One Night with Him

by Sienna Ciles

  Halfway through those thirty minutes, Billy decided to let one rip, and the cab filled with a noxious gas that could’ve choked a cow.

  “Oh, my god,” Eve said, and gagged. She rolled down her window and let in the baked Texas air. It didn’t do much to get rid of the smell. “Oh, my good god.”

  “I did warn you,” I replied, then burst out laughing.

  She joined me, her laugh tinkling through the cab of the truck and lifting the mood through the roof. Eve had to be one of the most beautiful women I’d seen, and I’d seen plenty. At one point, I’d rubbed elbows with actors and models.

  She glowed from the inside out. One of her straps had slipped down her arm, and I longed to fix it for her. I kept my hands to myself. I didn’t want to freak her out.

  “Sorry about the smell,” I said and barely held back another bout of laughter.

  “I asked for it. That goat might actually be cute enough to lessen the sting in my nostrils,” she replied.

  Eve’s attitude was a breath of fresh air. I’d moved back to Hope Creek a year ago but before that it’d been Ivy League schools, business, and parties. All the eligible women I’d met had been snobbish or rude or after one thing. Money.

  “Here we are,” Eve said, and pointed over the steering wheel at the sign for Heather’s Forge. “Why does every town around here sound like it was named after a female settler?”

  “Maybe they were.” Billy shimmied in my lap, and I offered up a silent prayer that he wouldn’t crap on my leg.

  The heat poured through the cab and wafted the goat’s smell out of the window. It also brought a new scent with it. The smell of grass and dirt, and something else. A floral scent that definitely wasn’t indigenous to this area.

  It was her. Eve. “I can’t thank you enough for this,” I said. “I’d have been in a load of trouble if you hadn’t turned up earlier.”

  “Thank me once you’ve been to the hospital and checked you’re not injured. I almost killed you.”

  “I know,” I said. “But I’ll let it slide this time. Just don’t let it happen again.”

  My momma would’ve called it a tug of destiny. Dad would’ve called it indigestion, then slapped me upside the head for being an idiot and too emotional.

  Eve steered the truck down the main street in Heather’s Forge, past glass-front stores and a retro-styled diner. She studied everything, gaze flicking over the trees that separated the lanes of traffic, to the pitted tar of the street itself.

  “They’re all quaint,” she muttered.

  “What was that?”

  “Oh,” she said, and blushed. “Nothing. It’s just that everything around here is so quaint and sweet. It’s not what I expected.”

  “You’re not from around here, are you?”

  She shook her head but didn’t offer up an explanation. I didn’t press the issue, and Billy chose that moment to bleat and struggle against my arms, anyway. “Shush, shush, almost there, little guy.”

  “Where are you meeting the – uh, the goat owner?” Eve asked.

  “Right, in front of the church,” I said. “Down Church Street.”

  “Of course,” she laughed. We turned and the truck rumbled down the road.

  Heat rose from the sidewalk in a haze, and the church reared up behind the stone wall just off it. Another beat-up truck, a dusty black Nissan, was parked in front of it, and George leaned against the grill, peak cap pulled low.

  Eve pulled into one of the parking lots beside him, and he looked up from his newspaper. “There you are,” he said.

  I spared Eve a nod and a grin, then opened up the door and got out.

  “Boy, you’re always half-naked,” George said, and strode forward. He clapped me on the back, then shook my hand. “Hot as hell, ain’t it?”

  “Hotter than,” I replied.

  “You’ve got my goat, I see.” George took Billy and tickled under his chin. The kid relaxed against his new owner’s chest. George had always had a way with animals. His ranch had some of the happiest critters in the county, and the old man had taken advantage of that by creating a petting zoo for the local kids. “He get enough to eat and drink on the way over? You took a while.”

  “Yeah, I ran into some trouble along the way,” I said. “I’m sure Jenn will be happy to see Billy. Tell her Happy Birthday for me.”

  A door slammed, and Eve walked around the back of her Ford.

  George’s jaw dropped. “Well, I’ll be,” he said, under his breath. “I see what you mean by trouble.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Sure, it’s not, Joshua,” George laughed.

  “She damn near killed me by running into my truck when I ran out of gas.”

  “Probably the most excitement you’d seen in a long time.” George chuckled again.

  Eve approached, her cheeks pink and totally kissable. “Hi,” she said, and smiled at George.

  “Hello there, ma’am,” George said, and swept his hat off his head. Billy the Kid bleated.

  “Eve, this is my pal, George. He owns a ranch just outside of Heather’s Forge,” I said, and gestured to him.

  “Pleasure,” Eve said, and shook his hand.

  “You new in town? Ain’t seen you around before.”

  “Yeah, you could say that. I live over in Hope Creek, though.”

  George puffed out his chest. “Ah, same as our boy, Joshua, here.”

  Uh oh, here we go. This was the last thing I wanted. “Yeah, I –”

  “Our Joshua here is the answer,” George said.

  “He’s the answer?” Eve blinked.

  Oh, boy, this wouldn’t embarrass me at all. “George, that’s not necessary.”

  “The answer to everything. Josh did more for the folks in this town than anyone else. He’s our sliced bread. You could do far worse than him,” George said and slapped me on the back again.

  I wasn’t easily embarrassed but George sure made a good case. “That’s enough,” I said, and patted him on the back, too. I squeezed his shoulder and tightened my grip. “George likes exaggerating.”

  The old man chortled, then backed off. “Fine, fine, I won’t humiliate you. I’m just a fan is all. You’ve done a lot for this town, Joshua Jackson, and no one’s in a rush to forget it any time soon.”

  I didn’t have much of an answer for that, and the look on Eve’s face stalled any reply I might’ve had. She scrutinized me from head to toe. I had the urge to put my damn shirt back on.

  A shrill whistle broke the tension.

  I searched for the source, stifling a groan.

  “That you, Joshua?” An elderly woman waved from across the street. She hefted a massive handbag, then scuttled toward me. “I thought it was you. You haven’t been in Heather’s Forge for an age. What happened?”

  “Just been out on the ranch, Mrs. Beaumont,” I replied. She was the biggest gossip in Heather’s Forge, and most of that gossip leaked right on over into Hope Creek. “Business isn’t going to take care of itself.”

  “Oh, for sure, for sure,” she said, patting her blond beehive. “Wouldn’t kill you to visit or call once in a while, though.” She finally spotted Eve and homed in on her like a shark that had smelled blood in the water. “And who’s this?”

  “Eve,” I said. I couldn’t offer a last name, unfortunately.

  “Eve Waters,” she said, and extended a hand to Mrs. Beaumont.

  It was a miracle the old woman didn’t snap it off. She didn’t take it, for one. “Eve Waters,” she said, and busied herself extracting a compact from her handbag. She snapped it open and a puff of rose pink powder rose from it. “You’re not from around here. Waters isn’t any local name I’ve heard of.”

  George had already shrunk back and taken Billy the Kid with him. He dropped the gas can in the back of the truck and slinked away. No one in Heather’s Forge dared step on Mrs. Beaumont’s bad side. Grown men and women were afraid of the power she seemingly possessed, hidden behind the frail exterior of an av
id knitter and PTA member.

  “I just moved from New York,” Eve said and tucked her hands behind her back. She was radiant in that summer dress, her skin bronzed and kissed by the sun. “Well, about a month ago.”

  “Alone?” Mrs. Beaumont asked.

  “We should probably get going,” I said. “It’s getting late.”

  “Yes, alone,” Eve replied.

  “Where do you work, dear?”

  “I’m a chef,” she said. “I’m currently at the Cowboys n’ Cuts Restaurant.”

  When had this become a game of twenty questions? George had already clambered into the cab of his truck with Billy. I waved at him, and he gave me a shrug in return. So much for help there. Once Beaumont had selected a track, she barreled down it full speed.

  “Cowboys n’ Cuts? That must be a step down for you.”

  “It’s a change,” Eve said, and she stiffened. Perhaps, the old woman had hit a soft spot but she hadn’t backed down from the challenge the elderly woman had extended. I admired that. Most folks crumpled in front of that beady-eyed gaze.

  “What made you leave?” Mrs. Beaumont returned her compact to her bag, makeup successfully reapplied and looking no different. “Man trouble?”

  If Eve had been stiff before, she was a washboard now. “I’d rather not discuss that,” she said. “It was nice meeting you, though.”

  “Have a good day, Mrs. Beaumont,” I said and walked past her to Eve’s side.

  “You’re going, too, Joshua?” She simpered. “You’ve barely arrived. My granddaughter has been asking after you. I said I’d talk to you about fixing her plumbing.”

  I cringed inwardly. “Another time, perhaps. Have a good one.” I sauntered around to the passenger side of the truck, then stripped off my shirt and put it on properly. I’d felt like a total ass, standing half-naked in the street.

  I got into the cab and tugged on my seatbelt.

  Eve followed a second later and did the same. She inserted the keys into the ignition, then checked her blind spots.

  “I’m sorry about that,” I said. “Mrs. Beaumont is a little enthusiastic.”

  “It doesn’t bother me,” she replied and reversed out of the spot. Mrs. Beaumont hadn’t moved a muscle. She narrowed her eyes at the back of the truck, and sweat crept down my neck. I’d spent the better part of the year avoiding her open attempts to get me to date her granddaughter.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t want to find a person to settle down with, quite the opposite, actually. I just hadn’t found a woman who took me for me. Everyone in these small towns seemed to be looking for a way out.

  We drove out onto the back road with the setting sun at our backs, and Eve stifled a yawn. “Ugh, tired,” she muttered.

  “I know. It’s been a long day of goat chauffeuring,” I said. “Glad you decided to take me up on my offer.”

  “Are you kidding? I couldn’t let Billy sweat it out on the side of the road. Besides, it seemed like the better way to repay my debt, even though it doesn’t seem fair.” She laughed but the joy from earlier was lost. Perhaps, Mrs. Beaumont’s chatter about her past had sucked it out of her.

  “My truck should be up ahead. You can drop me off up here.” Eve pulled next to my rebuilt truck and flicked on the high beams to light up the road and my damaged truck. “Listen, my ranch is about a mile from here. A hell of a lot closer than town. Why don’t you follow me back to my place?”

  “No way!” she quickly replied. “Is this all part of your idea of how I’m going to repay you?”

  “Exactly. That’s what I do; I sit on the side of the road, waiting for an attractive woman to show up and run over me.” I shook my head and smiled at her. “Seriously, Eve. Let me cook you dinner. You can stay the night and not have to deal with the long drive back to town.”

  “What?” Her foot slipped on the gas and the truck jerked onto the gravel road, lurching toward the truck and she quickly hit the brake. “Shit, sorry.”

  “I’ve got plenty of guestrooms for you to choose from. They’ve all got en suite bathrooms with Jacuzzis.”

  “You’re kidding,” she said.

  “Yeah, I am. But they do have huge bathtubs. And I make a mean enchilada. What do you say?”

  She bit her lip.

  I lost my breath, waiting on the answer. It was dumb; she was just a woman, albeit a beautiful, strong one, who’d helped me out of a tough situation.

  “Okay,” she said. “Yeah, I guess that’s okay. But I’ve got to be at work early tomorrow.”

  “Perfect. That won’t be a problem.”

  I hopped out of the truck and refilled the tank with the small container of gas that George had given me. A few minutes later, we were on our way.

  Chapter 3

  Eve

  This was a huge mistake. It had to be. He was hot, sure, but he was a total stranger and I’d agreed to stay the night at his place for what reason? Out of guilt?

  For the fifteenth time in as many minutes, I rested my fingers on the flicker for the high beams and considered flashing the back of his cherry red truck – up and running now.

  I stalled for the fifteenth time. Joshua seemed sweet and down-to-earth, and the challenge in Mrs. Beaumont’s tone had egged me on. I wasn’t one to back down from any form of threat… but this?

  I didn’t want to get involved with anyone. I couldn’t fathom feeling emotion for a man after Bryan, and certainly not when I hadn’t even worked out who I was, what I wanted.

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself,” I said. “It’s just dinner. That’s all dinner. In a super-hot guy’s house who you barely know. And then you’re going to sleep in his guest room afterward. Because, apparently, he has plenty of room for you.” Ugh, and now I’d resorted to talking to myself. Fantastic.

  I adjusted the straps of my dress and shivered. The sun had already set and coldness crept through the vents in my truck. The sweaty afternoon had abated, giving way to a night chillier than it should’ve been.

  Farmland rushed by in the darkness. The truck’s tires jounced on the gravel road and the lights sliced through the dark, a quick flare that illuminated Joshua’s silhouette in the Ford.

  I gripped the wheel tight.

  Just a man. Just a regular old country boy, and everyone in Heather’s Forge had vouched for him. In the month I’d lived in Hope Creek, I’d learned that the folks around here were one hundred percent straightforward almost all of the time.

  If Old Harry said he could eat fifty boiled eggs, he could eat ‘em. Weird, that I hadn’t run into Joshua in the diner prior to this. Perhaps, he wasn’t big on eating out.

  The Ford’s turn signal flashed, and the brake lights followed suit.

  My heart skipped a beat. Damn, this was it. Now, we’d head off the beaten track and into the middle of murder-her-in-the-field-nowhere.

  “Oh, my god, stop it. Get your shit together, Eve.”

  Five minutes down a long winding road, smoother than the main one, and we reached the ranch house with a twist. The twist being that it was a size bigger than any house I’d seen before. It was a ranch hotel.

  I parked next to Joshua’s truck and cut the engine. Wooden steps led up to a wraparound porch, and several outdoor wall sconces bathed the front of the building in buttery, yellow light.

  “Well, at least it doesn’t look like a murder house,” I grumbled and clunked open my car door. I got out and my cowboy boots crunched on a fine layer of gravel.

  “Nice place you’ve got here,” I called out.

  Joshua locked his car with a blip and a flash of lights. “Thanks.” He walked around to my side, hands in the pockets of his worn jeans. “I always fantasized about having a house just like my parents, y’know? Wanted to have the homey feel.”

  “Oh, they lived in a hotel, too?” I asked because I couldn’t help myself.

  He laughed and gestured to the stairs. “Not quite.”

  We walked up them and he fumbled his keys out and inserted them into the l
ock. Rattling keys and our breathing filled the space between us.

  “So, is it homey enough for you?” I asked. Sheer desperation factored into the question. I couldn’t stand another second of the tense silence.

  Joshua paused, his shoulders tensed up. “It’s fine,” he said, then unlocked and entered his entrance hall.

  Whoops. Apparently, I’d struck a nerve.

  The lights came on and revealed a modest hallway that diverged around a staircase, and led into darkness further along. A wooden light fixture, quaint and capped with faux candles, hung from the ceiling. Paintings of –

  “You coming in? Or you’d prefer to sleep out there tonight? I mean, I can arrange a futon and a couple blankets if that’s your thing.”

  “Sorry,” I said, and flushed. “That’s not – I was just admiring it, is all.”

  “Oh.” He looked around. “Thanks. Well, come on in. If you want to. Up to you.” He backed away as if I was a scared animal about to bolt.

  He wasn’t far off, to be fair. I hadn’t been this nervous in forever. The bubbling attraction I had for him made me jumpy, like I wanted to escape my own skin and just leave it there. Run all the way back to my truck and escape whatever this was.

  Slowly, I took one step over the threshold, then another. The house smelled clean, of flowers and teak. Warmth trickled through my soul. I pictured myself in a robe at the head of the stairs.

  “What the hell?”

  “What’s wrong?” Joshua frowned. He hadn’t moved from his position, gripping the doorknob. He was much closer now. No, I was much closer to him, and he smelled of… sunbaked straw, and soil, and a hint of cologne. Earthy and sweet.

  I licked my lips. “I just realized I forgot something. Nothing serious. I’ll sort it out before work tomorrow,” I lied. My stomach grumbled, and I blushed again. I hadn’t blushed this much since the time my sister had caught me kissing a Leonardo DiCaprio poster as a tween.

  “Sounds like you’re as hungry as I am,” Joshua said, then shut and locked the door. “Come on through.” He stomped toward the second door on the left, and I followed.

  “You lock your doors.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I thought I was the only one who did that around here. My friend in the diner thinks I’m crazy.” In the short time I’d known Cassidy, our easy rapport had elevated to an uneasy friendship on my part. I wasn’t used to having people invite me places. I usually kept to myself but Cassidy had a way of making me talk.