by J. H. Croix
Late that afternoon, he jogged down the steps of the fire station and over to his truck. The air was scented with impending snow. Travis climbed in his truck and zoomed home. He lived in one half of a duplex in downtown Diamond Creek. He didn’t spend much time at home with work often taking him out of town. Aside from his regular job as a firefighter for Diamond Creek, he took pick up jobs on hot shot crews that flew into fires in remote areas, and he was also a fisherman. Juggling multiple jobs was part of life in Alaska with the weather and seasons leading to fluctuating needs. He raced into his apartment to shower and change. He was on his way to pick up Janie for dinner. When he called to confirm today, he sensed hesitation from her, but he barreled through it. He couldn’t stop thinking about her hazel eyes and lush curves. He wasn’t sure what it was about her, but she made him want all kinds of things. His life didn’t leave much room for dating, so he kept things casual. Nothing about Janie felt casual. Aside from the pounding lust she elicited, she made him want to wrap her in his arms and hold her close.
Once she gave him her address, he knew right where her place was. She lived on the hillside above town on a winding road. He slowed when he saw the mailbox with her house number on it and turned into the driveway to find a charming cape home sitting at the end. The view of the bay spread out behind the home. It was early evening, but the sun was already setting, streaking the sky with lavender and pink.
Before he reached the door, it swung open. Janie stood in the doorway. A gust of wind blew past her, sending her dark hair in a swirl. She ran a hand through the disordered locks and glanced up at him. “Hi,” she said simply.
She wore jeans and a fitted tank top with a silky blouse over it. It was simple enough, yet insanely tempting because her breasts stretched the fabric of her tank top. Travis’s fingers itched to reach over and trace along the curves. He forced his eyes up to find her cheeks pinkening. That sent another lash of lust through him. He cleared his throat. “Hey. You ready to go?”
At her nod, he took a step back, making room for her to step onto the small porch. When she turned to lock the door behind her, her scent drifted to him—a subtle blend of vanilla and honey. Somehow, he kept a leash on his body and managed to walk down the stairs and to his truck. Once he was seated beside her, he glanced her way and was startled at the look on her face. Fear glimmered in the depths of her layered hazel eyes. He had been about to start his truck, but he froze and lowered his hand.
Chapter 4
“Are you okay?” Travis asked, his eyes coasting over her face.
Janie swallowed against the tightness in her throat and nodded, swatting back the feelings she hadn’t expected to rise up right now. “Oh yeah, I’m fine.” She tried to inject a breeziness in her tone, but it came out flat. On the heels of the old fear she thought she’d chased away long ago rose embarrassment. All she’d done was climb in his truck, and he seemed to notice she felt a little off. She took a breath and let it out slowly. “Where are we going?” she asked, hoping to move the conversation along normal topics.
He held her gaze for another beat and then seemed to accept her shift in topic. “Thought I’d leave it up to you.”
“Oh. Hmm. Maybe you can tell me a few places you like and we’ll go from there? I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to food.”
He shrugged. “The Brewery or the Boathouse?”
“The Brewery then. I haven’t been there in a while.”
Travis headed down the hill to Diamond Creek, making small talk along the way. He had to pause and wait for a mama moose and her two calves to meander across the road. Janie couldn’t hold back a small laugh when one of the calves paused to turn and sniff the truck’s bumper.
“I’d rather have my bumper meet them this way than the other option,” Travis said with a chuckle.
After the calf completed its investigation of Travis’s bumper, it jogged to catch up with its mother, all gangly legs as it made it way to the far side of the road. Travis slowly rolled past the trio and turned onto the road where Diamond Creek Brewery was. When they walked in a few minutes later, Janie scanned the space. Although the height of tourist season had passed, the brewery was busy. She saw a few acquaintances, but no close friends. She gave a silent sigh of relief. Gossip was a foregone conclusion in Diamond Creek. It was her hometown and she loved it, but rumors tended to take off like brush fire here. Considering that she couldn’t even recall the last time she’d been on a date, if anyone happened to notice that’s what she was doing with Travis, well, there would be gossip.
Janie was surprised to find dinner passed quickly and easily despite her internal awkwardness. Travis was easy to be around, and the brewery afforded a comfortable environment. The brewery was housed in a refurbished plane hanger, a far cry from its original state with model planes hanging from the ceiling, brightly colored rugs and curtains lending a warmth to the airy space. She found herself watching Travis with an alertness that startled her. Time and again, she couldn’t help the lunge of her pulse when his mouth curled up on one side. While he was an excellent example of, well, pure manliness between his fit, muscled body and chiseled features, an edge of humor softened him. Over a few too many glasses of wine, she learned he’d been born and raised in Anchorage, his parents and his brother were still in Anchorage, and he’d learned how to fish in his family’s commercial fishing business. He’d branched out on his own when he moved to Diamond Creek. He still fished, but claimed he’d never wanted that to be his only job. Commercial fishing, by its nature, was beset by fluctuating income, risky work, and uncertainty.
“I usually crew on a few salmon runs every year, but that’s it. That way, I can actually enjoy fishing and not worry if it’s a bad year,” he offered with a shrug.
Janie enjoyed another sip of the brewery’s delicious gooseberry wine. “Smart move. I’ve seen many people go through some tough years when fishing runs are down.”
“Exactly. Anyway, your family is here in Diamond Creek, right?” he asked.
“Oh yeah, the whole lot,” she said with a laugh. “Actually, for my immediate family, it’s just me and my mom. My dad died in a fishing accident when I was little…”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Travis said quickly.
“Thank you, but it’s okay. I miss him, but it’s been twenty years. I’ve had lots of time to get used to it. Anyway, my mom’s family’s pretty big though. She has two sisters and two brothers and most of them are still in Diamond Creek. When I adopted Stella, she was a little overwhelmed with all the attention.”
“I can imagine. She’s a good kid. She was pretty worried about you after your dip in the bay a few weeks ago.”
Janie smiled, warmth blooming in her chest. “Stella’s great. She had fun fussing over me for a day or two.”
At that moment, their waitress arrived to clear the table. Once she’d stacked their empty plates on her tray, she glanced between them. “Coffee or dessert?”
Travis glanced to Janie and arched a brow. Just that little gesture, and Janie felt distracted. The blue of his eyes was so bright. She mentally shook herself and looked up at the waitress. “Coffee would be great.”
Travis followed suit and they waited quietly while their waitress threaded her way toward the kitchen in the back. Janie felt Travis’s gaze on her and flushed. She wasn’t used to being noticed. She was who she was—an independent, single mother too busy to think about dating. She knew just about all the locals in Diamond Creek to some extent and was known in return. She couldn’t say she’d consciously cultivated a ‘stay away’ vibe when it came to men, but she had enough sense to know she didn’t exactly invite attention. Hence, she was firmly in the friend category. She wasn’t much interested in flings, so she avoided the hordes of temporary residents in the summer. That’s why Travis stood out to so many women when he moved to Diamond Creek—he was new and he wasn’t just passing through.
She forced herself to glance up and found his gaze still upon her. She had to fight not to loo
k away. She was awash in uncertainty, mostly because this was a situation she generally didn’t allow to happen. She thrived on feeling strong and confident in her life, but her life didn’t include a smoking hot man looking across the table with desire flashing in his eyes. Heat rolled through her, and her breath caught. Her mind blanked and she forgot her usual worries—about trust, about the wreckage the wrong man could leave behind.
The moment was snapped when the waitress delivered their coffees. Not much later, her mind slightly less muddled with desire, she walked alongside Travis out of the brewery. His palm rested on her low back, the heat searing through her lightweight down jacket. When they stepped outside, snow was falling softly—light, fluffy flakes floating down and glittering in the lights from the brewery.
Travis drove through the falling snow. He was relieved it was light because his concentration was weak at the moment. The simple act of sitting across from Janie had driven him to the edge of his restraint. Her rich brown hair, her porcelain skin with her cheeks flushed and those eyes of hers, swirling with layers of color, had nearly undone him. He was still marveling at the fact he’d somehow managed to never get close enough to her to realize she was stunning. She was also intelligent with a sly sense of humor and independent. It was clear she was entirely accustomed to relying on herself for just about everything. Oddly enough, it made him long to be someone she could lean on.
The space inside his truck was humming. He was so attuned to her presence that he felt every subtle shift of her body. When he pulled into her driveway and rolled to a stop, he didn’t wait and climbed out quickly, walking around to open the passenger door. She’d started to turn sideways when he swung the door open. Her eyes widened and a little laugh escaped. “Oh, I didn’t know anyone opened doors anymore.”
He shrugged. “I do,” he said simply.
Her jacket was unzipped, and his eyes fell of their own accord to the shadowed valley between her breasts. When he realized he was staring, he forced his eyes up, noticing the flutter of her pulse in her neck. Without thinking, he leaned forward, stopping a whisper away from her lips. Though it took every ounce of discipline he had, he needed to give her the chance to turn away. Her hazel eyes caught his. He saw nothing but desire there. When he held still for another breath, she leaned forward and closed the tiny distance between them.
The moment her lips met his, need jolted through him. Her lips were soft and warm, a contrast to the cold air and snow swirling around them. For a second, he felt tension running through her, but she sighed and it dissolved. He stepped closer into the small gap of space. With her turned sideways on the passenger seat, he stepped between her knees and angled his head to the side. On another breath, her lips parted and he swept his tongue inside. He nearly growled with relief and claimed her mouth. After a second’s hesitation, she met him stroke for stroke, her tongue tangling with his. He threaded a hand into her silky hair and dove into the warmth and sweetness of her. He couldn’t have said what he expected her to kiss like, but it wasn’t this—this wild abandon of kisses, nips, and strokes of her tongue.
He curled an arm around her waist, pulling her close against him. The feel of her soft curves against him whipped the lash of lust yet again, and he tore his lips free. He needed to taste her and trailed kisses along her jawline and the column of her throat. A soft moan came from her, and it was all he could do not to yank her shirt down and suck one of her taut nipples in his mouth. She suddenly tensed against him. He lifted his head to find headlights angling in their direction from the driveway.
“Oh! Someone’s here,” she said, her voice lilting high. She glanced up, her eyes wide and her lips plump from his kisses.
Travis yanked on the reins of need and forced himself to take a step back. He slowly loosened his hand in her hair and slid his fingers through it as he stepped back again. “Expecting someone?” he asked.
She shook her head. His eyes, which seemed to be entirely out of his control, dipped down and landed on her nipples, which were straining against her tank top. Holy hell. He didn’t know what it was about her, but it was all he could do not to yank her back to him and dive right back into their kiss. He gulped in the cold air and glanced over to see the car rounding the curve of her circular driveway.
A figure climbed out and waved. “Hey Travis!”
Janie nudged him in the leg with her knee. “It’s Stella,” she whispered fiercely. “Let me…”
He stepped back before she finished, and she leapt out of his truck. He experienced a physical pang to have her move away. With a hard shake of his head, he closed the passenger door and tucked his hands in his jacket pockets, following Janie slowly.
“Hey hon, I thought you were spending the night with Kayla,” Janie said as she met Stella on her approach.
“I was supposed to, but she’s got a stomach thing. She was fine earlier, but now she’s throwing up. Her mom came to get her from recital and offered to take me home on the way.” Stella glanced past Janie to Travis and gave a little wave.
“Hey Stella, how’s it going?” he asked, striving for a casual tone.
He was still mentally redirecting his body. A single kiss, and he felt like he was on fire, lust galloping through him. But right here, right now, Janie’s daughter was busy chattering about how much she didn’t want to catch whatever her friend had. Janie stepped past Stella and approached the car to speak through the window.
Travis had reached Stella’s side by then, and she glanced over with a smile. “How was dinner?”
He was unaccustomed to teenage daughters querying him about dates, but he gamely went along with her question. “Dinner was great. How was recital?”
Stella shrugged. “Boring. I’ve got my part down, so mostly I play it over and over while a few others are still trying to nail their parts.”
Janie gave a wave and stepped away from the car, which slowly eased past his truck in the drive and made its way back to the road. Janie reached their side and opened her mouth to speak, but Stella cut in. “We should have Travis in for hot chocolate, Mom.”
“Uh, well, I don’t know if Travis…”
When Janie glanced to him, her eyes questioning, he nodded quickly. He wasn’t ready to give up any time with her. “I’d love to,” he said quickly. When Stella flashed a grin at him, he bit back the urge to laugh. He couldn’t say why, but he sensed he had an ally in her.
Chapter 5
Janie brushed the snow off her windshield and tapped the snowbrush on her tire, knocking the loose snow off. She climbed in her car and turned the heat down. Stella had started her car for her a while ago on her way to get on the bus. Janie paused to look beyond the house. Kachemak Bay sparkled under the bright sunshine. The snowstorm last night had dropped close to a foot of snow and cleared out before morning. The mountains on the far side of the bay were stark against the sky, their white peaks towering high over the water. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She’d barely slept last night. After Travis had kissed her senseless and then stayed for hot chocolate with her and Stella, her mind ran laps most of the night—obsessing over just what the hell she’d been thinking by kissing him.
Just because you’ve been avoiding men for years doesn’t mean you should keep doing it. It’s not worth it, that’s why. You know perfectly well not all men are anything like your mom’s ex. Stop letting the past call the shots.
She shook her head, trying to knock her mind off its back and forth chatter. She had one very good reason for avoiding men. After her father died, her mother got involved with Randy Price. He was charming and solicitous at first. Within six months, he’d moved in with them and Janie was struggling to accept the possibility her mother might get married again. She’d adored her father and had been devastated when he died in a fishing accident in the Bering Sea during crab season. She didn’t actively dislike Randy at first, but it was hard to accept the role he played in her mother’s life and, by extension, hers. After Randy had been living with them for a w
hile, things slowly started to change—the pace was so gradual, nothing was obvious until it was too late. Next thing she knew, her mother rarely left the house and isolated herself from her friends. Randy constantly made belittling comments about her mother’s appearance, her cooking, her cleaning and just about everything. Janie watched her strong, confident and independent mother become a shadow of herself. The man who’d seemed to be caring and loving was anything but.
Janie had been worried about her mother, but she had no idea what to do about it. There were a few times she heard them argue. Bruises showed up every so often on her mother, and her mother always had a quick excuse for how they happened, even once when her eye was swollen shut. She claimed she’d slipped on the ice and collided with the door handle on her car.
Janie was in her early teens by then and, as was often the case, was testing the limits left and right. One afternoon, she talked back to Randy when he complained about her mother’s cooking. He’d looked over at her, his eyes cold, and then stood up, punching her where she sat at the table. Hard. Janie’s chair had toppled over, and she’d curled up on the floor, pain shooting through her jaw where his fist had connected. Her mother stormed across the kitchen and threw a cast iron pan at Randy. He fell like a stone. Janie was the one who called the police and held her mother while she cried. She’d watched while it took her mother several years to make it back to the strong woman she’d once been.
The subsequent trial had been grueling. Even though he’d broken Janie’s jaw and she’d been willing to testify, Randy had fought the charges relentlessly. Janie had learned the hard way how little the courts supported women and children in cases such as that. Since her mother had avoided filing charges on him again and again, there was little official history for Randy’s abusive behavior. He claimed to have learned from past offenses with an ex-girlfriend and had been a model participant in an anger management group. Eventually, he was convicted and sentenced to a puny six months in prison. As soon as he got out, he was back in town and tried again and again to woo her mother back. She managed to hold her ground, but it wore on her. He was arrested yet again when Janie came home to witness him knock her mother out on the front porch. This time, he was sentenced to a full year, which still seemed pathetic to Janie. He hadn’t returned to Diamond Creek in the years since, but Janie kept tabs on him. The last she knew, he was living in Fairbanks and had added to his list of arrests for domestic violence with another girlfriend.
