Impossible

by Laurel Curtis

  And she didn’t mention the angry stitched cut on my forehead.

  I immediately liked her.

  Maybe she could sense the tension rolling off of me, maybe she could tell I didn’t like to be bothered, or maybe this is just how she was naturally. Whatever the case, she was my favorite person I’d come in contact with recently.

  Just as I had that thought, the bell over the door dinged. Normally, I would keep my head down and stick to my own business, but for some reason my head came up to see the newest patron. My eyes immediately widened and my heart sped up.

  CJ was here.

  And he wasn’t alone.

  Shit. Freaking. Dizzle.

  I honestly hadn’t had a genuine reaction to someone like this in the last few years other than him. My body reacted to his presence, and I was a little rusty, but I’m pretty sure that reaction was excitement.

  As he cleared the doorway and stepped to the side, I took in the man behind him, and my heart tripped over itself in my chest. Like someone had kicked out a foot right in its path, it stumbled and fell flat on its face.

  Oh my God.

  I knew CJ had good genes. I did. I knew the moment I met him. But seeing his father in the flesh, it felt like I had had no idea. He was absolutely freaking beautiful.

  So. Attractive.

  It was as if the attractiveness radiated off of him with so much force that you wouldn’t even have to see him to know. Seriously. Blind nuns would find him attractive.

  His jeans were tight, but not in a creepy way. They were tight in a way that they just hinted at how perfect everything underneath must be. They were a dark wash, but they were faded in all the right places, and you could tell it was from wear. He had on a belt with a huge buckle on it, much like the one CJ wore, but bigger, and he had a baby blue t-shirt that fit to his chest and arms. His frame was tall and lean, but loaded with muscle. You could tell he was in absolute peak physical condition. His skin was a golden tan, a perfect glow formed from hours spent in the sun, and his hair was a shade back from black, just like his son. I couldn’t see his eyes yet, but I’d seen the ones that came from them, and I knew they had to be spectacular.

  My body was confused, fighting with my brain for the first time in years. It wanted to be near him, desperately, but my brain knew it wasn’t a good idea. My brain hoped and wished that CJ didn’t notice me, while my body cried out that it wanted attention from the older version of him at his side.

  Thankfully, my brain won the fight, and I ducked my head quickly, focusing my eyes on the table.

  Unfortunately, my little blonde friend was intent on ruining my positive opinion of her, as she led them right to the booth across from me and placed their menus on the table.

  Crap.

  Ducking under the table was out of the question, and it was too late anyway.

  “Roni?”

  Digging my fingernails into my palms under the table, I forced my eyes up and looked right into CJ’s.

  “Hey CJ,” I said casually, like I saw the kid every day. Much more casually than I was feeling.

  “I’ll be damned. Didn’t know that I’d ever see you again,” he murmured, his voiced laced with something that sounded an awful lot like hope and wonder.

  The beautiful man with him stood behind him and kept his mouth shut, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t eyeing our conversation curiously.

  I tried to keep my voice even, my answer meant to be teasing. “Yeah, well, I go where the-”

  “Action is. Yeah, I know,” he cut me off.

  Okay. I guess he had paid attention to my parting line last time. And if his tone was anything to go by, he was perhaps a little bitter about how quickly I had departed.

  Before I could say anything else, his father pushed into the conversation, and he had a concerned look on his face. “What happened to your head?”

  Not even waiting for me to answer, he turned his face to CJ. “She have that when you met her?”

  CJ shook his head and answered immediately, “No, sir.”

  Squatting down so that his butt rested just above his heels, he got close and lifted his hand to my face, just barely running his thumb over the stitches in my forehead. This close, I could see his eyes for what they were...freaking magnificent. Not to mention, I could feel the heat radiating off of his smooth, freshly shaven chin, and practically taste the perfectness of his plump rosy lips. His face was a perfect combination of young and worn with experience. Laugh lines surrounded his eyes, a dark sun-induced tan coated his skin, and his entire face held an aura that you could tell meant he didn’t spend much time doing anything other than enjoying life.

  Realizing what was happening, after a brief hiatus from consciousness brought on by his uninvited invasion of space, I jerked back and worked my face into a small scowl.

  I would have liked it to have been bigger, but my stitches were impeding me.

  “Excuse me!” I snapped.

  He moved back, but he did it slowly and he didn’t go far. “Sorry, Roni.”

  He didn’t look sorry at all, and I was shaken from the close encounter, so I asked a stupid question. “How do you know my name?”

  The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk, and the area between my legs spasmed.

  Good God, there had been no life down there for three years, and a smirk, just a smirk, from this man had me freaking spasming.

  “Well, for one thing, CJ just said it.”

  I got the feeling it was more than that, not to mention, he had said ‘for one thing’. “And?”

  “And...he’s mentioned you.”

  At that news, I jerked my head back and shot a glare right into CJ’s eyes. He raised his hands defensively and worked quickly to take the heat off of himself by moving the conversation forward.

  “You probably already guessed, but this is my dad. Coleman Cade. The original.”

  Putting on my big girl panties, wanting nothing more than to get this over with, I tried my hand at being polite for once. “Nice to meet you, Coleman.”

  For some reason, that brought a full out smile to both of their faces. While the image of the two of them smiling right there next to each other was mind-blowing, I got the feeling that I was the only one not in on the joke, and that effectively put the kibosh on my polite mood.

  “And what exactly is so amusing about that, boys?” I snarked.

  CJ was a fraction of a second away from filling me in, I could tell, but Coleman put a stop to it with a raise of his hand and minute shake of his head. “Absolutely nothin’, Roni. The pleasure is all mine.”

  His face was sincere, but I knew I had missed some crucial piece of information somewhere.

  “Yeah, well. As much as I love bringing you pleasure-” I paused to shoot him a look because I knew how that sounded, and men never missed an opportunity to turn a statement into innuendo. Apparently, he was smart and took in my look, so instead of saying something, he bit his bottom lip.

  Satisfied with my results, I finished my statement. “I need to eat and then get on the road. So, nice to meet you.” When they didn’t move I added, “Bye.”

  My response had made it clear that he wasn’t getting any more information out of me, so he conceded to my wishes and went about moving himself and CJ away from me. Reaching for his son’s shoulder, he turned them both and settled into the booth across from me, but the smile never left his face.

  Jenelle, a cute little brunette with enough sense to avoid conversation with me, came and took my order, got it and delivered it, and I started to eat, all without hearing much of anything that they said. Unfortunately, halfway through my cheeseburger, my ears turned against me and listened against my brain’s will.

  Coleman spoke softly and confidently, as if bestowing secret knowledge on his son. “Finding the right woman is a lot like ridin’ a bull. You’ll know in a little over eight seconds whether they’re worth a second ride or not. And, as you know, the best ones usually buck you off a few times before givin’ you
the ride of your life.”

  It seemed obscure to me, but CJ knew exactly what he was talking about. At least, that’s what I gathered from the look of stark understanding on his face.

  Reaching my breaking point for social interaction, combined with the fact that if my heart continued to beat at this escalated pace for much longer I would probably have a heart attack, I decided it was time to leave. I needed to get to a hotel and get a shower and some sleep anyway. It was already nine o’clock, and I had driven all day.

  Leaving money on the table, I got up and intended to walk right out without saying anything. But they had other plans. A hand reached out and grabbed mine, and when I looked up, this time I saw that CJ was the one to encroach my space uninvited.

  A family trait, apparently.

  I yanked my hand out of his, but it didn’t phase him. “I’m ridin’ tomorrow in the local rodeo. If you’re gonna be around, you should come check it out.”

  There were a couple of things about that statement that led to some uncertainty.

  I didn’t know what he was riding, though I would guess it was a bull based on my previous eavesdropping, and normally, I most certainly wouldn’t be around. Additionally, I was super nervous about Coleman being there. My thoughts apparently translated into actions as I cast a nervous glance in Coleman’s direction.

  He shook his head as he said, “I won’t be there. Gotta be in Denver.” The look on his face indicated that he might even be disappointed about that, and he had read my mind so exactly that it was if I had spoken aloud.

  I was so lost. What the hell was with these two, and what was in Denver?

  I turned my attention back to CJ to see his eyes intent on me, studying every minutia of my being. In fact, I could feel both sets of unique eyes focused on me pretty intensely.

  “I don’t know, CJ. I doubt I’ll be in the area,” I said evenly, unwilling to let the unease I felt cause any breaks in my voice.

  A tinge of disappointment coated his face. And completely atypically, I felt a strong ping of remorse at the sight of it.

  It was like a needle stabbing me, right in my heart, and as much as I fought it, I couldn’t make it go away.

  Son of a bitch. Why did this kid get to me so much?

  I awkwardly cleared my throat and then forced unfamiliar words through it. “I’ll try to be there.”

  Actually, the words weren’t forced, they were unplanned. The action of speaking was forced, but the words themselves were very unexpected.

  A remarkably boyish light beamed radiantly from his eyes, and it was like a vice clamped down on my heart.

  No one had had that reaction to me in a very long time. Then again, I hadn’t given them the chance. I couldn’t quite distinguish whether I liked it or not because it felt both excruciatingly painful and positively life changing at the same time.

  Somehow, despite the murkiness that my bitchy facade usually produced, I had come to mean something to him. And if I was completely honest, he meant something to me too.

  Well, shitdizzle.

  I really wasn’t sure how this had happened. I’d met him one freaking time. And he wasn’t the only one making an impression on me.

  Another family...freaking...trait.

  Definitely time to get out of there.

  My body poised to move to the door, but before I could get there, a throaty, rich voice filled my ears.

  “Be careful out there, Roni.”

  That came from the drop dead gorgeous man to my right and took me off guard. “How do you even know what I do or that I need to be careful?” My words were dripping with venom because I felt like he was poking around in my business, and I had trained myself to avoid that.

  His face registered a little bit of shock before he gave me an answer. “I actually don’t have a clue what you do, not that I wouldn’t like to know. But I do know you’ve got a gash on your fuckin’ forehead, so there’s obviously somethin’ out there you should be careful of.”

  His voice vibrated with an almost growly quality, and it was obvious he was angry. I just wasn’t sure if he was angry with me or whatever had put the gash on my head, or if maybe, it was a little bit of both.

  I sighed deep and then, for some unknown reason (Right. It couldn’t possibly be because he was un-freaking-believably attractive), gave him what he wanted. “I’m a storm chaser. And the gash is because I found myself in a bad spot, and I wasn’t the only one. An unprecedented moment of kindness came over me, and I went back to save an asshole. Debris got me in the head. End of story.”

  His face looked as though he was looking deeply into the complexity in my answer, searching for what I was all about, but his words were conversely simple. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  Actually, no. It felt surprisingly good. I was the one who pushed everyone away, and I did it on purpose. But that didn’t mean I didn’t get lonely. “God, you’re annoying.”

  That put an even bigger smile on his face. “Worse things I could be, I suppose.”

  My eyes rolled, I huffed, and I gave them both a generic flick of my hand. “Later.”

  CJ said, “Bye, Roni,” at the same time that Coleman murmured, “Lookin’ forward to next time, Banty baby.”

  Banty? Baby? What the hell? My confusion was evident, but he just smirked and pressed his pillow-like lips together to keep from laughing. I looked over at CJ, and he was absolutely no better.

  Feeling embarrassed and more than a little aggressive, I muttered under my breath. “Assholes.”

  At that, strangely, they burst out laughing, exchanged a look, and nodded their heads at one another.

  I didn’t think they were actually laughing at me, but that didn’t stop the feeling of embarrassment from overwhelming my senses. I had to get out of there.

  Without acknowledging them any further, I turned and speed walked back to the front, pushing right through the people who were on their way in the door when I got to it. Keeping my head down, my hair falling all around me like a curtain, I headed straight for my car, bleeping the locks as I went. I had just gotten to my door and was reaching out for the handle when a strong, rough-skinned hand grabbed my hip.

  I screeched a startled yelp and spun around, ready to kick someone’s ass.

  When I looked up, it was straight into Coleman Cade’s eyes. It was dark, but their brilliant, distinct colors shown in the sliver of light that managed to hit them from the floodlight on the side of the building.

  “Roni.”

  That was all he said, so I bugged my eyes out at him, hoping he would give me something else to go on. At the same time, my body was hyper aware of his hand on my hip. A hand that he had settled back on my hip after I spun around. He treated me so familiarly, like he had known me his whole life. Surprisingly, I found it both disturbing and comforting at the same time.

  “We didn’t mean to upset you. The way you ran outta there, I figured we did just that. I just couldn’t let you leave thinkin’ we were laughin’ at you.”

  Feeling the girliest I’d felt in quite some time, being that I had overreacted and run out of a restaurant because of embarrassment, I used a lie to cover up my discomfort. “I’m fine. I’m just on a schedule, and I needed to get out of there. I had been trying to say bye for a few minutes. It came time to just leave.”

  His eyebrows went up a minuscule amount, and he said one thing. “Roni.”

  Crap. He could tell I was full of shit.

  Ugh. Fine. I’d probably save a lot of time if I just got this over with. “Alright, fine. I was tired of being laughed at. And you weren’t making any sense anyway, so I left.”

  “Just because I wasn’t makin’ sense to you, doesn’t mean I wasn’t makin’ sense.”

  Now he was pissing me off again. “Didn’t you come out here to apologize? Because coming out here and making me feel like an idiot is a real shitty way to go about it.”

  “Point taken, Banty baby.”

  “See? That. Right there. What the hell a
re you calling me?”

  Another smirk lit up his face and his fingers dug in at my hip just a little. “You’re like a Banty Rooster, sweetheart. Tiny little thing, but you don’t hesitate to puff out your chest, lookin’ for a fight.”

  Great. That didn’t sound very flattering. Maybe I had been better off not knowing. “Great.”

  “I like it,” he informed me, his voice warm and sincere.

  “Why on earth would you like me being a bitch to you?” I asked, unable to mask my disbelief.

  “Because you’re only a bitch in the cute way, and even that seems like it’s not genuine. Not to mention, it’s not the normal reaction I’m used to, and it’s refreshing.”

  Yeah, I freaking bet he normally got a different reaction.

  As if perfectly timed, a leggy blonde pulled into the lot in a convertible, shut it down, and threw her long, tanned leg out the door like we were at a burlesque show. Noticing us standing there, she approached us, her hips swaying dangerously with every step.

  “Cade, baby. I didn’t know you were in town. You should have called me.” Her voice was in full purr mode, and she threw in a wink at the end of her sentence.

  His hand tensed on my hip once more, but I got the distinct feeling that, this time, it was him who was uncomfortable. I also felt as though I had just gathered some more pertinent information. She had called him Cade, not Coleman. I was a fairly smart girl, with even better powers of deduction. People who knew him probably called him Cade, and I’d be willing to bet that this chick had known him a few times.

  He turned his head in her direction, but didn’t step away from me even an inch. “I haven’t been in town long, Debbie. Spendin’ my time with CJ before I gotta take off again.”

  Barely disheartened, Debbie pushed her body up close, her breasts pushing against his arm- and incidentally getting a little too close to my face since I was so much shorter, and leaned in to whisper in his ear. That didn’t stop me from being able to hear her though. “That’s a real shame, handsome. We’ve had such a good time in the past, and I was really looking forward to giving you some good, new memories.”