“Only for like a second or two but she acted like she didn’t even notice and actually introduced herself.”
“What! While you were naked?”
“I was covering myself up, but…yeah.” He shook his head. “So embarrassing,” he grumbled, sipping more coffee.
“Dean!” Evy reeled her jaw back in. “Why would you go outside naked like that in the first place?”
“Because this place is private and people don’t usually come dropping by at three-thirty in the morning.” His lips bent down at the corners. “I feel so violated.”
Evy shook her head. “Not even married for two whole days and already flashing your junk all over town. Congratulations.” She popped a strawberry into her mouth. “I’m going have to put a leash on you.”
“Me? How about the stupid dog?”
She laughed and kissed him on the cheek. Leaning back, she looked him over for a long second. “You were thinking about not telling me, weren’t you?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“It’s okay, Dean, I won’t get mad.”
“Can we just drop it? This is embarrassing enough as it is.”
She fed him another bite of bacon. “Eat.”
Sighing, he felt better with that off his chest. Now they could just concentrate on having some fun. Sunlight winked off the boat, pulling his eyes to the dock. “We should stop at the marina for lunch today. They have a great open-air bar and grill.”
“Ooh, that sounds like fun.”
“Plus, I don’t feel like dragging a huge cooler around today. We’ll take the small one this time.”
“How’s your shoulder?”
“It’s good,” he lied, hiding a grimace when he reached for the plate of scrambled eggs.
Evy stole another strawberry. “The mornings are so peaceful here. I can’t believe you own this place.”
“We own this place,” he corrected her, scooping eggs onto a clean plate. “Hopefully, this cabin will be passed down our family tree long after we’re gone.”
Unable to stop a warm smile, she invaded his space and stole his heat. “I never want to leave.”
“Hey,” he said, stuffing a forkful of eggs into his mouth. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Her eyes brightened. “Really? What is it?”
“Hang on,” he told her, rushing inside and rifling through a backpack. Returning, he stopped in front of her with his hands hidden behind his back. “Pick a hand.”
Beaming with anticipation, she pointed to the left. Dean pulled his hand out and she sat up straighter on the couch. A smile pulled back into his unshaven cheeks and he opened his fist.
Her shoulders fell. “A joint? That’s the surprise?” she said, not bothering to hide the disappointment in her voice.
“Not just any joint,” he said, sitting next to her. “But a White Widow joint.”
“White Widow? Where’d you get that?”
“From Jon,” he answered, lighting up and holding his breath. “Gave us a cigar box full of them for our wedding gift.”
“Of course, he did,” Evy replied, carefully sipping her steaming mug. “I thought it was jewelry.”
Dean laughed, coughing a cloud of smoke through the sunlight. “I can’t trust you with jewelry!”
“You’re not funny.”
“Here,” he said, passing her the joint.
She shook him off. “No thanks.”
“Oh, come on, live a little.”
“It’ll just make me paranoid.”
“Evy, we are out in the middle of nowhere and, other than Kirby, we don’t know a soul around.” He gestured with the joint. “Come on, I don’t want to be the only paranoid one all day.”
Pressing her lips into a thin, grim line, Evy took it and brought it to her mouth. She sucked hard, popping her cheekbones out. “I think the last time I got high,” she said, smoke seeping from her nose, “was when Brooke and Ben took me to see Paranormal Activity in the theater.”
“The first one?” Dean asked, taking the joint from her.
“Yeah, and back then no one knew anything about those movies. I was so freaked out, I kept feeling somebody blow in the back of my hair.” She exhaled a white plume, watching an early bird sailboat glide across the shimmery surface. “Turns out it was just Ben messing with me.”
Laughing, they passed the joint back and forth until there was nothing left but a smoke-stained roach resting on the edge of a plate. By the time they finished breakfast, the sun was high and so were they. Evy couldn’t stop giggling and Dean nearly talked her into busting out a bottle of Gray Goose to go with their orange juice.
“I don’t want to be shitfaced by two o’clock,” she protested, eyes following a water skier zip across the middle of the lake.
He blew into the back of her hair and she shrieked. “Dean!” she laughed, popping up from the couch.
“Okay then, how about by three o’clock?” he countered, watching her shed the hoodie. He stared at the white tank top beneath, her dark nipples peeking through the thin fabric. Wetting his lips, he scooped up his coffee. She turned to the lake and bent over, touching her toes and stretching the black leggings hugging her ass. Dean watched her over the rim of his mug, memorizing every curve.
Catching him out the corner of her eye, she smiled. “Why don’t you take a picture?”
“Good idea,” he replied, snapping a shot on his phone. “And…posted to Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.”
“Don’t forget Pinterest,” she added, stretching her back out. “I’m going to have to do some yoga to work off all that food.”
“Or you could do something else to work it off,” he suggested, standing up to reveal the swelling in his shorts.
Evy sauntered closer, swinging bare feet across the patio. Stopping, she watched the muscles in his face tighten when she grabbed him. “Did you really post that picture?” she whispered, rubbing him through his shorts.
“Maybe.” Lifting her tank top just over her breasts, Dean accepted them into his palms, lifting her chest.
Her warm fingers slipped inside his waistband and coiled around him, quickening his breath. “I want you,” she whispered.
“You’ve got me,” he panted, pressing his mouth to hers and kissing her hard. Their tongues danced in rhythm with their racing pulse, delicately flicking and licking. Evy turned and moaned when his fingers found the warm spot hiding in her leggings. Pumping him faster, she whispered things in his ear that made his fingers dive deeper. Swimming in each other’s eyes, they lost track of time and space. This was their world now, a magical place she’d never been to with another. A warm place where they were free to reach new heights.
Evy’s hand suddenly stopped. Dean frowned and slowly turned to the sound of something next to them. Flinching, she yanked her hand from his shorts. The black lab stared up at them through button eyes, tongue lolling out the corner of his mouth like he just circled the entire lake.
“Charlie,” Dean said, adjusting his shorts.
“This is Charlie?”
“There you are!” a woman’s voice sang out.
Their heads snapped around to see a woman emerge from the trees separating their cabins. Dean took a quick seat and pulled a decorative pillow into his lap while Evy yanked her top down and folded her arms across her chest.
“Charles Osborne!” Trisha stamped her sandals across the green grass. Sunlight gleamed off her long blond mane and, in the daylight, Dean could tell she was older than he first thought. Early to mid-fifties, she was stunning in a teal V-neck that showed off her impressive assets. Long legs spilled from a pair of olive-colored khaki shorts, quickly covering the ground between them. “I am so sorry,” she panted, bending over to leash Charlie.
Face folding, Evy stared down the curvy woman’s shirt, noting a lacey blue bra with its hands full.
Trisha looked up and Dean turned away. “Hi, I’m Trisha Osborne,” she smiled, offering Evy her hand.
“Evy Jacobs.” Shaki
ng hands, she quickly covered up again.
Shifting in a pair of bedazzled sandals, Trisha gave Dean an awkward wave, eyes falling to the pillow in his lap. “I met your husband last night when Charlie made a run for it on a bathroom break.” She hit Charlie with a forced glower. “Can’t take you anywhere.”
Evy traded a look with her husband. “He just wants to investigate.”
“Oh, don’t I know it,” Trisha murmured, smiling at Dean. “Normally, we tether him to a leash, but there are so many trees and bushes around the cabin, he keeps getting tangled up.”
“Oh, that’s okay.” Evy let Charlie smell her hand. “He’s a sweet boy, aren’t ya, Charlie?” she said, petting his head.
Trisha’s eyes darted to Dean while his wife wasn’t looking. “Another beautiful one, isn’t it?”
“Gorgeous,” Evy answered, massaging the dog’s ears as he sniffed at the coffee table. “It’s so quiet here in the morning.”
“Do you come often?” Trisha asked, wetting her lips.
Dean swallowed coffee down the wrong pipe and started choking.
“This is my first time,” Evy answered, straightening up and pulling hair from her face.
“Same here, but it won’t be our last.” Trisha turned to the lake. “The scenery is breathtaking.”
“There you are!” A tall man strolled from the trees and waved. With an orange t-shirt glowing brightly on his chest, his olive-colored shorts matched Trisha’s and the bright smile on his face made Dean feel like he could trust him with his darkest secrets. “Charlie out making new friends again?” he asked, stepping a pair of boat shoes onto the sun splashed patio.
“I’m afraid so,” Trisha replied, kissing the handsome man on the lips. “He really is a very willful dog.”
“I’m sorry,” he breathed out, smoothing his slicked back hair. “His lead keeps getting caught in the bushes around the cabin so we’ve been letting him run wild.”
“Oh, he’s fine,” Evy replied, grabbing a piece of bacon. “Is it okay?”
Charlie’s ears went up like pirate sails, tail eagerly dusting the sand-colored tiles.
Trisha and the man shared a laugh. “I think that’s a yes,” he replied, wrapping an arm around Trisha’s waist and pulling her against him.
Evy held the treat out and Charlie rose to the occasion, pulling it into his mouth and chewing two times before gulping it down.
“This is my husband, Jim,” Trisha said, resting a hand on his chest. “This is Evy and her husband Dean.”
Jim extended a hand to Evy who hesitated before taking it. Dean noticed his eyes drop to the chocolate circles peeking through Evy’s tank top. “Nice to meet you, Evy,” Jim said, shaking her hand a little too long.
Turning, he extended a hand over the coffee table to Dean, who barely rose from the couch to shake it.
Jim looked down at Charlie and sighed. “My apologies for last night. This dog is in hog heaven up here. Back home, he’s always locked up in the yard.”
“It’s no problem,” Dean replied. “I was already up.”
A sly grin tugged on Trisha’s lips. “Oh, good.”
Jim ran a hand over a full head of salt and pepper hair shining in the sunlight. “Well, you have our sincerest apologies.”
“Looks like it’s going to be another hot one today,” Trisha said, changing the subject and fanning herself with a hand.
Evy pulled on her hoodie and sat next to Dean on the couch, wrapping her arms around her like she was freezing. “I’m going to need more sunscreen,” she said, glancing at the Chris-Craft gently bobbing in the slip. “I got fried yesterday.”
“That your boat?”
“That’s it,” Dean answered, pulling Evy against him. “Used to belong to my dad.”
“Wow,” Jim grunted. “1943 barrel back?”
“42.”
He painted that friendly smile across his face that made Dean feel like everything was going to be alright. “She’s beautiful,” he said, glancing at Evy.
“Thank you.” Dean sipped some coffee and let the conversation sink into an awkward moment of silence that left a far-off ringing in his ears. Turns out, making small talk with a total stranger who saw you naked the night before was like pulling teeth. He couldn’t help but feel the heat of Trisha’s gaze upon him and every time he glanced her way, she blushed a little in the cheeks.
A rainbow-colored sailboat slipped past in the distance, pulling a sigh from Trisha’s lips. “This lake is just so quaint, it reminds me of home.”
“Where’s home?” Evy asked.
“Charleston, South Carolina,” she confessed, taking her husband’s hand. “It’s nice to get away, but I miss it already.”
“I’ve heard great things about Charleston,” Evy said, looking to Dean for help.
“Oh, it’s fantastic! We moved there from Omaha four years ago and what a difference.” Jim nodded at Evy. “You feel like you’ve stepped into a tiny slice of the past, complete with cobblestone streets, time-honored carriage rides, and performing arts festivals that are second to none.” His brow went up. “The food is amazing and the only thing warmer than the weather are the people.”
Trisha looked up at her husband. “And let’s not forget about the beautiful beaches.”
Jim laughed sharply, making Charlie stir at his feet. “I only wish I had more time to enjoy it all!”
“Jim is the pastor of a large church down there,” Trisha explained, rubbing his chest. “We’re just so blessed to be surrounded by such a wonderful community. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
“But it’s nice to get away once in a while.” He smiled at Evy and Dean. “Where y’all from?”
Dean cleared his throat and sat up straighter. “Milwaukee.”
“Ohhh,” Trisha sang out in a high-pitched voice before dovetailing into absolute silence.
They stared at each other for a handful of sticky seconds, trading smiles and shallow head nods to the soundtrack of a pretty cardinal singing out from a nearby maple.
“What do you do there, Dean?” Jim finally asked, petting Charlie again.
“I’m a partner in a law firm catering to small business owners.”
He nodded his head in approval. “I bet that’s rewarding.”
Dean shrugged. “It’s okay. Kind of boring actually, but it pays the bills.”
“Well, y’all should come down to Charleston and visit sometime.” Jim shifted his weight from one boat shoe to the other. “You’d love it.”
“Yeah,” Evy said, scrambling for something witty to add to the conversation and coming up short. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”
“We’ll give you our number before we leave.” Trisha’s blue eyes brightened. “Would love to give you the grand tour sometime.”
Jim checked a smartwatch strangling his wrist. “Well, sorry again for the intrusion,” he said, trading a tight smile with his wife. “But we better get back after it. We’re going ziplining up in the hills this morning. Enjoy this beautiful day!”
Giving them a weak wave, Dean watched them disappear with Charlie into the trees.
Evy freed a shackled breath. “Okay, that was weird,” she muttered, arms still covering her chest like this wasn’t over yet.
“Tell me about it.”
“I was so high the whole time, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.” She turned to Dean. “They must think I’m a total idiot.”
“They’re going to give us their number later?” His brow crumpled. “That means they’re coming back! What do we do?”
“Did you see the creepy way he was staring at my chest?”
Dean set his mug down. “And that guy’s a pastor?”
“That’s the last time I don’t wear a bra outside.”
“It used to be so private around here.”
Evy inhaled sharply and sank her claws into his leg, making him startle.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Do you thin
k they saw us on the picnic table last night?”
Picking up a glass of orange juice, Dean waved at two kayakers paddling past the Chris-Craft. “No, it was way too dark to see anything under that tree.”
“Was it?” Her gaze gravitated to where Trisha and Jim disappeared into the brush, the breeze tickling her hair. “I can’t believe that lady saw you naked last night. How could you let that happen?”
Dean hid behind a hand. “So embarrassing.”
Crossing her legs, Evy swung a foot through the air. “You didn’t tell me she was so pretty.”
“I-Why does that matter?”
She stared out over the water, arms locked over her chest. “I saw the way she was looking at you.”
Dean took a sip and set the glass down. “Remind me never to go to Charleston.” Evy’s sudden laughter brought a smile to his lips. Taking her hand, he helped her up from the couch. “Let’s get on that boat and get the hell out of here before they come back.”
“Good idea.”
Chapter Eight
HANGMAN’S HOLLOW
Slowing the boat down, Dean glanced at Evy. “What?” he yelled over the rumbling motor, wet hair hanging in his face.
“This is the last beer!” she replied, shutting a small cooler and wiggling a can of Miller Lite at him.
“Already?”
“We only brought a six-pack.”
“Whose bright idea was that?” he grumbled, scanning the lake to get his bearings. “There’s used to be a bait shop not far up that hill.”
She followed his finger up a steep hillside rising from the shoreline, tall pines and thick bushes hiding the land beneath. “I don’t see it,” she said, slipping the icy can into a koozie.
“Hang on.” Dean jammed the throttle forward, revving the engine and speeding off across the lake. “This’ll be way quicker than going to the marina,” he yelled, bouncing in the bench seat next to her.
After tying up at a small, rickety dock, they threw on some t-shirts and shoes before climbing a long, winding staircase constructed of eroded railroad ties. Leaves tickled their arms. Their legs burned. Sweat ran into their eyes.
“How much further?” Evy panted, swatting at a fly.
Fate Interrupted_Just Married Page 5
