Brazen

by Cathryn Fox

  Less than two hours later, Josie hustled twenty kindergartners into the firehouse, and as the scent of fresh coffee and cinnamon reached her nose—Trent must have been whipping up something delicious in the kitchen—she eagerly looked around for Adam.

  She spotted Errol chatting with Doug, and they both waved to her when she entered. Just then Adam stepped out of the back room, looking like sex incarnate dressed in a T-shirt and pair of jeans. When she saw the ruffled, wet state of his hair, she guessed he’d just gotten out of the shower. Their glances locked and her entire body reacted with heated need. Knowing this was neither the time nor place to let her emotions get the better of her, she squared her shoulders and put on her best professional face.

  “Adam,” Doug said, calling him over as Errol disappeared into the kitchen.

  She watched Adam saunter over to his captain, and the two spoke quietly before Adam turned to face her, and the captain followed Errol into the other room.

  The kids fidgeted restlessly as he walked up to her. “Ms. Wells,” he greeted with a slight smile, making him look so sexy. “Looks like I’ll be in charge of the tour today.”

  “Mr. Collins,” she returned, surprised by this turn of events, but not able to consider it longer because everything in the way he looked at her elicited a response from deep within. As she took a moment to consider the way he affected her without even trying, alarm bells began jangling in her mind, warning that maybe she was getting in over her head with Adam. She wasn’t supposed to have feelings for him. But after the way he took such painstaking care of her needs, and treated her with genuine respect, how could she not? Oh boy, this wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

  Schooling herself, she turned her attention to her class and worked to put him out of her mind. “Can everyone say hello to Mr. Collins?”

  “Hello, Mr. Collins,” the kids shouted out.

  Adam gave them a warm, welcoming smile, and seeing the way his eyes lit up when he focused in on the kids, tugged at her emotions and had her wondering more about him. Did Adam like kids? Did he want any of his own? Then she considered his brother Jacob. When they were younger she remembered the way he took care of him. He obviously had a nurturing side. And it was that nurturing side that would make him a great father. The direction of her thoughts unnerved her and had her mind coming to a screeching halt.

  Cripes, hadn’t she just lectured herself on putting him out of her mind?

  Adam clapped his hands together. “So what do you say, gang? Who wants to see the fire trucks?”

  As collective cheers rang out, Adam hustled them through the fire house and into the garage where the trucks were parked. Josie followed along behind, but when she entered the garage, and spotted the truck that she and Adam made love against, her body warmed in all the wrong places.

  She gave her head a good hard shake to clear it, then stood back to watch Adam as he gave the kids an external tour of the truck, explaining what all the dials were for, and how the equipment was used. She was especially happy when he talked about safety, and the dangers of fire. For a man with no kids of his own, it was amazing how good he was with her class of youngsters, amazing how he could talk to the children on their level and hold their attention—likely a result of having to be the father in the family after his own ran out, she supposed.

  As the kids watched on in mute fascination, it occurred to her that Adam was full of surprises, and she soon found herself smiling and enjoying herself as he entertained her class. Every now and again he’d toss her a secret grin, and it never failed to rattle her. Adam might be a bad boy, but he really was a sweet guy. It was no wonder every woman in town was crazy about him.

  At that thought nervousness stole over her, and once again alarm bells jangled in the back of her mind, reminding her that he wasn’t the settling-down type and she was spending far too much time thinking about him. She blew a long, slow breath, trying to figure out what she could do to fight this growing attraction she felt for him. When she couldn’t see any way around it, her stomach clenched.

  Okay, so maybe she was getting in over her head here. Everything from the way he looked at her to the way he joked and laughed with the kids did the strangest things to her insides. He was just supposed to be a guy to have some fun with until Mr. Right came along, yet here she was, completely smitten with the town’s bad boy, a guy who wasn’t interested in long term. And even if he was, what about Madame M’s prediction? She took another moment to mull over that worry. Josie was supposed to fall in love with a man with the initials J.A.D., not A.C. She wasn’t sure what his middle name was, but supposed it didn’t matter anyway. What mattered was that she liked him—too much—and it was time to distance herself before this brief affair ended in heartache.

  Just then Trent stepped into the garage. “Who wants to sound the alarm?” he asked, taking over for Adam.

  “I do. I do,” the kids all chirped in unison.

  “Okay, form a straight line here and you can each take a turn in the front seat.”

  With that Adam stepped back, and she tensed as he approached her, because from the look on his face she could tell he had something on his mind.

  His dark eyes searched her face, and she wondered what he was looking for as he assessed her. “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey yourself,” she managed to get out as her throat began to close over.

  He gestured with a nod. “Great bunch of kids.”

  Okay, so they were at his workplace and he was keeping it casual. She could do this. She could play along and act like nothing happened between them. “They seemed to really like you too.”

  His eyes darkened, and he pitched his voice low. “So what are you doing tonight?”

  Cripes, what the heck happened to casual? Folding her arms, Josie swallowed, and from the heat in his eyes she knew exactly what he was getting at. Putting on her best professional face when Jason Fraser came running up to her, she bent down, spoke quietly to the child, then turned her attention to Adam when the child moved out of earshot. “I promised Tabby I’d help her at the dunk tank.” Then, out of politeness she asked, “How about you?”

  “Softball game. It should be over fairly early. Want to head to Hauk’s with me afterward?”

  She shook her head and waved her hand toward the kids, knowing she had to put a stop to this thing between them—whatever this was—now, and get out before she got in any deeper. “I can’t. I have an early morning.”

  Something passed over Adam’s face, and he stepped close, his expression dark, tortured. “Josie—” he began, but was cut off when two children started a shoving match, both wanting to be the first to sit in the truck.

  “I have to go,” she said, cutting him off.

  He closed his mouth, but when his glance fastened on hers, she could tell he wanted to say something else, but she wasn’t so sure she wanted to hear what it was. Because as she slipped past him, her heart pounding erratically, she understood she was in serious trouble here. Right from the beginning she knew she wasn’t a love ’em and leave ’em sort of girl, and she never, ever should have seduced Adam, despite how amazing they were together.

  Adam was the town’s bad boy, a guy who went from woman to woman, and she wasn’t the kind of girl who could love casually, which meant he wasn’t the guy for her.

  J.A.D. was.

  Chapter Five

  Standing in the dugout with Trent while they waited for the rest of the softball team to arrive, Adam blurted out, “Okay, that’s it. I want her.”

  Trent balanced his baseball bat on his toes and angled his head to see him, a knowing grin spreading across his face. “Yeah, pal. I could have told you that.”

  “I mean it, Trent. I really want her,” he admitted.

  Trent paused for a moment, as though considering his next words carefully, then all humor left his face when he questioned, “I thought you said you wouldn’t go for it with her because of your ridiculous belief that you’re no better than your old man.�
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  “I know, but she makes me want to try,” Adam confessed as he tore off his T-shirt to pull on his jersey. It wasn’t a decision he’d made lightly, and he’d spent the last two days doing some serious soul searching before coming to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, Madame M’s prediction was fate’s way of telling him he could—with Josie at his side—change his ways. “She really, really makes me want to try to break the pattern.”

  “It’s all in your head, you know,” Trent scoffed. “There is no pattern. I’ve been telling you that for years.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know, and you’ve also been telling me that when the right girl comes along I’ll know it, and I won’t even want to look at another woman.”

  Trent offered him a smug smile. “Feel free to tell me I was right all along then.”

  “Would a fuck off suffice?” Adam plunked himself onto the bench and ran his hands through his hair.

  Trent laughed. “Jesus, Adam. I’ve never seen you like this before. What the hell happened between Saturday and tonight?”

  Adam took a moment to think about Josie, sweet, sexy, naughty Josie. Earlier that morning, when he was out for a jog, he’d run past her place, but when he heard a low moan coming from her open window, it stopped him in his tracks. At first he thought she was in there with some other guy, and the jealousy he felt rose sure and swift. It was that jealousy that spoke volumes and had him realizing just how much she meant to him. Then, when he realized she was alone and it became clear that she was masturbating, he damn near knocked down her front door to join her. Instead he bolted down a side street, and spent the next few hours thinking things over as he jogged long and hard, until he was late for work. He’d only just made it to the fire station and showered when she showed up with her class.

  “So…what the hell happened between Saturday night and now?” Trent asked again, pulling his thoughts back.

  “A lot.”

  “Want to elaborate?”

  “No.”

  “Well if you want her so bad, then what the hell are you doing hanging out here with me? Go get her.”

  “That’s just it. We had a great time Saturday night, but then today at the station and tonight at the fair she’s all but ignored me.”

  “Well, well, isn’t that a twist of fate?” Trent took a practice swing of his bat. “The one time you really want a girl and she doesn’t want you back.”

  The mention of fate had Adam thinking of Madame M’s prediction. Maybe the woman really was on to something. Maybe he really was meant to be with Josie and maybe he really could be a one-woman kind of guy. Because in the span of a couple of days, Josie had turned his world upside down and sure as hell made him want to try.

  “You’re not helping me, pal.”

  Trent gave him a sly grin. “Okay, so everyone knows your reputation with the ladies, right?”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “Maybe you just need to show Josie that you’ve changed your ways. Maybe then she’ll see you as something more than a good time at the back of the fire truck.”

  Taken aback, Adam cringed and asked, “So you know then?”

  “Well, that was just an educated guess,” he said, grinning. “How could I not have come to that conclusion? You two both disappeared after our demonstration, and you haven’t stopped smiling for two days.”

  “And she’s been ignoring me for just as long.” Well that wasn’t entirely true. He’d spent Sunday at the station, while she was with her friends at the fair, which meant he hadn’t been able to hook up with her. But Monday morning during the school tour, he’d felt her pull away from him.

  Trent shrugged, and whacked his bat against his runners, knocking the dirt from the spikes. “So do something about it.”

  Just then Reece McGrath joined them in the dugout. “Do something about what?” he asked.

  “Our man here’s got it bad,” Trent said.

  “Oh yeah, and who might he have it bad for?”

  “Sweet little Josie Wells,” Trent announced.

  “Oh really?” Reece paused and said, “I guess I can see that. She really is a nice girl.” Rolling one shoulder, he added, “Hard to believe that she’s still single.”

  “Uh, I’m right here, guys.”

  Trent looked at Adam. “What’s hard to believe is that this dumb-ass took so long to realize what I’ve always known.”

  Reece said, “Well, from what Tabby told me, a few months back the psychic gave Josie the initials of the guy she is going to marry, and I hate to break it to you, pal, but they weren’t yours.” He glanced at Trent. “I guess that’s probably why she’s still single. She’s waiting for her Mr. Right to come along.”

  “Do you really believe in that psychic shit?” Trent asked as the two began a debate on the merits of Madame M.

  At the mention of Madame M and her prediction for Josie, an uneasy feeling moved into Adam’s stomach. Okay, so maybe the crazy woman didn’t know what she was talking about after all, because he’d be damned if he’d give up on Josie now. Not since he’d spent the last two days agonizing over her, and had come to the conclusion that so long as she was at his side, he could and would break the Collins curse.

  Not only did he want to do it for Josie, he wanted to do it for Jacob. It was about time someone in the Collins family took responsibility for their actions. Jacob deserved to have a better role model, and up until now Adam had been doing a piss-poor job of that.

  Before he could consider it further, the team showed up and Adam put his concerns away for the time being. He joined the team on the field and blinked under the bright lights, wondering if Josie was in the stands. Unable to see past the glare, he stepped up to bat.

  Three hours later, after winning the softball game against the neighboring town, Adam showered and made his way back to the fairgrounds. It was late, and since it was a work night, things were shutting down early. As the temperature dropped, he jammed his hands into his jeans and walked around in search of Josie, but she was nowhere to be found. No doubt she was at home preparing her agenda for her class tomorrow.

  The thoughts of living such a normal life, of crawling into bed early with someone you loved, someone who loved you back, had his heart clenching. Adam never thought he could have those things, but goddammit, it sure didn’t mean he hadn’t spent years wanting them.

  Deciding to make his way to Hauk’s haunted bar, he cut down a side street and walked along the water, but when he heard a loud noise up on Dresden’s Bluff, and saw a spark in the air, he cursed under his breath.

  How many times had he warned those teens about the dangers of fireworks?

  Passing by the bar, he made his way to the bluff to read the riot act to the irresponsible youth who should have been at home asleep and not out causing trouble. After all, it was a school night.

  He hurried up the bluff, but when he found Errol at the top, jumping around because he’d singed his fingertips, Adam cursed and looked at the pack of firecrackers on the ground. “Errol, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Like a school kid caught with his fingers in the cookie jar, Errol glared at him in surprise. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “What do you think I’m doing here?” Adam grabbed the old man’s hand to examine it and blew a relieved breath to find it was nothing more than a light surface burn. Next time, however, he might not be so lucky. “You’re going to get yourself killed one of these days.” He reached into his pocket. “I’m calling Trent.”

  “No, don’t do that, lad. Was just out having me some fun. No harm. No foul.”

  Adam shook his head. “I think you need to find another hobby.”

  “Well, y’all put a stop to my meddling, so I have to find something fun to do.”

  When Adam saw real sadness come over Errol’s face, it reminded him that after the man’s wife, Margaret, passed away, Errol was alone in that big old house of his. Then it had him thinking of his own grandma. Errol and Delilah had
been friends for years and maybe it was time someone opened their eyes to the fact that they’d be great companions for one another. Maybe it was time someone used Errol’s meddling tricks on him.

  “Errol…” he began.

  “Okay, I’m leaving, I’m leaving. Don’t get your panties in a twist, boy.”

  Adam laughed and drew the night air into his lungs, thinking he might just hang out on the bluff a little longer. It would do him good to get his head on straight and think about his best approach with Josie. But when he noticed Errol favoring one leg, he said, “You want me to walk you home?”

  “Come on, boy, I ain’t no invalid. I can make my own way home. And I might just pick up some rum on the way. I suppose ya got something to say about that too?” Before Adam could respond, he added, “You just stay put and make sure all those sparks are out. Make yourself useful for a change.”

  Twirling his cane, Errol began whistling as he made his way down the hill and Adam looked skyward, wondering what the hell he was going to do with the cranky old guy. After a few minutes Errol’s whistling grew faint, and once he disappeared into the dark, Adam stood on the bluff and looked out over the town. But when his gaze zeroed in on Josie’s bungalow, and he spotted her unlocking her front door and entering her foyer, his heart began to race, thinking about what he’d heard her doing in her bedroom earlier that morning.

  He watched the lights flick on inside her small house, and when he watched her grab something out of her closet and disappear into another room, he suddenly felt like it wasn’t such a coincidence that he was standing on the bluff, at the exact same time she was arriving home.

  Speaking of meddling…

  Was Errol up to his old tricks again? Had he led Adam there on purpose, knowing he would spot Josie arriving home? Still not convinced that the three granddads weren’t involved in pairing Reece and Tabby as well as Vic and Hauk, Adam considered this turn of events longer. But as he tossed it around in his mind, the more convinced he was that Errol couldn’t have known the precise time Josie would arrive home. Christ, maybe all these new emotions were just making him paranoid.