by J D Worth
“Yes. I can almost breathe freely. I can’t remember the last time I did.”
Cal says to himself, “No doubt things are fucked now.”
“Cal, are you okay?”
“We’ll have to see…” Cal eyes me for a long moment before flashing a wide smile. “Nighttime is the best to spot gators. Their eyes light up like jack-o’-lanterns when you shine a bright light.”
“That sounds a bit crazy.” A big smile spreads across my face. Mace turns back and nods at us. We watch him sink two more balls before missing and handing the stick off to Cal.
Cal calls out to Mace, relaying, “We should take her in search of gators. I’m adding gators to the bucket list.”
“We might oughta do that.” Mace laughs a low rumble.
“Might oughta,” I repeat another Southern phrasing while Cal snickers at me.
“Training wheels with the English language here.” Cal teases by nudging my shoulder. He fills our shot glasses and says to the crew, “Fuck it, right? We said we’re gonna drink ourselves silly tonight. This is one of Violet’s bucket list items.” The group downs shots except for Mace who amplifies his grin.
“I’m driving so that you guys can drink plenty tonight. Princess, you stick with us, and we’ll show you a mighty fine time.” Mace kisses me and joins Cal when he hops up for his turn. They speak amongst themselves, looking back at me every so often.
Payton jumps up on the bar stool next to me when I refill the shots. We share a laugh after I tell her about my upcoming gator adventure. She takes me to a photograph hanging amongst a hundred others. Sonny and his friends stand over a large alligator they caught. I gawk at the photo-covered wall of Sonny’s interesting patrons, the collection of old liquor signs, and vintage license plates. Payton fills me in on epic bar fights, and Sonny’s legendary adventures. Eventually, we rejoin the others.
The crew plays a few more games and indulges in more shots until everyone is feeling good. Mace takes me by the hand while the others wrap up the last game. “Come, I wanna show you something.” I sway and have to lean on Mace for support. “You on a slant?” He chortles. I bob my head up and down. He wraps his arm around me, making our way through the crowd of the rowdy country boys to the wall of photos again. He points out a picture of my Uncle Johnny drinking with a bunch of locals.
“Wow! Are there any photos of my grandfathers or of my father?” I ask. Mace gives me a funny look. “Oh yeah, you’re right!” I chuckle. “William is far too good for a place like this, and Warren only drank at his personal bar.” I roll my eyes as Mace laughs a low rumble.
His laugh dies as he gazes at the main bar area. Hal has shown up in his sheriff’s uniform. They exchange a subtle look. Sonny points over his son’s shoulder while Hal’s face remains stoic. They seem to exchange bitter words before Hal storms toward us, heading for the door. Our eyes meet in passing, and I catch a glimpse of this forty-something man with sharp, handsome features. He slows as he approaches us, clearly checking out the newest summer resident of Haven again. For some reason his soulful brown eyes are mesmerizing to me, and I can’t pull my attention away from him. He seems familiar and not from when we met before. Rather from a long time ago, yet how can that be?
I jerk my head from my stupor as Hal barrels through the door. “Ah, is the sheriff angry with me about the Chaz situation?” I surmise from his short, bothersome visit.
“No.” Mace clears his throat as he runs his thumb down my cheek.
“And you never answered my question when I asked about Pretty Boy earlier.”
“There’s nothing new to share.”
I focus all my attention on his eyes, looking for the fine lines that form every time he opens up to me. Not one single crinkle appears.
“You look mighty similar to your momma,” he says. “That may be hard on someone like Hal who knew her better than I did. Brings up old memories.”
“I get it. I’m the living ghost of my mother. I received the same reaction from Cal and Martin when we first met too.”
“The Wakefield family remains well-regarded here,” he says, his voice trailing off, his eyes elsewhere. “You good, or do you want one for the road?”
“Nah, I’m good to go. Thank you. This has been an enlightening experience.” I wobble into him, laughing at myself.
“Enlightening, huh? That’s not a word ever used to describe Sonny’s bar. Seems Cal’s got his own version going on.” Mace motions to Cal who has had a bit too much and is staggering worse than I am. I crack up, and Mace joins me as I point to Cal and his goofy drunken state. Cal laughs back at me. Jax nods at Mace, wearing a lazy smile of his own as he gathers the girls so we can head out.
“Wait,” I say. “I’ve gotta tell Sonny he’s the best! Or how you say … the keenest?” Mace lets out a low rumble as I snag his slang. I make my way to Sonny with Mace behind me. “Sonny, it’s been a real pleasure making your acquaintance. Thanks for sharing your moonshine and alligator meat with me. The toasts were also very kind. I’d like to pick up the tab for my friends, so how much do I owe you?” With glassy eyes, I smile up at him. His belly shakes with laughter.
“Sure thing, child. Let’s call tonight a draw,” he says.
Cal yells from across the bar, “Later, Gramps!” Sonny chuckles.
“You know, my child, you can call me Gramps too. All the young’uns do. I’d be mighty honored.”
“Gramps…” I say under my breath. Mace and Sonny trade smiles.
“Son, I owe you one for this.” Sonny pats Mace’s shoulder and grins my way. “I got your back.”
“You always do, Sonny.”
Appreciation graces his softened face as Sonny looks to Mace, sharing, “Hal will come ’round. You knew this was gonna be hard, especially on him.”
“We’ll be in town again.” Mace taps the bar. “Take it easy, Sonny.”
Mace walks me to the door, and I ask, “What did he mean by a draw?”
“Ole Jonathan floated Sonny from time to time.”
“How kind.”
“Yeah, Princess.”
Rewinding my mind, I ask, “What did Sonny mean by ‘hard on Hal’?”
“Everyone loved the Wakefields.” He leans down and kisses me deep. The same fire sparks between our bodies as before. I furrow my brow, catching how he used the kiss to end the conversation. How many other conversations has he ended this way without me noticing? Seconds pass before the mournful sentiment of his voice catches up with my overheated brain. There seems to be a connection with Hal and my family that Mace is not willing to discuss.
“Hal is having a hard time around me because of my mother?” I stumble in my spot, jumping to what seems to be a hidden truth. “Why am I sensing Hal was in love with my mother?”
Mace and I stare at each other.
“Goof!” Cal crashes between us like a big kid, bringing several more shots for the two of us. Mace glares at Cal as he grins in return. Cal turns his back to Mace and says to me, “We don’t leave this place without a proper send off. To gators and moonshine!” We do our shots. Cal shoves the door wide open and scoops me up, balancing me over his shoulder, bounding outside.
Mace’s face darkens. I’ve touched on something here. Glancing from Sonny to Cal to Mace, I’m positive they’re hiding more secrets than they’re willing to share.
16
Payton gags while Violet and Jax make out in the Jeep. We crack up at their shameless display of affections, but they’re too drunk to notice. She smiles at me, saying, “Sorry, Baby Girl, we’ll do a sleepover when these two aren’t humping like jackrabbits.” She elbows Jax when they encroach on her cramped space in the middle seat again. “Hey! Keep it in your pants.”
Jax snickers. “You’re the one who’s into kink, Darlin’.”
She rolls her eyes. “Trent and his big fucking mouth. I’m going to actually strangle him the next I see his smug face.”
Fanning my face, I say, �
��How is it hotter now than when the sun was baking us earlier in the day?”
Payton shares, “Get used to it. The humidity only thickens like gravy from here on out.” She shoves back against Jax again as he shifts Violet in his lap. “Really, Jax? Get your hand outta her dress. We’re sitting right here!”
Violet buries her face in Jax’s chest, bursting into laughter as he cops a crooked smile. Payton gives Jax the stink-eye. Mace pulls up to an older two-storey white house in Harbor Bay. Several mailboxes hang out front, and there’s a large gravel parking lot in the back with vehicles.
I step out of the Jeep to let Payton out. She leans in and whispers, “Jax and Violet will go off and hump all night. Cal is ready to pass out.” I peek in the Jeep. Cal’s resting his head back with his eyes are closed. “That leaves you and Mace, and he’s been sending you smoldering looks all night long.” We glance towards Mace. Desire fills his green eyes as he gazes at me.
Heat spirals to my sex, remembering the blissful moment he sank into me. “Ooh.”
“That’s what I thought.” In a singsong voice, she says, “You’ve got this, Audrey, enjoy the ride.”
Mace tracks me with his eyes as I slink back into the Jeep. Little moans and breathy kisses heat up the backseat as Jax and Violet enjoy each other. Mace and I pass longing glances in the mirror. I seem to hold my breath all the way back to my cottage. Jax and Violet scurry off to the guest bedroom upon arrival.
Mace’s chiseled cheeks deepen with his smile as we climb out of the Jeep. “You’ll get used to ’em.”
“I’m thrilled Violet has claimed my original room as her own. It’s easier to think the room belongs to her than the fourteen-year-old Audrey that is long gone. Honestly, I can’t bear to look at the space. The room reminds me of everything I’ve lost. Violet’s pure, unfiltered happiness adds sunshine, you know?” I circle my eyes around his broad shoulders, longing for the closeness Violet and Jax share. Lifting my damp hair off my neck, I fan myself.
“Is the heat getting to you?”
“It’s like eighty-five degrees with a thick blanket of humidity.”
Mace steps closer, pressing me against his Jeep with his hard body. “That wasn’t what I was asking.” He sinks his hands low on my hips and his mouth on mine.
Swaying my hips towards him, I whimper. Our mouths move in harmony as his eager lips drink me in. I grip his shirt and have to yank myself away. “We really haven’t had a moment alone, but I wanted to apologize. I found out I ruined your birthday bash, and you didn’t want me to know?”
“Ruined? You landed in my lap, smelling like a cherry vanilla cupcake. Best birthday I ever had.”
“I tried to steal the JD that Trent gave you as a gift.” I press my lips together, trying not to snicker.
His chest rumbles. “I stole your car. Like I said, best damn birthday I’ve ever had.”
“I covered you in glitter.”
“Twice now.” We chuckle together. “Do you wanna know what I was thinking while devouring those silky smooth chocolates in front of you? I couldn’t get past how they were a poor substitute for how you’d melt against my tongue.”
A bead of sweat runs down the arch of my back, sending tingles deep to my core. “Ooh…”
A loud yawn comes from the front seat. Cal stretches his arms out as he wakes up from his nap. He pops out of the Jeep, looking around the yard. “Oh, man, Payton went home?”
The vibrations of a growl surface between us as Mace steps back. “Yeah, she couldn’t stomach the jackrabbits.”
Cal narrows his eyes at the closeness of our bodies. “Can’t blame her.”
Hitching my thumb over my shoulder, I say, “I’m going to go change.” I dash inside, leaving Mace and Cal to sort out their issues. Exiting my bedroom, a loud squeaking noise draws me to guest room. I close the door on the amorous couple and bump into Mace, eager to bust in on Violet and Jax.
“Don’t bother them.” I press my hand on his agitated body, pushing him back. “They don’t mean any disrespect. They’re simply getting lost in one another. I’m glad they’re making love. Real love. Do you know how rare that is where I come from? The land of sham and loveless marriages. Who cares if the bed squeaks?” I shrug, watching his eyes fall to my lips.
He drives me against the wall and gives me a rather passionate kiss. “Has any man ever made love to you?” he asks.
“I’d say you’ve come the closest. Sex has never been that big of a deal, you know?”
Mace’s face tightens, and his jaw flexes. “If Pretty Boy was still ’round, I’d kill him.” Mace’s low, serious threat sends chills throughout my body. He walks away heavy footed. I gather myself before returning to the living room.
Mace’s green eyes burn into mine. “Cal, you got some dry wood up at your cottage to start a bonfire?” Mace avoids Cal’s eyes because they’re still upon me.
“Yeah,” Cal says in agreement. “We even got some kindling.” Mace breaks eye contact with me when he hands over the empty pizza boxes. Cal jets off to start the bonfire.
Mace hovers over me. I take his lead by lowering myself on the sectional. His breathing is deep and controlled while he runs his lips down my neck. He moves the straps of my cami from my shoulder and kisses the swell of my breasts. His heated breaths fall over my body. My sex comes alive with tingles again. “I can’t get you outta my mind, and I don’t ever wanna,” he whispers in between consuming kisses.
Mace lingers over me, caressing his hand along my cheek. I clasp my hand over his. “Mace, I can see colors again. I didn’t for a long time. I was living in this black-and-white perpetual state. The vivid color of your eyes shocked me back.” I kiss his scabbed knuckles while gazing into his green eyes overflowing with life. “You make me feel alive.”
“I like hearing that I mean something to you, something deep in here.” Mace slides his hand over my pulsing heart that insists on moving forward with this carousel ride of a romance. My mind and body have declared war. I think I’m going to lose either way. “But let’s get something straight. I don’t make you feel anything. You choose to feel that way.”
My mind screams at me not to share while my drunken, loose lips are already forming the words. “I’ve never felt like this before. There’s a flame igniting deep, and it’s spreading. How can I go back to being numb like before? Not after knowing your touch lights my body, my whole being on fire.”
“If you aren’t careful, wildfire will consume you,” Mace shares in a warning tone.
“I’m sorry about dazing out earlier when we were together. I wanted to be with you, but my body…” His eyes burn, searing into mine. Heat singes between us as his lips ghost over mine.
“We’re both dealing with shit. I’m not ’bout to get physical with you again, not after earlier. I could never be that much of an ass to demand anything from you. That’s on me, and you’re not there yet. We only have a few more weeks. I like what we have, what we’re building here, and we can still play. Are you with me?”
“Wow. When you brush aside your cocky side and show me the real Mace, you mean business.”
“Audrey, I’m a man who knows what he wants, and I’m not fuckin’ ’round when it comes to us.”
“Then why the constant challenges and lip service?”
Crinkle lines gather around Mace’s eyes as he smiles. “I’m also the only man who can give you what you want.”
I giggle. “Is that so?”
“You’re just like me and need the challenge. Do you think I’m gonna let you off the hook so easily? You’re mine while you’re here.” I inhale the woodsy, smoky scent from his shirt that only seems to fan the simmering blaze within me.
“I’m yours? Did you ever think you’re mine?”
He chuckles. “From the first moment you gazed my way and kept gazing. My whole fuckin’ world fell into place.”
My body soars to dangerous new heights. I smile at him until my cheeks hurt. �
�You look at me differently than anybody has ever before.”
“How is that, Princess?”
“You look at me as if you could love me.” The static in my brain quells for the first time since my mother’s death. The surrounding colors become clear. The air hums while my body surges alive. His stormy green eyes dart to my parted lips. He inches forward, giving me a gentle kiss that stirs something profound within me.
“One day, you’ll be so in love … the momentum will knock you right on your ass ’cause you never saw it coming,” he says. A raw hurt churns in his hoarse voice.
