One Hot Summer

by Melissa Cutler

  She pressed her hands to the table and whipped her attention back to Micah. “I can’t believe she’s here. Do you know who that is?”

  He craned his neck to follow Remedy’s line of sight. “Of course. Ty Briscoe’s daughter and her husband. Carina and James Decker. Most people consider them royalty round here.”

  Carina was dressed casually in dark jeans and a flowing white cotton top. Her blond hair was pulled back with a red headband. Her husband, whom Remedy only knew by name, ran the stables at the resort. By the look of him tonight, he fit his cowboy reputation from head to toe. Not in the way all strapping Texas men like Micah exuded a cowboy essence, but in a bona fide horse-wrangling, bowlegged, sun-kissed tan kind of way.

  “You seem distressed that they’re here,” Micah said. “Are you having problems with Carina or something? Because I got on with her as good as could be expected when she was the resort’s wedding planner. Everyone seemed to like her all right.”

  Remedy was distressed, though she couldn’t put her finger on why. She picked up the damp cocktail napkin. “I’ve only met her once, my first day on the job. But Carina is a legend at the resort, the patron saint of wedding planning who’s responsible for putting Briscoe Ranch Resort on the map.”

  “I thought Granny June held that title.”

  Remedy was still getting used to the force of nature that was Granny June, who attended every single wedding held at the resort and had a penchant for inserting herself right in the middle of wedding prep so she could snap photos for the resort’s Facebook page. “Maybe they share it.”

  “Can you share a sainthood?” Micah asked.

  “You’re missing the point.”

  Micah focused all his attention on Remedy. His hand fell on hers, stilling her progress in ripping the napkin to shreds. “Enlighten me.”

  With one eye tracking Carina and her husband, Remedy tried to explain. “Alex, along with Emily Ford, the special event caterer at the resort, takes every opportunity to remind me that I could never live up to the bar Carina set.”

  Micah had the gentlemanliness to cringe. “Do they really say that outright?”

  “Alex only in so many words, but Emily, yes.”

  “Ouch.”

  As though on cue, Emily appeared by Carina and James’s side dressed in a red-and-white floral sundress, her curly hair loose and flowing down to her shoulders.

  Remedy’s heart sank. “Shit. This is so bad. Emily can’t see me here with you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Word at the resort is that she’s driven the last two event planners away because none of us can replace the sainted Carina. I’ve spent the past month trying to ingratiate myself to her and Alex, but Emily won’t even give me a chance to prove myself. We finally bonded over our mutual annoyance of you and I was starting to gain some ground in her eyes.”

  Micah’s fingers curled down over Remedy’s hand. His thumb stroked her skin in soothing circles. “Glad I could help, I think.”

  Carina, James, and Emily stood near the entrance and craned their necks looking for seats. It was only a matter of seconds before they spotted the empty table that had just cleared out next to Remedy and Micah, so Remedy did the first thing that came to mind. She shot out of her seat and tugged on Micah’s arm. “They’re headed this way. Come on.”

  He allowed himself to be dragged across the dance floor. They wove through the dancers until they were safely in the shadowy corner on the far side of the dance floor, between the emergency exit and the DJ stage.

  Remedy took hold of Micah’s arms and positioned him so that his back was to the bar, using him as a shield. She rocked up to her tiptoes to look over his shoulder at the unwanted bar patrons, who had assumed seats at the very table she’d predicted. Unless all three of them left or all went to the restroom at the same time, there would be no way for Micah and Remedy to get to the exit without the risk of being seen.

  “So this is the big plan?” he said. “We hide here until they leave so you can keep up the illusion with your coworkers that you can’t stand me?”

  “I can’t stand you. You’re absolutely insufferable.”

  His hand brushed down her side before settling at the curve of her waist. “Right. Let’s stick to that story. Back to your plan. What do we do now?”

  She used his arm to steady herself and rocked up on her tiptoes to peek over his shoulder at Carina, James, and Emily again. “I have no idea. My mind’s all fuzzy. I can’t think straight.”

  “Why’s your head all fuzzy? You only had one beer, unless you’ve been sneaking tequila shots while I wasn’t looking.”

  “Why indeed.” She darted a glance at him but chickened out from meeting his gaze because he was looking at her like that again, like he had been at their table after her plaything comment. Hungry. Interested. “I meant because of the burger. I’m still coming down from that high.”

  He pressed his lips together, his eyes on the emergency exit sign. “Right.”

  “That was a great burger.”

  “Told you. But you had a great point that I should’ve let you eat a bite of a Petey’s burger first so you’d realize exactly how grateful you should be that I saved you.”

  “Micah Garrity, the hero of Ravel County.”

  “That’s me.” The arm around her waist tightened a bit. His face grazed her hair.

  Remedy wobbled. She took hold of Micah’s shirt to steady herself on her tiptoes and a whiff of his scent tempted her nose. She’d first noticed in his truck that he smelled fantastic, like summer itself. As though he’d spent his day walking through fields of freshly mowed grass under the crisp summer sun. She wanted to bury her nose in his neck and take a long, slow sniff.

  It wouldn’t do. It wouldn’t do at all. “You smell like bacon and ketchup,” she said.

  His hand slipped down to the small of her back. “Funny. I was thinking your shampoo makes your hair smell like a new car.”

  Then she did refocus her gaze on his face. “I smell like a new car? I think I’d rather smell like bacon and ketchup.”

  Clearly, he was fighting hard against a laugh, his lips quirking and his cheeks sucking in. “Everybody loves that new-car smell.”

  His words struck her funny bone. She cringed through a snort of laughter at what a ridiculous corner they’d painted themselves into. Not only physically, in trying to dodge Remedy’s coworkers, but with each other. Work nemeses who were predestined to be enemies but were out together at a bar, on a dance floor, flirting shamelessly. Smelling each other’s hair and skin as they clutched in the dark.

  “This is terrible. What are we going to do to get out of here?” Remedy said.

  Micah tipped his head to the side, considering. “Well, I am a fire marshal. I guess I could run an unscheduled test of the emergency exit.”

  That reminded her of the question she’d meant to ask him before, until she’d gotten sidetracked by his toothpick and thoughts of his tongue. It wasn’t like they had anything better to do while they bided their time while hiding. “Why firefighting?”

  “Pardon?”

  “You asked me why wedding planning, so now I’m asking you. Why firefighting?”

  He blinked down at her. “You’re asking me that here? Now?”

  “You have any place better to be?”

  With lips flattened into a tight line, he twisted to glance at Emily and the Deckers, then returned his attention to Remedy, all hint of amusement or playfulness gone. He ducked his head, bringing his mouth close to her ear. She was learning that was a habit of his; Every time he had something serious to say he got close and said it directly into Remedy’s ear. “I’ve known I wanted to be a firefighter since I was eleven, when the Knolls Canyon Fire burned my whole neighborhood down. Leveled it in a matter of minutes. My siblings, my parents, and I piled into our minivan along with my best friend’s family, who lived next door. We escaped with nothing but the clothes on our backs.”

  She loosened her grip on his shi
rt and smoothed her hand over her chest, over his heart. “Oh my God. That was the fire you mentioned earlier. The one that happened twenty-four years ago that Briscoe Ranch was indirectly responsible for?” At his nod, she added, “I had no idea.”

  No wonder he came down so hard on the resort about fire regulations. So many puzzle pieces fell into place.

  His eyebrows flickered up. “No one who grew up in Central Texas will ever forget that fire. In my town alone, four people lost their lives that night. More than thirty people altogether in the county. And before you ask, yes, they caught who did it. Two rich teenage punks who were in town staying at Briscoe Ranch. The night of the wedding they were in town for, they stole a maintenance truck, drove out in the backcountry to smoke and drink. They brought sparklers that had been used in the wedding they’d attended that night.”

  “Wedding sparklers started the fire? I don’t know what to say.”

  She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting him to say when she’d asked the question about why he chose to be a firefighter, but it sure wasn’t anything that serious. She’d merely assumed he’d been drawn to the job because he’d been born with a hero complex. But now everything was clicking into place in her mind. His mistrust of Briscoe Ranch employees, his dislike of the wealthy. Why he and Alex butted heads at every turn. “That’s what you meant last weekend when you asked Alex how he could be so flippant about fire safety after everything Xavier’s family had been through. They were in that fire.”

  “I figured Alex had filled you in that day after I left.”

  “No. You’re not his favorite subject and I was too chicken to ask.”

  He leaned so close that his lips brushed her earlobe. “Xavier was the best friend I mentioned, the one who lived next door, who my family escaped the fire with.”

  Remedy blinked back. “What a small world that you were best friends as a kid with Alex’s husband.”

  “That’s the way it is in rural towns. We’re still best friends, actually. Until Xavier quit to raise their kids, he was my top volunteer firefighter. We still go shooting every Sunday morning, and I’m one of Isaac’s and Ivy’s godparents.”

  Remedy pressed a hand to her forehead, overwhelmed by the amount of new information coming at her, least of which was the surreal nature of hearing the names of her boss’s babies on Micah’s lips. “Shooting? Like, with guns?”

  His grin returned. “You’re adorable, California.”

  “But you and Alex can’t stand each other. He says you’re a thorn in his side, but yet you’re his kids’ godfather?”

  “One of the two godfathers, along with Alex’s brother,” Micah said. “And Alex is just as big a thorn in my side as I am in his, trust me. He’s not my favorite person in the world, but we have a prickly truce in effect for the sake of Xavier and the twins. Like all worthwhile things in life, it’s complicated.”

  She liked that idea. All the worthwhile things in life were complicated. She’d certainly found that to be true in her own life. She glanced past him, at Emily, Carina, and James. “I’m sorry about all this.”

  “What’s that you’re saying?” Micah cupped his ear, his voice mocking. “You’re sorry about flouting my authority at every turn? I’m glad to hear that.”

  She gave his chest a gentle push. “Not that. I’m pretty proud of all the flouting I’ve done. I meant hiding in a corner like a couple of teenagers who don’t want to get caught by their parents.”

  “If that analogy were accurate, we’d be necking right now.”

  Chill bumps skittered over her skin. Necking with the town hero in a dark bar was a plan that sounded better and better by the second. As she contemplated the idea, Emily stood and headed toward the bathroom.

  Remedy patted Micah’s chest. “Emily’s going to the restroom. This is our chance.”

  “You’re not worried about Carina and Decker seeing us?”

  “I’ve only met Carina once, so maybe she won’t recognize me. It’s dark in here.”

  “She’ll recognize me,” Micah said.

  “Maybe she’ll think you’re here with some hot blond firefighter groupie.”

  He laughed outright. “Right. Because there are so many firefighter groupies in Dulcet.” He took her hand. “Ready?”

  Remedy drew a breath. “Ready.”

  “I’ll lead.” He started off around the edge of the dance floor.

  “Of course you will, Alpha Bubba.”

  He swung his gaze over his shoulder and shot her a devilish grin that made her heart skip a beat. “There’s only one Bubba in my family, and that’s my dad.”

  “So you’re Junior Bubba?” she called over the music.

  “Junior’s my older brother. What’s wrong with calling me Micah?” He stopped just shy of the start of the dance floor and pulled her close. “Or, better yet, Chief Garrity.”

  She forced out a laugh. “Oh, you’d just love for me to call you that, wouldn’t you?”

  A slow smile spread on his lips. “I kinda would.”

  It was her turn to take the lead. Tugging him by the hand, she started moving again. “Come on. Before they see us.”

  They were nearly to the front door when a female voice called, “Micah! And Remedy Lane, is that you, too?”

  Damn it. Resigned to their fate, they stopped walking. Micah squeezed Remedy’s hand in a show of support. “I guess you’re more memorable than you thought.”

  Remedy pasted a smile on her face and turned to Carina and James, who stood tall and quiet behind his wife, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

  After an exchange of pleasantries with Carina, Micah released Remedy’s hand and offered it to James to shake. “Decker, nice to see you, man. Have you met Remedy yet?”

  “Not before tonight, but I’ve heard plenty of rave reviews about the job you’re doing at the resort,” he said, shaking Remedy’s hand. “If you’re ever over by the stables, swing through and say hello.”

  Carina waved her hand in a circle that encompassed Remedy and Micah. “What’s happening here, Micah? Since when do you socialize with resort employees?”

  “This isn’t social,” Remedy said, perhaps a smidge too exuberantly.

  “It’s more a teacher/pupil interaction,” Micah said.

  Remedy nearly choked on her spit. “What?”

  “Carina, it seems that you and Alex failed to teach your ingénue here about the perils of ordering burgers at Petey’s Diner.”

  Carina’s eyes bugged out. “You ordered a cheeseburger at Petey’s?”

  “It’s not like this town comes with an instruction manual,” Remedy muttered.

  Micah draped an arm loosely across Remedy’s shoulders, like they were old pals. “So, you see, I rescued her from burger hell and took it upon myself to enlighten her about this fine dining establishment. And that’s the end of the story.”

  “Yep. The end,” Remedy said, ducking away from Micah’s arm.

  “I see.” Carina’s gaze flitted between Micah and Remedy as though she wasn’t buying that explanation for a second.

  At that moment, Emily strode out of the restroom. Remedy startled, which Micah must have noticed, because he nodded toward the door. “If you’ll excuse us, Carina and Decker, we’ve got to dash. As you can see, Ms. Lane needs her beauty sleep.”

  The nerve. “Gee, thanks.”

  James, or Decker, as Micah called him, chuckled, shaking his head. “Have a good night, you two.”

  Micah sped his pace and burst through the front door with a nod to the bouncer. The moment he and Remedy were outside, he took hold of her hand again and hauled her along behind him at a faster clip than she would’ve preferred in the direction of his truck.

  She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but his grip held strong. “So I need my beauty sleep? That’s rude.”

  He afforded her the barest of glances. “You didn’t want me to give them the impression that there was something illicit happening between us, did you?”

  With th
e same baffling impatience, he dragged her around to the passenger side of his truck. “Well, no, I—”

  And then his hands were on her hips, crowding her against the truck door. His eyes were dark with a fierce hunger and the promise of untold pleasures. Something illicit was about to happen between them—and she couldn’t wait.

  He brushed his thumb against her lips, as though waiting for permission to proceed.

  “Yes,” she breathed, tipping her head back.

  His thumb stroked her cheek. “Yes, what?”

  He was so powerfully built, so intensely male, that her mind cleared of everything except pure, raw lust. “Yes, kiss me.”

  Their lips came together in a shock of sensation that snapped her body rigid. She rose up onto her tiptoes, every cell of her taut and straining, reaching for more, harder. Wrapping her hand around his neck, the other threading into his hair, she pulled him to her and got her tongue involved, daring him to give up the last shreds of his control and go wild with her.

  Instead, he ended the kiss with a grunting exhalation. Breathing hard, he rested his forehead against the truck door above her shoulder. “You are trouble, California.” His voice was little more than a hoarse growl. “And I don’t like trouble.”

  His breath on her perspiring skin made her shiver.

  He was right. Everything about what they were doing had the potential to be a whole lot of trouble. Already they were sneaking around to avoid her coworkers, and that was before they’d kissed. This town was too small for an affair with the fire chief to go unnoticed.

  She splayed her hands over his chest. He was so fine, so exactly what she loved about men, the perfect blend of hard angles and muscled curves. So what the two of them together spelled trouble? Yes, she might be sabotaging her career for a second time, but as she pressed herself against Micah, his taste lingering on her lips and her body thrumming with need, the potential self-destruction seemed worth the risk.

  “What’s a town hero without a little trouble to keep him in business?” she said.

  Her question seemed to jolt him out of his thoughts. He pulled his face back and sought her gaze, then took her cheeks in his hands. Could he feel the pounding of her pulse in his fingertips the way she felt his heart thudding fast against her palms?