by SJ McCoy
He put the lid on his water bottle and climbed into his truck. Just as he was heading back up the driveway, his phone rang. He pulled over to take the call.
“This is Carter.”
“Carter, it’s Cassidy.”
“Is everything all right?” Why was that always his first response, he wondered.
“Actually, it isn’t. I’m stuck down in Gardiner. I’ve got a flat tire.”
“No problem. I’ll come get you. I can be there in half an hour.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. It’s Summer I need you to get. She should be arriving in just over an hour and there’s no way I’ll be able to get there in time. Would you go?”
Carter closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. So much for his resolve to stay the hell out of her way. He couldn’t leave her stranded at the airport.
“Carter?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you! She’ll be arriving at the General Aviation building. Do you know it?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’ll let you go. You’ll be cutting it fine to get there in time yourself.”
“Do you want me to bring her to your house?”
“See what she wants to do. I’m guessing she’ll probably want to get to her place and get settled back in. Have her call me, would you?”
“Will do. See you later.”
“Thanks, Carter. Bye.”
He hung up and shook his head. Cassidy was right; he would be cutting it fine to get to the airport in an hour. Here he was all sweaty and dirty, wearing worn-out work jeans and a faded plaid shirt, with no time to go shower and change. He turned the truck onto East River Road and headed up toward town. What did it matter anyway? This was who he was. There’d be no point primping and preening himself for Summer, even if he did have the time. He had to stop thinking like that. She was the big country music star. He was the yard guy! He’d do his good deed, go give her a ride from the airport, and then he’d have to put her out of his mind.
Just under an hour later, he pulled into the parking lot at the airport. He cut the ignition and sat there for a moment. He couldn’t help smiling. He was about to see her again! And, despite all the ways he’d tried to tell himself it was a bad idea all the way here, he couldn’t wait! He felt a little foolish as he pulled down the sun visor and checked himself in the mirror. He was glad he had as he wiped a smear of dirt off his cheek.
He got out of the truck and patted himself down with a wry smile. She’d seen him in his work gear before, and from the way she’d ogled at him then, she didn’t seem to mind the look too much at all. He strode across the parking lot. Like it or not, here he came!
~ ~ ~
Summer looked around as soon as they came in through the door from the ramp. She’d been a little put out that the charter company had sent the same two pilots who had flown her before. They were nice enough guys, but one of them, Carl, was still hoping for a date. She’d been quite taken with him at first—until she met Carter. At least his copilot Justin, had taken the hint that Cassidy wasn’t interested in him.
She was surprised not to see Cassidy there waiting. She scanned the lounge again, perhaps she was a few minutes late?
Carl put a hand on her shoulder. “It doesn’t look like she’s here yet. Don’t worry, I’ll wait with you.”
Summer really didn’t want him to, but it would be rude to refuse. “Thank you.”
He grinned down at her and gestured toward one of the large sofas. “Shall we? Justin will be out with your bags in a minute.”
She nodded and looked around again. Come on, Cassidy! Where was she? There was still no sign of her.
Carl looked out back through the doors to the ramp where Justin was waving at them. He was swiping his pass, but the door wouldn’t open. Carl rolled his eyes at Summer. “I’d better go let him in.”
Summer watched him go then turned back to look at the main doors to the parking lot. Her breath caught in her chest as they slid open, and in walked Carter! She felt a huge smile spread across her face. He was gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! He looked as though he’d come straight from work. His muscular legs were clad in worn, faded denims, with well-worn cowboy boots sticking out the bottom. A faded plaid shirt did its best to stretch across his muscular torso. He was a big guy—a big, muscly, gorgeous guy. Just the kind of guy who made her go weak at the knees. She was grateful she was already seated when he caught sight of her and smiled. Her weak knees couldn’t stop her from leaping to her feet and running to him, though. When she reached him, she flung her arms around him and hugged him tight. She closed her eyes as his huge arms wrapped around her and held her to his chest. Neither of them spoke; they just held on tight. It felt so right, so good, she didn’t want to break the moment. She wanted it to last forever!
Eventually she looked up at him. “I missed you.”
Her heart filled up at the smile on his face. “I missed you, too.”
“Summer! Are you okay?” Summer frowned and Carter let go of her and stood back as Carl came to join them with her bags. He gave her an inquiring look and then eyed Carter warily. “Is everything okay here?”
“Everything is just great thank you.” She smiled up at Carter. “My friend came to get me.”
Carter nodded.
“This is your friend? I thought Cassidy was coming?” asked Carl.
Summer wanted to tell him it was none of his business, and that he needed to stop looking at Carter like he was some kind of thug! “It is.” She didn’t even want to introduce them, she just wanted to get out of here.
As he had done so often in the short time she’d known him, Carter picked up on exactly what she wanted. He met Carl’s gaze and nodded. “I’ll take her bags from here.”
As Carter reached to take the handles, Summer wanted to laugh as Carl held tight to them.
“I should bring them out to the car.”
Carter shook his head and stared him down. “I said, I’ll take them.”
Summer had to hide a smile at the panic in Carl’s eyes when Carter took a step toward him. He surrendered the bags quickly and backed off. Summer knew Carter would never harm a fly, but with his build and quiet, but determined manner, he must seem quite threatening to another guy. She almost felt sorry for Carl.
“Thanks again,” she said with a smile. “We need to get going.”
Carter nodded and fell in step beside her as she turned and walked away.
“Bye,” Carl called after them.
When they reached the doors she turned back to see him still standing there staring after her. She gave him a little wave. Poor guy. He’d never had a chance anyway.
Carter had stopped beside her. She smiled up at him. “Thank you so much for coming to get me! Is everything okay with Cassidy?”
He nodded. “She got a flat tire and asked me to come instead.”
“Oh.” Summer felt a little deflated herself at that. She’d been stupid to hope he might have asked if he could be the one to come to get her.
His brows came down and he gave her a puzzled look before starting out again toward his truck. “She wants you to call her. I’m sure you’ll see her soon enough.”
When they reached the truck, she put a hand on his arm. “What’s the matter?”
He threw her bags in the back seat before he replied. “Nothing.” He didn’t meet her gaze.
“Carter, please. I’m so happy you came to meet me. I didn’t know how it would be between us. I was afraid you wouldn’t even want to talk to me. Please, don’t shut me out.”
He remained quiet for a long moment, still looking away from her.
“Look at me. Tell me what I did? For a moment there, I thought you were happy to see me. Now I’m starting to think I was wrong.”
He finally met her gaze. His big brown eyes were sad. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t want to talk to you. My plan was to stay the hell away from you. Then Cassidy couldn’t come get you, and
she asked me to. When you came running to me like that, hell, you made me the happiest guy on earth. But then you sounded disappointed that Cassidy hadn’t come for you herself. And I remembered. I shouldn’t be so happy to see you. Should I?”
She smiled. “I don’t see why not. I’m just as happy to see you. And you got it wrong. I wasn’t disappointed that Cassidy didn’t come. I was disappointed that you hadn’t come voluntarily. You came as a favor to her. Not because you wanted to.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Don’t you go thinking I didn’t want to.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You just said yourself, you’d planned to stay the hell away from me.” Her voice cracked on the last couple of words. She was talking too much, but this was too important not to.
He put his hands on her shoulders and looked down into her eyes. “I did. But not because I want to.”
She stared back into those big brown eyes. She couldn’t believe they were being so honest with each other. But she was glad of it. She wanted to be sure he really did mean what she thought he did. “Why then?” she whispered.
He shook his head slowly. “I planned to stay away from you, because what I want more than anything in the world is to be around you.”
She continued to look deep into his eyes.
He straightened up. “There, see. This is exactly why I should stay away. Leave it to big old dumbass me to embarrass us both. Come on, get in the truck and let’s get you home.” He walked around to the passenger door and held it open for her.
She trotted after him and climbed in. “You are not a dumbass, Carter!”
He shook his head and closed the door before walking around to get in the driver’s seat. “I think you’ve done enough talking for now. Your voice is tired; I can hear it.”
She scowled at him as he started the engine and pulled out. He was right about her voice, but this wasn’t a conversation she wanted to break off now they’d started it. “But…”
He held up a hand as he pulled up at the pay station to exit the parking lot. “But nothing. You’re here to rest your voice, not to strain it more.”
She nodded. Her throat was feeling terrible. She knew she’d overdone it.
She put a hand on his arm before he pulled away. “Promise me we can talk about this later.”
He shook his head. “There’s no point.”
She raised her voice as much as she could, which was barely above a whisper. “Promise me. Or I keep talking now.”
He turned to her. “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?” He was scowling, but there was the hint of a smile in his eyes.
She nodded. “Only when it’s important.”
He did smile at that. “Okay. We’ll talk about it when we get you home, if you promise not to talk on the way.” His smile faded. “We both know what I need to say though.”
She opened her mouth to ask him what he meant, even though he was right and she already knew.
“No.” He didn’t give her chance to speak again. “No more talking.”
She nodded. It could wait. She had the feeling she’d have a lot to say when they got to the house. No way was she going to let him stick with his plan of staying away from her.
~ ~ ~
Carter kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead. What had he been thinking? Why in hell had he told her how she’d made him feel when she came running to him like that? Why had he told her that he wanted to be around her more than anything else in the world? Because it was true! That was the simple answer. But it wasn’t a good enough answer. He should have kept his big mouth shut! He joined the interstate and headed east. He stole a glance over at her; she was staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts. He had to wonder what they might be. Shit! She was supposed to call Cassidy—but he’d made her promise not to talk.
“Maybe you should text Cassidy,” he suggested.
She smiled at him and nodded. Good, she was keeping her word. She fished around in her purse, looking for her phone. That made him smile. He had to wonder what she kept in there, it was such a huge purse for such a little lady. She rolled her eyes at him as she finally found the phone and brought it out. She knew what he was smiling at; he’d teased her about it before.
He returned his attention to the road while she tapped out a text, then kept on tapping—apparently deep in conversation with Cassidy. He’d never gotten the hang of texting as a means of real communication. It came in handy for a quick message now and then, but he didn’t get how people could chat away on there. He also didn’t get why people seemed to think he should reply instantly. If it was that important, why didn’t they just call? As if on cue, his own phone rang. He didn’t like to talk on it when he was driving and it seemed rude while Summer was sitting there. He let it ring. Once it had finished, the voicemail tone sounded. Then it started to ring again.
Summer looked over at him. She was right. He should probably get it. Maybe it was something important.
“This is Carter.”
“I know,” said Shane with a laugh. “I wasn’t expecting anyone else to answer.”
Carter laughed. “Okay, smartass. What do you want?”
“To ask you to come to dinner.”
“I already told you I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can. I know she’s in the truck with you, but Summer just told Cassidy that she can’t come to dinner.”
Carter shot a glance over at her. She was still tapping merrily away. “Why?”
“Because Cassidy told her you weren’t coming, and apparently she won’t come if you’re not.”
He shot another look at Summer. She smiled sweetly at him, giving him the feeling she knew who he was talking to. “I don’t want to,” he told Shane.
Shane laughed. “Yes, you do. And besides, you think if you don’t come you’ll be able to avoid whatever it is she wants to talk to you about, but you’re wrong. If you don’t come, she’s just going to keep you at her place and make you talk to her anyway. You may as well admit defeat and say you’ll come.”
Carter thought about it. By the sounds of it, going to dinner at Cassidy’s house would be easier than spending the time alone with Summer at her house. He blew out a sigh. “Okay.”
“Great! We’ll see you later.” Shane hung up.
Summer looked over at him.
He pursed his lips. “You win.”
Her smile said she knew exactly what he meant.
Chapter Three
When Carter turned into the driveway, Summer smiled at the sight of the house. She really did love the place. She’d only stayed here for a short time, but it had felt like a sanctuary. A safe place to hide and to rest. It was so beautiful, sitting as it did on the bank of the Yellowstone, with glorious views of the mountains all around.
Carter brought the truck to a stop outside the front door then looked over at her. “What time did you tell Cassidy we’d be over for dinner?” he asked.
“Seven.”
He nodded and looked at the clock on the dash. “In that case, I’ll bring your bags in for you and leave you to get settled. I need to head home to shower and change.”
She hadn’t been expecting that. He’d agreed that they could talk when he got her here. “But…” she croaked.
He shook his head with a finality she recognized. “But nothing. You need to rest your voice for more than just an hour. I need to get cleaned up and changed. There’s nothing to argue about.”
She nodded. She knew he was right. But she wasn’t giving up, either. She climbed out of the truck and followed him up the steps. Once she’d unlocked the front door, he brought her bags inside.
“Where do you want them?”
She pointed down the hallway to her bedroom. Carter stopped in the doorway, looking uncomfortable.
Summer couldn’t help smiling. He’d been over here a few times during her last visit, but she knew he was uncomfortable invading her private space as he’d put it. He’d made a big effort to stay out on the deck whene
ver he came, only venturing in as far as the living room when she insisted. She gestured toward the bed, knowing that would make him more uncomfortable still. As he placed her bags on it, she sat down and smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
He nodded and backed away. He didn’t stop until he reached the door. When he did he blocked the light.
She wished he’d come back, come sit beside her, talk to her, be honest with her about how he felt, let her be honest about how she felt. “Do you have to go right now?” she asked.
He’d taken his hat off and was twisting it in his hands as he stood there. He held her gaze for a long moment before he nodded. “I do. Get some rest. I’ll come pick you up around six thirty.” He turned on his heel and left.
She was tempted to run after him, but she knew there was no point. He’d be back in a couple of hours, and hopefully, by then she’d be able to talk for a little while—rather than croak or whisper, which seemed to be all she was capable of right now. She heard the front door close and a few moments later his truck pulled away. She lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. What was she going to do? What could she do? She had no idea. She knew she wanted to do something. Carter was her ideal man—both physically and in personality. She’d told Cassidy that it seemed as though someone upstairs had listened to everything she wanted in a man and had put Carter together, especially for her. He was kind, he was sweet, he was caring. He knew who he was, he loved his life, and he loved his work. She sighed. And his life and his work were right here in Paradise Valley. How could they get involved with each other when she would probably be leaving in three months’ time—and he would never leave! At the same time, wouldn’t it be crazy not to explore what they both obviously felt for each other? How would they be able to avoid it? Unless they avoided each other, which seemed to be Carter’s solution. She shook her head. She wasn’t going to let him get away with that. She wanted to spend time with him, even if it was only as friends.
