know he’ll be in.”

  “I’m in,” Nash said.

  Kevin nudged Travis. “Told you he’d say yes.”

  Nash turned to Stephanie. “What about you?”

  She shook her head. “I have an actual life that requires me not to play games. Why is it men refuse to stop acting like little boys?” She looked stern, but her tone was teasing.

  “Everybody has to play sometime,” Nash said.

  Her gaze locked with his. He felt the sexual tension return and wished they were alone.

  “I like a different kind of game,” she informed him, then turned her attention to Kevin and Travis. “Gentlemen, I need to get back to my painting. I hope your war games are everything you want them to be.”

  Travis grinned. “You sound just like my wife. She makes fun of me every year.”

  Stephanie waved and headed back into the gatehouse. Nash watched her go, his gaze drifting from her trim waist to the sway of her hips. Heat flared inside him. He knew he had it bad and he didn’t give a damn. Wanting Stephanie was the most fun he’d had in years.

  “The war games start in a couple of weeks,” Kevin said. “You’re going to have to extend your vacation.”

  Nash thought of all the time off he’d accumulated in the past couple of years. “Not a problem.”

  “Good.”

  “We need to—” Travis’s cell phone rang, cutting him off. “Just a sec,” he said as he pulled out the phone and pushed the talk button. “Haynes.” He walked a couple of steps away as he listened.

  Kevin stepped closer and lowered his voice. “So what’s with you and Stephanie?”

  Nash wasn’t surprised his brother had noticed his interest. He and Kevin might not be identical twins, but they were still closer than most brothers and didn’t have a lot of trouble knowing what the other was thinking.

  Nash looked at the gatehouse. “Nothing significant.”

  “That’s not how it looked from here.”

  “She’s great, but I’m not into permanent relationships. As it turns out, neither is she.”

  “You can’t be alone forever,” Kevin said.

  “Why not?”

  “It’s better to be with the right person.”

  Nash shook his head. “You say that now that you’ve found Haley, but six months ago you thought alone was a fine way to be.”

  “You loved Tina enough to want to marry her. What happened that was so bad you wouldn’t want to risk trying again?”

  “Nothing was bad.” Nothing specific. He couldn’t point to any one event and say “this is the reason I don’t want to get involved.” Probably because his problem wasn’t about his marriage. It was about him.

  “You’re stubborn,” Kevin said.

  “We have that in common.”

  “I know. Mom used to complain about it all the time.” He took a deep breath. “Speaking of which, I want to invite her and Howard out here for a few days. To meet everyone. I know you’re not going to like it, but you’re going to have to deal with it. You can’t—”

  Nash cut him off with a simple “Fine with me.”

  Kevin stared at him. “You’re serious?”

  “Sure. Give them the name of Stephanie’s B and B. They can stay here.”

  Nash thought of his recent revelations about the past. Maybe things hadn’t been exactly as he’d remembered them. Maybe being twelve had colored his view of the truth. Maybe it was time to change things.

  “Great. I’ll call tonight.” Kevin grinned. “They’re going to like Stephanie.”

  “Don’t go there,” Nash growled. “You start making trouble for me and I’ll tell Haley about the time Mom walked in on you with those two cheerleaders. If I remember correctly the three of you were naked.”

  Kevin winced. “I was only sixteen,” he protested. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  “You seemed to know exactly what you were doing. As for being sixteen, that doesn’t help your cause. The cheerleaders were both in college.”

  Kevin grumbled under his breath, then nodded his agreement. “I won’t make trouble with Stephanie,” he promised.

  Nash believed him. Kevin had never wasted his time with lies.

  He knew Kevin thought he was doing Nash a favor by wanting things to work out with Stephanie. What Kevin didn’t know was Nash wrestled with more than a bad marriage. His brother knew how Tina had died, but not the details. She’d been killed in the line of duty. What Kevin didn’t know was that she’d been assigned as backup on one of Nash’s negotiations.

  His superiors had never blamed him, but Nash knew what had really happened that day. He’d been responsible for the death of his wife as surely as if he’d detonated the bomb himself.

  Chapter 10

  Nash put his arm around Stephanie and drew her close. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. The soft puff of air teased his neck and made him think of other ways they could be touching. The blood heating in his body told him to get her upstairs right that second, but he resisted the desire growing inside him. They had the whole night to make love. Right now he was enjoying being next to her.

  The night was clear and cool. Overhead, stars glittered in the sky. He could hear the faint sound of a stereo next door. The boys were in bed, but probably not asleep yet, which was another reason to wait before heading inside.

  “What are you thinking?” Stephanie asked from her seat next to him on the top step of the porch. “That you’re so incredibly hot for my body that you’re tempted to rip off my clothes right here? And if that’s not what you’re thinking, you need to lie.”

  Nash smiled. “I was also thinking about your kids, that it would be better to wait until the little guys are asleep, then head inside.”

  “Good point. As long as you were thinking about it.”

  He turned his head and brushed his lips against her forehead. “I’m having trouble thinking about anything else.”

  “An excellent quality in a man.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “Dinner was fun. Thanks for joining us.”

  “I had a good time, too. The twins look so much alike, yet their personalities are different enough that I don’t have any trouble telling them apart.”

  “I know. I don’t understand how they can be so physically identical and so unalike on the inside. I’ve always wondered if some personality gene didn’t split exactly in half or something.”

  He grinned. “That would be your technical, biochemical explanation?”

  “Do you have a better one?”

  “No. Yours is perfect.”

  She laughed. “I’m a fairly intellectual person, which explains why I beat your fanny when we were playing Go Fish.”

  “You are a card shark.”

  She winced. “Bad pun, but I forgive you. The whole evening was fun. Sometimes I get so caught up with the boys’ homework schedules and their activities that I forget to take time for us to just hang out and enjoy each other’s company. Life becomes a treadmill and the routine becomes all-important. Occasionally I need a reminder that it’s okay to have a good
time. Thanks for doing that tonight.”

  “My pleasure.” He dropped his hand to her hip and rubbed the curve there. “You said something earlier that I can’t stop thinking about.”

  “What?” She raised her head and looked at him.

  “You wanted to know why men refused to stop acting like little boys. The implication being we don’t grow up. I know you were teasing when you said it, but I wonder if that’s what you really believe.”

  She pulled back slightly, shifting so she faced him. One of her hands rested on his knee, the other toyed with the sleeve hem of his shirt. In the porch light, he could see her large eyes and the way the corners of her mouth twisted slightly.

  “You’re the first man I’ve ever spent any time with who seems to be a grown-up,” she said. “My father was completely irresponsible and I’ve told you about the horror of being married to Marty. I’ve been burned twice and that makes me less than trusting.”

  “Is that the real reason you haven’t been dating?”

  “Yikes! Talk about going for the throat.”

  “Is it?”

  “Maybe. Probably. I don’t know.”

  “Come on.” He put his hand over hers and squeezed. “You do know.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “You have that master’s in psychology, don’t you? Now you want to try out some of your theories on me.”

  “You’re avoiding the question.”

  “And doing a fine job if it, too. Okay.” She nodded. “I’ll be serious. Yes, avoiding boys disguised as men is one of the reasons I haven’t been very excited about dating. I have three kids and no time to raise a fourth. You seem decent and normal, but this is a part-time fling, not something serious. With my past, I think I have the right to be wary.”

  He understood her point, but didn’t like the idea of her spending the rest of her life alone. He was about to say so when he realized he didn’t especially like the idea of her with someone else, either.

  That made him slam on the mental brakes. No way was he thinking about anything serious with Stephanie. She was strictly temporary.

  “At some point you have to be willing to take a chance,” he said.

  “Why? What are the odds that I’ll end up with someone exactly like Marty? I seem to be destined to head in that direction. He was the first guy I really fell for. I don’t want to risk it again.”

  “So take it slow this time. Really get to know the guy.”

  “The way I got to know you? Despite my claim of being responsible, I seem to be a bit impulsive in the relationship department.” She laughed. “Trust me. This is much better. I’m having a great time with you and right now that’s enough. I have no interest in getting married again.”

  They had that in common, he thought. Even though she was saying all the right things, he couldn’t help worrying about her. “What about money?”

  Her eyes widened. “Gee, Nash, the sex was really great, but I never planned to pay you for it.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  She shimmied close. “But now that we’re on the subject, I think I’m good enough that you should pay me.”

  He laughed and hauled her onto his lap. “Do you?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She straddled him, her heat pressing against his suddenly hard arousal. She rocked back and forth, teasing them both.

  “That feels nice,” she said. “And big. Is all that for little ol’ me?” Her voice was a soft purr.

  “Think you can handle it?”

  “There’s nothing I want to do more than handle all of you. Let’s go inside and get naked.”

  Her words set him on fire. While he wanted to take her at her word, he couldn’t help holding back long enough to kiss her. Her mouth parted instantly and he plunged inside her. She stroked against him, then clamped her lips around his tongue and sucked until he thought he might lose it right there. So much for having control.

  He shifted her off his lap and scrambled to his feet. When he’d pulled her into a standing position, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted until her feet were dangling. She wrapped her legs around his hips and hung on. He started toward the front door.

  “I want to tell you that I can walk,” she murmured between kisses, “but this is so much more exciting.”

  “For me, too.” He cupped her rear, holding her firmly against his erection. “Besides, doesn’t every woman want to be swept away?”

  “Honey, you’re doing that in spades.”

  Under any other circumstances, Stephanie would have assumed that breaking into song while dusting the main parlor was reason to think about seeing a mental health professional. It was the middle of the afternoon and she wasn’t even listening to the radio. But she decided to cut herself some slack. After all, she hadn’t slept the previous night. Instead of wasting seven or eight hours with her eyes closed, she’d spent them in Nash’s arms where she discovered that women did indeed hit their sexual peak in their thirties. While she was more than a little tired, she figured she could catch up on her rest when Nash was gone. Far better to take advantage of his proximity, interest and skill while he was in town.

  She stretched up to dust the top of a lamp and the muscles in her back pulled slightly. She smiled as she remembered the shower they’d taken that morning. How she’d gripped the shower door frame to keep from falling as he’d knelt between her legs. The hot water had poured over both of them as he’d used his tongue to make her scream and shudder and go all weak at the knees…literally.

  Still humming a somewhat embarrassing medley of tunes from cartoons, she finished in the parlor and walked toward the kitchen. She had to figure out what they were having for dinner. Then maybe they’d rent a couple of movies. School was out tomorrow and none of the boys had any homework. They could—

  The sound of voices interrupted her thoughts. She paused to figure out where they were coming from. She recognized Nash’s low rumble and the twins, but where on earth could they be? She tilted her head. The utility room?

  Following the sound, she walked through to the rear of the house. Sure enough, Nash crouched in front of Adam and Jason in the laundry. Between them sat an overflowing laundry basket.

  Stephanie knew exactly what was going on. She’d told the twins to take the laundry upstairs and fold it. For the most part they were willing to do their chores, but laundry was the one thing all three of the boys hated more than just about anything.

  No one noticed her standing in the doorway. As she watched, Nash touched each boy on the shoulder.

  “You have a responsibility to your family,” he said. “Your mom works hard to provide for you. In return, you go to school and help out when asked. Do you understand?”

  Both boys nodded.

  Nash smiled. “Good. If you work together as a team, the job will go that much quicker. Agreed?”

  Two more nods, followed by Jason saying, “But Adam’s gotta fold the laundry. I did it last time.”

  Adam turned on his twin. “You did not. I did it. It’s your turn. You’re always trying to get me to do your chores and I’m not gonna do this one.”

  “So this is an ongoing dispute,” Nash said calmly. “How do you keep track of whose turn it is?”

  Jason drew his eyebrows together. “It’s his turn.”

  “Is not.”

  “So there’s nothing in writing,” Nash said.

  Both boys shook their head. Their mouths were set in straight, stubborn lines and they had their arms folded over their chests.

  “Why don’t we talk about negotiating a system that would be fair to both of you,” Nash said reasonably.

  Stephanie held in a laugh. It all sounded really good, but these were eight-year-olds. If Nash didn’t come to his senses, he was going to
be talking for the next three days and would probably end up folding the laundry himself out of self-defense.

  She stepped into the room and pointed at the laundry basket.

  “Take that upstairs,” she said firmly. “Now. You each fold half the clothes in that basket. If there is an uneven number of clothes, leave the last one on your bed. If you don’t start upstairs right this instant, there will be no dessert for either of you.”

  Jason opened his mouth to protest. She stopped him with a shake of her head.

  “Not one word,” she said. “One word means you’re in bed ten minutes early. Two words means twenty minutes early. If you understand and agree, then nod slowly.”

  Both boys looked at her, then at each other. They sighed heavily and nodded.

  “Good.” She stepped back to give them room to carry out the basket. “Come let me know when you’re done.”

  They each grabbed a handle and carried the basket into the hallway. Nash watched them go.

  “I’m a professional,” he said.

  “You work with criminals. These are young boys. I’m going to guess that criminals are a lot more rational.”

  “You think?”

  She smiled. “I would put money on it. But thanks for helping. I really liked what you said about them having responsibilities. I’m not sure it sunk in, but maybe next time.”

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You’re saying I stink at parenting.”

  “I’m saying you’re a sweetie to try.”

  He tugged on a strand of her hair, then released her. “Give me your car keys.”

  “They’re upstairs on the table by the door to our apartment. Why? Is your rental acting up?”

  “No. I want to put gas in your car. Mind if I go get the keys?”

  She nodded because it was suddenly too difficult to speak. Okay, in the scheme of things, Nash putting gas in her car was no big deal. But the unexpected thoughtfulness made her throat get all tight and her eyes burn. As he walked to the stairs, she found herself wishing—just for a second—that he wasn’t leaving in a week or so. That his stay in Glenwood might be a little more permanent.