by J. H. Croix
Maisie’s eyes narrowed, and her cheeks turned pink. She opened her mouth to say something when the radio hooked to her belt beeped. She snagged it and hurried back through the door to the front.
I glanced from the door back to Beck. “She might be bossy like Carol, but…. Not exactly warm and fuzzy.”
Beck shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we’re still trying to warm her up.”
I scanned the room, circling back to Beck. “So, I brought some gear to drop off. Okay if I go ahead and bring it in?”
“Of course, let me give a hand.”
In short order, I had hung my gear in a locker, met a few of the other guys and caught up with Beck. Beck walked me back out to his truck and leaned against the tailgate. “So, what finally brought you back?” he asked.
“Been meaning to come back for a while. When I saw the foreman position open up, I jumped at it.”
I left unsaid that I’d stayed away as long as I had, in part because I’d been deep into avoiding Amelia and everything that fell apart between us.
Beck eyed me and nodded slowly. “Guessing you heard your girl up and left Earl Osborne at the altar.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Amelia hasn’t been my girl for a long time.”
Beck chuckled. “Whatever, man. I love this place, but word travels. Already heard you’re the one who brought her back to town after she bolted at her wedding. Just a heads up, if I heard about it, well, that means the whole damn town did.”
I kicked my heel against a tire. I’d missed many things about Willow Brook, but gossip wasn’t one of them. “Aw hell. Don’t tell me I’m gonna have to face people pissed off at me. All I did was run into her at a bar. Damn woman managed to start a fistfight,” I said with a chuckle.
Beck threw his head back with a laugh. “That must’ve been a sight.”
“Oh yeah. I walk in and see her land her fist right in some guy’s face. Next thing I know, he knocks her right to the ground.” I paused and shook my head. “So, I waded in there and got her out of the way. Had no idea she’d just walked out on Earl, although the fact she was wearing a wedding dress tipped me off.”
Beck shook his head. “Well, she’s given the gossips something to chew on for a few months between walking out on Earl and you coming back to town.”
“Oh hell. I hate that shit,” I replied.
Beck eyed me for a beat. “Right, well at least it’s Earl. He’s so laid back about everything, I doubt he’ll much care. Far as I’m concerned, just goes to show she was right to walk out.”
Beck’s cell phone beeped, and he glanced at the screen. “Gotta take this. Trying to buy some land and it’s the bank. How about you meet up with me and the guys this Saturday at Wildlands?”
“Will do,” I replied as Beck gave a nod and took the call.
I turned and looked across the street once Beck disappeared inside. Willow Brook was one of the older towns in Alaska, established during the mythical gold rush era. The original fire station had been renovated into the Firehouse Café, while this newer building was built back when I was a boy. It was square and utilitarian, but situated right on Main Street with a nice view of Swan Lake.
The sun glinted off the lake with its namesake Trumpeter swans drifting in the center. The swans came every summer, decorating the lake as they floated regally in its waters. I looked out over the water and took a breath. I’d missed this view, missed so many things. I was partially kicking myself for holding out this long before coming home. Yet, in the back of my mind, I knew I’d have felt a hell of a lot differently if I were here dealing with the reality of Amelia with someone else like a punch to my gut. I might be gnawing on a lot of emotions over her, but the barren pain of thinking she was out of reach was gone.
I glanced at my watch. I figured it was time to track her down.
Chapter 15
Amelia
“What do you mean you can’t get out here until next week?” I asked into my phone.
“Amelia, I’m sorry. My excavator took some damage last week when a tractor-trailer clipped it on the way back from Anchorage. Trust me when I say I’m as annoyed as you about the whole mess,” Max replied.
Max Richards was the guy I usually subcontracted with for excavation work. It wasn’t a full-time gig for him. In fact, it was very part-time. He was a biologist for the federal government, but like most everyone in Alaska, he had several irons in the fire. After getting burned by a few of the more full-time crews around here who thought I was stupid enough to trust their rates, I’d heard Max did this work on the side and called him up. He was an old friend of Quinn’s, and I trusted him completely. He charged fair rates and his pace worked with mine. With my small two-woman crew, I stayed busy, but I didn’t line up too many projects.
I paced back and forth in front of my work truck, considering what to do. “When will it be ready?”
“Next week. If you can wait, I’ll be at the site Monday,” Max replied.
Knowing I couldn’t get anyone else in on such short notice without paying a fortune for an emergency job, I figured it was best to wait. “That’ll have to work.”
“Thanks Amelia. See you then,” Max said before ending the call.
I tucked my phone in my pocket and glanced around for Lucy. I caught sight of Lucy’s blonde hair peeking out from under her baseball cap over by the stream running through the corner of the lot. I strode over to find her leaning over with her face practically in the stream.
“Okay Lucy, what are you doing?”
Lucy glanced up quickly before looking back into the stream. “Look! There’s some small trout in here,” Lucy said, pointing to the stream where all I could see was the sun glinting off its surface.
I stepped closer and leaned down to see trout hovering in the water in a small eddy created by the rocks. “Nice. Wonder if the Jacobson’s are into fishing?”
Lucy straightened and shrugged. “Maybe. Have you met them yet?”
The Jacobson’s were the couple that had hired me to build their house after a recommendation from none other than Cade’s father. I shook my head. “Nope. They’ve visited here in the summer, but haven’t come up yet this year. They plan to be here next month, so here’s hoping they don’t mind a week’s delay on the project.”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Max’s excavator got a little dinged up when a tractor-trailer hit clipped him on the highway. He says he can be here next week, but until then…” I shrugged. “Not much for us to do. All the plans are ready, but we can’t build until the land is ready, so we wait. Let’s split up for today. How about you take care of finishing up the decking on the job on the far side of town? I’ll go meet with that couple that wants to draw up plans for a house. I think it’s a little late to start this year, but they want to get the process going. Sound like a plan?”
We turned and started walking back toward my work truck together. Lucy idly kicked a pebble as we walked. “Works for me. Do you think it’s worth seeing if someone else can handle the excavation on short notice?”
“Not unless I want to pay through the nose. Plus, Max does good work and never tries to cut corners. I’d rather deal with a delay than worry about someone squeezing the job in and not getting it right.”
We stopped when we reached the truck. Lucy started to say something and stopped when we heard the sound of tires coming down the gravel drive leading through the trees. “Who would be…?” Lucy started to ask before a grin spread across her face.
My back had been to the drive, so I glanced over my shoulder to see Cade’s truck rolling up to us. My pulse lunged, and my belly did a slow flip.
Cade parked beside my truck and climbed out. My eyes ate him up. I couldn’t help it. I was near starved to see him. Seven years of swatting him out of my thoughts had only led to seven years of stored up longing. To have him here, in the flesh, and to recall the feel of his lips on mine while his fingers drove me to near madness—I was instantly hot and bothere
d.
He wore faded black jeans paired with a black t-shirt, basically a uniform for him, both of which did nothing to hide his hard muscled form. My mouth went dry when his eyes landed on me, his green gaze darkening in a flash. I forgot Lucy was standing right there until Lucy cleared her throat, so audibly it made me flush.
I tore my eyes free from Cade and looked to Lucy, grasping for some semblance of casual. “So, uh…”
Lucy cut in, looking between us. “Cade, you mind giving Amelia a ride to her office?”
Confused, I stared at her. “What? No, I’ve got work to do. I’ll…”
“I’m the one who needs the truck. I’ll pick up the decking and head out to finish up that job. You don’t need the truck. This way, I don’t have to go through town,” Lucy said matter-of-factly.
Lucy had a perfectly reasonable point, yet I didn’t miss the subtle teasing gleam in her eyes. Before I had a chance to reply, Cade beat me to it.
“Sounds like you’re riding with me then. Wouldn’t want Lucy to waste time on a trip to town,” he said.
His gruff voice sent a shiver through me. This is ridiculous. All he’s doing is talking and you’re practically panting. I shushed my internal critic and glanced between Lucy and Cade. I was torn between two urges—the urge to flee because Cade brought up all kinds of feelings inside and I wasn’t so sure I knew how to handle them, and the urge to fling myself at him and forget the rest of the world.
When I didn’t say anything, Lucy reached over and snagged the keys right out of my hand. “That’s settled then. Text me about our schedule tomorrow.”
Lucy, being Lucy, moved fast and hopped in the truck inside of a few seconds, leaving me to wave as she backed up and turned the truck around. I watched the Kick A** Construction tailgate fade from sight as Lucy drove swiftly down the driveway.
My heart set to pounding hard and fast. Being alone with Cade was something I craved so, it sent my body into overdrive and my emotions spinning wildly. On the heels of a deep breath and a complete failure to slow my pulse, I looked over at Cade. He was looking around, giving me a moment to look at him. His brown curls were mussed, as they almost always were. I followed the strong line of his jaw and down his neck and along his muscled chest, my eyes drawn to the edge of his collar where his tanned skin tempted me to lean over and lick it.
Really? You can’t be thinking like this. You were nearly ruined by this man. Even if it wasn’t what you thought it was, don’t fall right back to a place where you can’t keep it together.
Another swat at my thoughts. I didn’t need to wrestle with myself when I had Cade standing here.
“Nice site to build,” Cade commented as his gaze made its way back to me. “Whose property?”
I scanned the area. It was a lovely lot with the building site nestled in a forested area with a mix of blue spruce, cottonwood and birch. The stream where Lucy noticed the trout ran along one side of the property with the trees thinning to the other side and offering a distant view of Swan Lake. I looked up at Cade and nodded. “It’s a great place. A couple from out of state snapped this land up when the timber company sold some lots off a few years ago. Your dad actually gave the Jacobson’s my name last year.”
Cade nodded slowly, holding my gaze and sending my belly into a dizzying series of flips. He’d never shied away from eye contact. He used to drive me wild with nothing but a look back in the heady days of our youthful love. He hadn’t lost his touch. Whether it was him or my own ridiculous weakness for him, I didn’t know. He was quiet, everything around us fading. I distantly heard the rustle of squirrels in the trees and an irate magpie chattering, but my entire body spun toward Cade. It was as if he was a magnetic force for me.
My breath became shallow and I tried to rein my body in, but it was an exercise in futility. Heat coiled in my belly and radiated outward. Cade angled to face me and reached up to remove my baseball cap. I’d tucked my hair up underneath it, and it tumbled free. He lifted a hand and slid his fingers through the ends of it. He didn’t say a word. The air around us hummed to life, while desire rolled through me in a wave. Hot shivers chased over my skin.
He stepped closer, winding my hair around his hand, reeling me closer with every breath I could barely take.
“Cade, what are you doing?” My voice was raspy and breathy.
“This,” he said, the word fierce and definitive, before his lips crashed against mine.
The point of contact was like a bolt of fire. It galvanized me. My desire and tumult of emotions were nearly burning me up inside—the only relief was to dive into the flames with him.
Our tongues dueled—our kiss rough, hot and wet. He brought me flush against him, his cock hot and hard against me, while his hands roved roughly over me. I couldn’t get close enough, my hands greedily exploring him, sliding up under his shirt and savoring every hard muscled plane and the warmth of his skin.
I wasn’t conscious of anything I was doing until he gentled our kiss, slowly drawing back. His lips dusted along my jaw and down my neck. My skin pebbled in response, and I fought to catch my breath when he paused, his lips against my skin in the curve where my neck met my shoulder. I became conscious enough to realize I had one hand curled over his cock through his jeans and the other gripping his back, holding him tight against me. My body didn’t want any space between us, not even an increment. Neither did my heart.
My mind? Well, therein lay the problem. Every time I thought, I felt as if I was wading through seven years of the mangled emotions that followed what I’d believed had been his betrayal. Thrown into the mix now was my own guilt at having shut him out so completely and cutting myself off from even trying to find out what happened.
“I think maybe I should give you that ride,” Cade murmured into my neck.
I felt his lips move against my skin when he spoke, and it sent heat streaking through me. I held still because I couldn’t bring myself to move away just yet.
His heart pounded in time with mine, and I took a small bit of relief in knowing at least I wasn’t alone in my response. After a few beats, he slowly drew back, straightening, his eyes colliding with mine. He lifted a hand and brushed my hair away from my forehead. “So?”
Through the haze of desire, I stared at him, trying to compute.
“Should we go?” he asked, puncturing the haze just enough I could think.
“Probably,” I finally said.
His mouth hooked at one corner. Damn, I’d forgotten how devastating his half-smiles could be. I’d barely gotten my body under control, and now another wave of need rolled through me.
When he didn’t move away, I finally moved my hand off of his cock. I didn’t want to, I really didn’t, but this was beyond ridiculous. I should be able to act like I had some kind of control. Even though my memories of what things had been like before with us were nothing but good except for the end, I didn’t recall feeling this wildly out of control.
He finally stepped back, his hand sliding down my arm and curling around one of mine. “Let’s go.”
Moments later, I was watching the landscape roll by as Cade drove back toward downtown Willow Brook. A flock of sandhill cranes was scattered about a field, their distinct red crowns standing out amidst the tall grasses. The ride to town was quiet. I was about to tell Cade where my office was when he turned into the parking lot behind it.
When I’d first started my business, I hadn’t ever thought I’d need an office. I kept picking up jobs here and there and took care of the business end of things at home. My business expanded from small jobs to jobs where I actually needed to put my architecture skills to work, and it didn’t work too well to have clients showing up at my home. I rented a small office around the corner from the fire station. The building housed an office supply business on the lower floor and a few offices upstairs.
Cade turned his truck off, and quiet settled around us. My pulse had barely started to calm on the short drive here. In the weighted quiet, it skittered wildly.
When I looked toward him, he was looking out the window, his gaze inscrutable. As if he sensed me looking his way, he turned to face me. I swallowed and tried to quell the butterflies spinning in my belly.
“I suppose you have work to do,” he finally said.
“A little. Um, when are you starting work?”
“Next week.”
I felt myself nodding, while I wondered what to say next. I hated this tension between us. There was the good tension linked to the off the charts, seven years of pent up longing, and then the threads of tension tightening after too many years of unresolved messiness between us.
He knocked me off the loop in my brain when he spoke. “Don’t suppose you have a bathroom?”
A laugh bubbled up. “Come on.” I waved for him to follow as I climbed out and made my way inside. Up a flight of stairs from the back hallway, I led him into my office.
“Bathroom’s right through there,” I said, gesturing to the door in the hallway.
I walked into my office and glanced around the room. It was a single room with a drafting table, a desk and a small table with chairs for reviewing plans with clients. I surprised myself by spending a decent amount of time here. I usually met Lucy here several mornings each week and often spent a few hours in the evenings when I needed to catch up on the business end of things. I strolled over to the windows and looked outside. The sun was high in the sky and the street below suddenly busy with traffic backed up behind a slow moving camper. Alaska roads became crowded every summer with massive campers cluttering them.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I answered it without even looking at the screen.
“Hey Amelia.” Earl’s low voice rumbled through the line.
My stomach knotted with tension. I’d already apologized when I dumped him right before our not-wedding, but I’d been dreading the next time I spoke to him. I cursed myself for not bothering to check to see who was calling. It would have been nice to be mentally prepared, not to mention Cade would be walking in any second now.
“Hi Earl. How’s your fishing trip?” I asked, unable to keep the bite out of my tone.
