Always a Temp

by Jeannie Watt

  She found him waiting at the end of the hall. He opened a door and set the pack inside. Callie didn’t obediently step into the room and close the door, even though she could tell just how badly he wanted her to do that. Instead she reached out to lightly run her fingertips over his T-shirt, where it hid the shrapnel scars. His abdomen tightened.

  “Is this the only reason you won’t sleep with me?”

  “No.” The word came out without any hesitation, and hurt a hell of a lot more than it should have.

  Okay. Game over. She couldn’t take another minute on the emotional seesaw. Not tonight anyway.

  Callie reached into the room to pick up her pack, and then retraced her steps back down the hall.

  You are so flipping used to rejection. Occupation—writer, remember?

  But this wasn’t an article.

  Nate didn’t say a word until she reached the kitchen. “Where are you going?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Stop the drama, Callie.”

  She rounded on him. “No drama. I’m going to a motel for tonight.”

  He sucked in a breath. “Stay.” She stared at him. “Please stay.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  He pushed both hands into his hair in a gesture of frustration. “Because I’m afraid, all right?”

  HE COULDN’T BELIEVE he’d just said that.

  Callie still stared at him, probably wondering for the tenth time that evening why he was such a jerk. And then she swallowed and said, “Me, too.”

  Nathan drew in a slow breath. “What are you afraid of?”

  “That I’m going to leave this town with you still hating me.”

  Oh, man. “I don’t hate you, Callie. I just don’t know what making love to you would accomplish.”

  “Healing,” she said softly.

  “Healing what?”

  “Me. I think I need some healing.”

  “Okay.” He didn’t ask for clarification. If she needed healing, then she did. And damn, in spite of everything, he wanted to help her to do just that. He took a couple slow steps forward, bringing them almost toe to toe, but he didn’t reach out for her, as much as he wanted to.

  “Have you made love to anyone since the…explosion?”

  “Yes.”

  Callie waited.

  “She was a nurse…. My nurse.”

  “Oh.”

  “Kind of a mercy thing, I think.”

  Callie hooked her fingers in the waistband of his jeans, putting his manhood on instant alert.

  “The relationship didn’t last long,” he added.

  She tugged and he stepped forward.

  “So you haven’t made love with anyone who wasn’t in the medical profession. Someone who isn’t used to traumatized body parts?”

  “Uh…no.”

  “I think you should do that. I think you would feel better.”

  “Maybe,” he conceded.

  “I may not be able to offer you a future, but I can offer you a very pleasant here and now.”

  Nathan figured he had two seconds of sanity left. Maybe three, max. He really had to—

  “Take off your shirt,” Callie said against his mouth before rolling away so that he could actually do as she asked. “I’ll take care of the briefs.”

  After that they didn’t talk. Callie explored, touching Nathan’s body in the way he’d fantasized about as a kid, with her hands, her lips. She was hesitant when her fingers skimmed over his scarred torso, so she explored him with her mouth instead.

  “Is this okay?” She traced her tongue over the sensitive skin between the scars, making him swell almost to the bursting point.

  He closed his eyes and nodded. “Fine. It feels fine.”

  He rolled over on top of her, before she could get to his leg. He was still sensitive about the leg. “I haven’t made love to anyone in over a year.”

  “So you’re saying—”

  He managed to crack a smile. “If the first time is quick—” he touched his forehead to hers “—I’ll make up for it the second time.”

  “I don’t know, Nate. You’re older now. Are you sure you’re up to two in a row?”

  “Oh, I’m up all right.” And there’d be no teenage jitters getting in the way tonight.

  She pulled his lips down to hers, kissing him aggressively. Making him wonder how long it had been since she’d had a lover. “How about number three?”

  “That would be the one that happens before number four,” he said roughly.

  She laughed. This felt good. Playful. Not overly serious. “I like the way you think.”

  THEY DIDN’T MAKE IT to number four. The minds were willing, but the flesh was weak. At least until light started spilling in through the windows and Callie reached over for Nate.

  He pulled her up on top of him, guiding himself into her, and they made love slowly, one last time. It had to be the last time. Callie could lose herself in the darkness, pretend that making love was all about the here and now, which it was, but making love to Nate in the daylight, watching the reaction in his eyes, feeling him build to climax, his fingers curved around her waist as she rode him…that was different. It was harder to keep the feelings in check.

  Damned light.

  Callie collapsed against him after they came, then she rolled off.

  “And reality comes rushing in,” Nathan said, watching her as she put space between them before she turned onto her side, propping her head on her hand. Her hair fell into her eyes and Nathan gently brushed it back.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like I love making love to you,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “For today.”

  “For as long as I’m here.”

  He stared down at her, then brought his hand up to tangle in her hair, cupping the back of her head, wanting to pull her onto his chest and kiss her. Then maybe go for number five.

  Instead he moved his hand from her hair to gently touch her face. “Promise me one thing, Cal.”

  “What?” she whispered warily.

  “Don’t disappear on me, okay? If you’re scared, tell me. I’ll back off. Just…don’t leave.”

  Callie smiled. It wobbled slightly, but it qualified. “All right,” she said, her voice huskier than usual. “I told you I’d be up front with you, so, yeah. I promise.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CALLIE HAD BEEN HOME for only a few minutes when there was a knock on the door. She was sore in interesting places, and crossing the living room brought back flashes of the night before. Healing sex with Nate had turned out to be amazing sex.

  And now his disapproving older brother stood on her porch.

  Normally she wouldn’t have been that wild to see Garrett, but today she hoped he had some information on the fire. She invited him in and closed the door behind him. “Would you like some coffee or something?” All she had was instant, since she’d gotten rid of the coffeepot, but cops were supposed to be used to substandard coffee.

  “No, thanks. I came to ask a few questions.” He was studying her as if she’d committed the crime herself. “Have you had any more dealings with Mitch Michaels since you called Dispatch about him?” he asked sternly.

  Callie’s eyes widened as she realized what he was getting at. “Do you mean he’s the one?”

  “Have you had any dealings with him since then?”

  “None.” Garrett made a note. “Is he the guy who burned my fence?” she repeated.

  “The boy next door saw someone that fit the description.”

  “The Hobart boy?”

  “The same. So I asked around and a couple of people two blocks over mentioned a car similar to his parked in their alley at a time that would correspond with the fire.”

  “What happens now?”

  “We’ll question him.”

  Callie put a hand on either side of the base of her neck as she digested what Garrett was telling her. “How sure are you?”

  For a seco
nd she didn’t think he was going to answer, then he said, “I’m sure,” before he started toward the door.

  “Let me know what happens, will you?”

  “Yeah.” Garrett’s mouth worked for a moment, as if he had something else to say and was trying to hold it back.

  “Yes, I left Nate in one piece,” she said. Satisfied and exhausted. In that order.

  Garrett’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think he always makes the best decisions where you’re concerned.”

  “They’re his decisions to make.”

  “Do you know about…” His eyes remained hard as his voice trailed away.

  “The bomb. Yes. I know.” So there.

  “I think he took that job to impress you.”

  Callie drew back. “No way.”

  “You dumped him because he was boring, so he decided to become un-boring.”

  “I did not dump him because he was boring.”

  “That’s not how he saw it. He saw it as not measuring up. Not even being worthy of a phone call.”

  “You’re…you’re not putting this guilt trip on me, Garrett.”

  “I don’t have anything against you personally. I just don’t want to see you tie my brother in knots again.”

  It was all Callie could do not to slam the door after Garrett had left. She didn’t believe that Nathan took that job because of her. If he was proving he wasn’t boring, the only person he had to convince was himself.

  NATHAN SETTLED AT his desk, wishing he could spend the day with Callie, and knowing that was impossible, even if his work schedule would allow such a thing. Which it wouldn’t.

  Callie wanted him to be there for her, but he didn’t think she’d counted on the intensity of feelings between the two of them the night before. What she’d had in mind was comforting sex between friends. Sex to help her forget the fire. Sex to make Nate feel better about himself. She probably hadn’t counted on mind-numbing sex. Even Nate had been surprised, and he’d wanted Callie for a long, long time. He just hadn’t been able to admit it to himself.

  His cell phone rang before he’d managed to address even one of the multitudes of tasks awaiting his attention. He flipped it open.

  “Finally turned your phone on?” Garrett asked snidely, making Nathan believe that his brother knew exactly why he’d turned it off last night.

  “Do you know something about the fire?”

  “I think Mitch Michaels started it, but I don’t know why he did it last night instead of when Callie turned him in. Maybe he just needed time to stew.”

  Oh shit. “How sure are you?”

  “On a scale of one to five…six.’

  Nathan brought his hand up to his forehead. “I ripped him a new asshole when I found out that he’d tried to intimidate Callie.”

  “And that would have been…?”

  “Two days ago.” Nathan had no problem believing the kid was that vindictive. “He hit on little Katie here at work last spring and I threatened him with a harassment charge. He backed off, but when I found out he was at it again…”

  “You kinda lost it.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And Callie was involved.”

  “Yeah,” Nate answered flatly, in a you-want-to-make-something-of-it? tone. “How do you know it’s him?”

  “Eyewitnesses. Two saw him and one is over the age of eighteen, so he’s a little more reliable than my other witness. I’ve found three people who saw his car parked in an alley a few blocks away at the time of the fire.”

  “Have you questioned him?”

  “Sure have. Just one problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “His frigging family gave him an alibi.”

  Nathan sat straighter in his chair. “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to continue to investigate, see how much evidence I can put together.”

  “Get something concrete, will you?” There were too many small things that a big-name attorney could seize upon in a circumstantial case—and Nathan could almost see the lawyers lining up outside Vince Michaels’s office door.

  “Oh, I’ll do my best,” Garrett said. “I’ve been wondering about other incidents…. I have some people to talk to.”

  Nathan knew exactly what his brother wouldn’t say out loud over the cell phone. Maybe Mitch was involved in some of the recent manmade fires, if not all of them.

  “I would very much like you to get him by the short hairs if you can.”

  “Yeah,” Garrett agreed. “And then shake him. I’ll work on it.”

  Nathan hung up as Joy slipped into the room and set an emergency cup of green tea on his desk. She left again without saying a word. He tried to call Callie, to touch base on this Mitch Michaels development. Her voice mail kicked in.

  She’s all right, he told himself. Garrett had talked to her a few hours ago. She just needs some time alone.

  Either that, or she’d already panicked and bolted because they’d made love.

  No. She’d said she would be up front with him. He believed her. When she left this time, he’d know about it in advance. That would certainly dull the pain.

  He thought about calling the house phone, then decided he needed to get his work done. He’d go over after and see her in person. He had a feeling that was the only way he was going to know what was going on in her head.

  THE LANDLINE RANG and Callie jumped. Nate? She grabbed for it. “Hello?”

  “Callie, I know you’re leaving, but can you give me one more day at the school?” Mrs. Serrano. Sounding absolutely desperate. “I already have Principal Domingo covering a class and I don’t know what I’m going to do with Mr. Lightfoot’s.”

  “I can’t. I’m sorry, but…I can’t.”

  “If it’s because of Mr. Gerard…”

  Callie rolled her eyes to the ceiling. She’d barely thought of him over the past few days. “No, it’s the fire behind my house. I need to be available to investigators.”

  “The, uh, person in question is no longer in school.”

  Damn. Word traveled fast in this town. But Garrett had been questioning people in the neighborhood about the car.

  “I can’t. I’m sorry.” Callie hung up after a quick goodbye. She felt for Mrs. Serrano, but she was going to spend the time she had left in town with Nate.

  NATE LOOKED UP, surprised to see Callie leaning against the door frame, studying him. He’d been so involved in the story he was working on he hadn’t heard her come in.

  “Hey,” he said in a low voice, feeling ridiculously better because she was there. Safe and…there.

  She held up a white bag. “You want to partake in some clucks and fries?”

  Nathan had a thing for chicken strips—clucks, as they’d called them when they were in high school.

  He glanced over at the clock, then saved his story. He was caught up for the day, which was nothing short of a miracle, considering how much he’d had lined up when he’d gotten there, and how shot his concentration was because of Callie and Mitch Michaels. He’d simply put his head down, shut off all thought and forced himself to focus. It had paid off, because now he got to leave with Callie.

  “Want to go eat them at my place?”

  “You know—” she gave a crooked smile “—I do.”

  He turned off the monitor, pushed his chair in.

  Again Callie followed him to his place in the Neon. She went with him through the side door into the house, and as soon as she had deposited the bag on the table, she was in his arms, her mouth on his. Nathan’s leg nearly buckled.

  His hands closed over her waist as he regained his balance. Within seconds Callie was unbuttoning his shirt, mumbling something about “always oxford.” She peeled it off his shoulders and pushed it down his arms to the cuffs, which she’d forgotten to unbutton. Nathan arched his eyebrows and managed to unbutton himself through the fabric.

  “Masterful,” Callie said as his shirt hit the floor, followed by her own shirt. And bra. The last time
they’d made love it had been dark. Nathan had been hiding his leg. He might still hide his leg, but he was doing better about his less-damaged torso, and right now his attention was on Callie…or rather, her breasts. He boosted her up onto the counter to where he could do them justice. Callie laughed as he lifted her, then sighed as his tongue circled first one nipple and then the other. Her hand clutched his hair.

  “Too many clothes,” Nathan muttered, unzipping her pants.

  “It seems you’re more interested in me than in dinner,” Callie murmured with a smile.

  He considered her, his expression very serious. “Yes, I am.”

  She laughed again. “Can we go to your bedroom? I like cushioning better than counters.”

  “We can go anywhere you like.” Nathan kissed her. “I’d carry you, but…”

  “No need.” She jumped down off the counter and walked to the door leading to the hall, her unzipped jeans sliding lower on her hips with each step until her thong showed.

  They didn’t quite make it to the bedroom. They made it to the carpet, and it was a nice carpet. Plush. Perfect. But neither of them was thinking about carpeting when Nathan pulled off her thong and nudged her legs apart. Callie clung to him as he thrust into her, wishing they’d made peace weeks ago. So much wasted time.

  It wasn’t until later, when they lay side by side on the floor catching their breath, that Callie ran a hand over the rug and asked, “Did you pay extra for double padding?”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “Good planning.”

  He stood and held out a hand to help Callie to her feet. “Shower, then chicken?”

  “Will the shower involve creative use of suds?”

  He grinned. “Doesn’t it always?”

  Afterward they ate the chicken and fries without bothering to warm them, and talked about the old times, the good times, everything except the present.

  It was Nathan who finally brought it up, after they’d abandoned the kitchen and made love yet again, in his bed. Garrett had contacted Callie that afternoon, so she knew about Mitch and the alibi. She did not know how concerned Nathan was.

  “If it hadn’t been an alibi, he’d be out on bail,” Callie pointed out.