East of Easy

by Linda Bleser

  “Mine,” she whispered, holding him tight.

  With a low growl, he reached for her, pulling her up until she was straddling his hips. “All yours,” he replied. “Only yours.”

  She gripped his shoulders and slid onto him, taking him hard and fast, hungry for him in a way she’d never known before. Their mating was primal, bodies moving together in a rhythm as old as time. She rode him hard, grinding and thrusting and slamming her body into his.

  Max couldn’t take his eyes off her. He’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life. Through a rising tide of passion he watched her lose all semblance of control, driving them both to a thundering peak. Her skin glistened, her hair whipped around her face and the sounds she made—oh Lord! She was every man’s most erotic dream and carnal desire. And she was all his.

  He plunged upward, repeating the word with each deep thrust—“mine, mine, MINE!”

  He felt her tremble, saw her eyes widen with surprise, as if each time was the first time. Then every thought fled and they tumbled over the edge, coming together in a blinding, thundering explosion.

  His heart raced, his pulse pounded and his vision blurred. Only when she went limp in his arms did he roll her over and continue thrusting, bringing her over again, intoxicated by the way her body responded to him. Time stretched and spun out around them, carrying with it the promise of a lifetime of loving Kate.

  In the quiet afterglow, they held each other, murmuring soft, sweet words. This was the best of all times, when the physical needs were met but the passion remained. Max ran his fingers through her hair, cradling her against his chest. No woman had ever given him the incredible sense of intimacy and fulfillment that he felt holding Kate in his arms.

  He snuggled her close, feeling sleep wrap around them like a soft blanket. At some point—it might have been moments or hours later—Kate mumbled something. Max forced one eye open and tried to concentrate, but his mind was a misty haze.

  “How close are Sue and Ed Tate?” she asked.

  “Hmmm?”

  “I was just wondering…”

  Max pulled her tight against his chest. “Don’t be silly. My sister wouldn’t have anything to do with that jerk.”

  Kate considered that for a few moments, chewing on her lower lip. Maybe she should just tell Max about the phone conversation and see what he made of it. But before she could bring up the subject, he’d already drifted off to sleep and she didn’t have the heart to wake him again. He’d had a long, exhausting day and needed his rest. She’d talk to him about it tomorrow. For now, she was content to spend the night in Max’s arms.

  When Kate awoke Friday morning, Max was already gone. He’d left a note telling her to sleep late and that he’d already told Nellie not to expect her in right away. She smiled and stretched, feeling the luxurious laziness that came with contentment. Maybe she’d take Max’s advice and pamper herself this morning. Nellie was sure to have everything under control and Kate had a lot to do before the reunion that night.

  It was nearly noon before she ambled into the shop. Everything was running smoothly, just as she’d known it would be.

  In the kitchen, Nellie looked up from her baking and gave Kate a sly grin. “You look refreshed.”

  Kate smiled back. “I slept late.” She kept right on going to the front of the shop, ignoring Nellie’s knowing chuckle. A line of customers waited at the counter. Kate tied on an apron and started taking orders. When Jeff came back, she’d have to talk to him about hiring more help. Unless, of course, she decided to stay.

  Kate turned to Arthur Zimmerman at the register. “Where’s Chrissy today?”

  “She’s out back keeping an eye on Bobby.”

  Kate’s head jerked up. “Bobby? Max’s nephew?”

  When Arthur nodded his head, Kate asked where Sue was.

  “She came by and said she had a few errands to run. Asked if Chrissy could keep an eye on Bobby for a few hours. Didn’t see no harm in it.”

  Only in a small town, Kate thought. Still, it seemed odd that Sue hadn’t just left Bobby home with Max. Unless…

  Suddenly Kate had a moment of blinding clarity. She should have been more suspicious when she’d overheard Sue and Tate on the phone, but she’d been so excited about their discovery in the attic that she’d ignored the warning signals. Now everything clicked into place—Sue’s hostility, the snippet of phone conversation Kate had overheard and the fact that Sue obviously didn’t want Max to know where she was going today.

  “Like hell you will. If I go down, you’re going right down with me.”

  Kate was convinced that Sue’s errands involved a clandestine visit with Deputy Tate. There was something suspicious going on and Kate was determined to get to the bottom of it.

  She whipped off her apron and turned to Arthur. “I have to run out for a bit. Can you handle this alone?”

  He waved her away with a smile. “Sure. Take your time. I’ve got everything under control.”

  Kate went out the front door to avoid having to explain to Nellie. Her heart was pounding. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that Sue and Tate were involved in something devious.

  Kate practically ran the four blocks to the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t long before her suspicions were confirmed. The outer office was empty. Millie Clifton, the receptionist and part-time dispatcher, must have been on her lunch break. But there were voices coming from behind Ed Tate’s closed door. One of them was Tate’s. The other definitely belonged to Sue Connors.

  Kate had no intention of eavesdropping. Whatever the two of them had to say, they could say right to her face. She lifted her hand to knock on the door then stopped when she heard Sue’s voice rising in anger.

  “How was I to know Kitty would leave town in shame, nearly destroying Max? And how was I to know that she’d come back and threaten to expose everything?”

  “That didn’t stop you from stepping in to fill her shoes, did it?” Ed Tate yelled back. “You didn’t mind representing Easy County in the Miss Arizona Pageant after we got Kate out of the way, did you?”

  Kate stepped away from the door, stunned beyond belief. Sue and Tate had worked together to get her thrown out of the pageant? She shook her head, not wanting to believe it. Why? Why would they do that to her?

  With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Kate realized that she couldn’t trust anyone in this town. What about Max? Did he know his sister was in collusion with Ed Tate? Had he been protecting her all along?

  Kate backed up. She had every intention of slipping away. Running away. She couldn’t deal with this, couldn’t face the shame and humiliation all over again. It hurt too much, uncovering old wounds that had never completely healed.

  Before she could escape, the door flew open. Sue came rushing out. Her eyes were red and swollen. She took one look at Kate and stopped in her tracks. Her body sagged. She held out one hand in a move that looked like supplication. “Kate,” she said. “I’m…”

  Sorry? Ashamed?

  Whatever Sue had intended to say, one glance in Ed Tate’s direction had her reconsidering. “You shouldn’t have come back, Kate. Everything was fine and you just stirred it all up.” She sounded more hurt than angry. “You’re only going to hurt Max again.”

  Kate shook her head. “I’m not the one hurting Max. How do you think he’ll feel when he hears what you’ve done?”

  Sue seemed to deflate before Kate’s very eyes. Then she raised her chin defiantly. “What makes you think he’ll believe you over me?”

  Kate’s stomach dropped. Sue was right. Max hadn’t believed her ten years ago. Why would he believe her now? But things were different now…

  Sue started to say something, but Ed shot her a warning glance. Sue looked from one to the other then gave Kate a look that seemed to contradict the venom that fell from her lips. “No one wants you here, Kate. Everyone is talking behind your back.” She kept glancing at Tate as if she was afraid of him. “Why don’t
you just go back to New York City where you belong?” She gave Kate one final imploring look then rushed out the door.

  “She’s right, you know.” Ed Tate curled his thumbs beneath his waistband and hitched his pants up. “Hear you’re planning on going to the reunion after all. That should give the town something to talk about…again. Guess you didn’t learn your lesson the first time did you, Little Miss Easy?”

  He practically spit the words out, each one another blow to Kate’s already bruised heart. All those old insecurities came rushing back, nearly smothering her under the weight of old shame. Maybe they were both right. Maybe she shouldn’t have come back.

  She spun on her heel and rushed through the door. The memory of Deputy Tate’s smug laughter followed her all the way home. In her mind, Kate could still hear the whispers that had chased her out of town the first time. Nothing had changed. Nothing ever would.

  Still reeling from Sue’s accusations, Kate locked herself inside the house. What was she thinking? How could she ever have considered staying here? She’d been blinded by her feelings for Max, but even those were like quicksand beneath her feet. Ten years of feeling betrayed didn’t just vanish overnight simply because he said all the things she wanted to hear and threw her hormones into overdrive.

  She sank to the bed, where just last night she’d given herself to Max. Hadn’t she learned this lesson once before? The phone rang, but she ignored it. There was no one she wanted to talk to, no one she felt she could trust.

  Maybe Sue was right. Maybe Kate should just go back to New York. Jeff would be home in a few days, and Nellie could handle things at the shop until he returned. Kate had an open-ended ticket for her return flight. Why drag it out any longer?

  Between Tate’s threats, her argument with Sue and her boss threatening that she’d lose her job if she wasn’t at her desk Monday morning, going back to New York seemed like the only option. Some distance would give her a chance to think about her feelings for Max—without his irresistible backside around to distract her.

  She rushed to the closet to grab her suitcase. The red pageant dress hung there like an accusation. Seeing it only confirmed Kate’s decision. Ed Tate was right. Showing up at the reunion would only fuel the gossip. By now, half the town had probably heard all the lurid details of the way Tate had found them parked at Whiskey Overlook. They’d be shaking their heads, whispering behind her back, calling her names. Only this time they’d be right.

  Kate had no intention of giving them the pleasure. By the time the reunion came, she’d be on a flight headed back to New York.

  Her mother’s cup rattled on the countertop. “Don’t start with me,” Kate yelled. She turned her back and began throwing clothes into the suitcase, determined to get out of Easy while there was still time.

  *

  Max pounded on Kate’s door. He’d been calling all afternoon and there’d been no answer. She wasn’t at the shop, so where could she be?

  He jiggled the knob and the door inched open. “Kate? Are you okay?” He looked around then noticed the suitcase standing in the corner. “Kate?”

  She stepped out of the kitchen and gave him a sheepish, almost guilty look. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

  “Obviously.” He jerked his chin at the suitcase. “What’s this?”

  Kate avoided his gaze. “You know I have to be back at work Monday.”

  Max took a slow, deep breath, trying not to jump to any conclusions. “Were you going to leave without telling me?”

  “No,” she stammered. “I…I was going to call.”

  “When? Once you were back in New York?”

  At least she had the decency to look ashamed. He knew without her saying a word that she’d intended to do just that.

  “I just need some time to think, Max.”

  He ran a hand through his hair, staring at Kate in disbelief. “I thought we were past the thinking stage, Kate.” He gestured to the suitcase. “I thought we were past the running stage too.”

  He took a step closer, reaching out for her. “What about the reunion?”

  She backed up and shook her head from side to side, as if she couldn’t bear looking at him, couldn’t bear for him to touch her. “I can’t, Max.”

  He dropped his hands to his side. “Why?”

  Kate turned away. “I’ve heard things. Things about Ed Tate and your sister. The pageant…”

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake.” Max clutched his hands into fists. Anger hardened his voice. “That was ten years ago! No one even cares anymore, Kate.”

  She shook her head sadly. “It’s not what you think, Max.”

  “Then what? What is it?” He could see her trembling, fighting for control. More than anything else he wanted to go to her—take her in his arms and comfort her. But her stiff posture warned him away. “Talk to me, Kate.”

  But she couldn’t. She couldn’t tell him what she’d overheard in Ed Tate’s office. She’d seen the silent plea in Sue’s eyes. As difficult as it was for Kate to know the truth, she knew it would be even harder on Max. He adored his sister—and Bobby. Kate didn’t want to be the one to shatter his illusions.

  Besides, Sue’s threat still echoed in her mind.

  What makes you think he’ll believe you over me?

  Who would Max believe? The sister who’d stood by him or the woman who’d left him behind? The trust they’d built over the last few weeks was a tenuous thing that, if nurtured, would grow strong and unbreakable over time. But they didn’t have time, and Kate couldn’t risk breaking that fragile thread by forcing Max to choose between her and his own flesh and blood.

  The truth was, Kate wasn’t sure who Max would believe, and she knew she couldn’t risk being rejected again. Better to let Max believe the worst—that she was reverting to her old pattern of running away.

  “I can’t let it go. I can still feel the shame and humiliation and the frustration of not being able to defend myself.”

  “You could have defended yourself if you’d stayed and fought back. Don’t you see Kate? It was running away that made you look guilty.”

  Max shook his head. “I should have listened to people who warned me not to get involved—that you’d just leave again.”

  Kate felt bitterness rise in her chest. “People like your sister?” She fairly spat the words out.

  Max nodded. “Yeah. Like my sister.”

  There it was. She should just tell him. Get it all out in the open. Kate started to speak, but Max held up his hand and stopped her.

  “Don’t. Whatever you’re going to say, don’t do it. You haven’t been here these last ten years. You don’t know what Sue’s been through.”

  Kate’s shoulders sagged. “You’re right. I haven’t been here.”

  “And you don’t intend to stay, do you?”

  Kate looked away.

  “Fine,” he said. “I can’t force you to stay. I’ll be at the reunion tonight. If you decide it’s time to stop running, you know where to find me. If not, well…if not, then go on back to New York and have a nice life.”

  He turned and walked out the door, never once looking back.

  Chapter Twenty

  Kate sat alone in the darkened room, her suitcase beside her, the airplane ticket in her lap. She’d been paralyzed with indecision since the moment Max walked out the door. Every instinct told her to run, but her heart kept her rooted to the spot.

  She couldn’t forget the look on Max’s face when he’d realized she was leaving. He’d been devastated. Worse than that, he’d been disappointed. Kate knew she’d let him down…again. Still, he’d left her an opening—the reunion—putting the final decision in her hands. It was a choice she couldn’t seem to make.

  Kate caught her breath as the strains of Roy Orbison’s “Only the Lonely” drifted in from the kitchen. A slow tear slid down her cheek. Her mother and Roy were both right. She was lonely. She’d been lonely for so long, even surrounded by thousands of people in a bustling city. What was waitin
g for her in New York other than a cramped cubicle during the day and an empty apartment at night?

  Now she’d been given a second chance with Max—a chance to get back what had been stolen from them all those years ago. A chance to ease the loneliness once and for all.

  All she had to do was let go of the bitterness.

  Did it really matter what anyone else thought of her? She knew who she was, what she was. And so did Max. What else mattered?

  Max’s parting words echoed in her ears. If you decide it’s time to stop running, you know where to find me.

  Kate stood up. She knew what to do. It was time to let go of the past and embrace the future. She was tired of running. She was tired of being alone.

  As if on cue, the telephone rang. Kate snatched it up, hoping to hear Max’s voice on the other end. Instead she was surprised when Sue started talking, rushing through her monologue as if she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get it all out.

  “Kate, just listen please? The things I said to you today were for Ed Tate’s benefit. I didn’t mean them. Maybe one time I did, but not anymore. Please don’t leave.”

  “Sue, I’ve made up my mind…”

  “No, don’t make up your mind yet. Go to the reunion tonight. Everything will be clear then, I promise. Trust me, Kate. If you run away now, then Ed Tate wins.”

  Kate opened her mouth to speak, but it was too late. Sue had already hung up. If Kate hadn’t already decided to go to the reunion, Sue’s final words were enough to convince her. If you run away now, then Ed Tate wins.

  She hung up the phone and walked to the kitchen. She slipped the airline ticket under her mother’s cup. “Hang on to this for me, Mom. Let’s hope I don’t need it.”

  Then, knowing she was finally doing the right thing, Kate marched to the closet and pulled out the red dress. She tore the protective plastic off. The dress was as beautiful as the day her mother had made it.