by Zoe York
Kerry: Getting ready for bed now. It was nice to see you at lunch.
Owen: Any chance you might be alone again, say, midday tomorrow?
Kerry: I hoped you might ask that…
Owen packed a lunch for two this time. The day before he’d taken up Kerry’s entire break with kissing, and that had been nice, but a bit selfish. This time, he was prepared. He left the station five minutes before the time she’d told him she would be free, and had to hold himself back from running to his truck.
He was a kid all over again, single-mindedly focused on a big, fun thing. When he pulled into the parking lot behind the clinic, Kerry’s car was the only one there. He parked next to it, and as soon as he hopped down, she opened the door. She was wearing a sweater to ward off the cool fall weather, her feet shoved into knit slipper boots, and he wanted to toss her over his shoulder and carry her upstairs and show her how touchable she looked.
Instead, he followed her into the clinic’s kitchenette and set the brown bag lunch on the table. “I brought sustenance,” he managed to get out before she collided against him, her lips hungry.
“That’s the sustenance I really need,” she whispered against his skin. “But lunch is nice, too.”
Curving his hand over her shoulder, he traced the shape of her. Soft curves, firm muscle. He wanted to trace every inch of her, explore every rolling plane, but there wasn’t time for that. Settling his fingers on her waist, he tucked her right in against him and lowered his head so their faces were pressed forehead to forehead.
“I miss you during the day,” he whispered.
“Owen,” she breathed. He rubbed his hand back and forth under the hem of her shirt, over the soft skin on her sides. “Oh…”
He wanted to take her to bed. But more than that, he wanted to hold her and talk to her, and show her that he was her friend as well as her lover.
Of course he was drawn to her, aroused by her, and wanted her desperately. The way she made him laugh, and the way her body folded softly against his when he darkened her doorstep. He showed up with a frown, and she moved into him, giving him a hug every God damn time.
He probably didn’t deserve her sweetness. She had the brightest shining star of a personality and he was the town crank—or at least his family’s resident grump. He knew that, deep down, he had to try extra-hard to be worthy of Kerry, so he’d planned to bring her a picnic lunch. And it had still turned into making out.
He wasn’t trying to seduce her here. She was at work. He had to get back. They both needed to eat, and his craven wants were secondary to all of that. Loud, pulsing, but secondary. With a frustrated growl, he released her from his embrace and—gently—shoved her back.
She laughed and buried her face in her hands.
“Sorry about that,” he said roughly as he pulled out the sandwiches he’d made for them. “I can’t help myself.”
“Who said you should stop?”
He sat in one of the chairs and tugged her onto his knee. “Eat some food so I don’t feel bad about monopolizing your lunch hour.”
Her curls bounced around her face as she reached for a sandwich half and brought it to her mouth. “Please don’t feel bad. I miss you, too, and if you’re just down the street, I don’t know why we should deprive ourselves of a kiss or two.” It had been more than two. “But if you want to feed me, I’m not going to say no.” She took a big bite of the chicken salad. “This is delicious. Are those dried cranberries? Yum.”
“Secret ingredient.” He watched her eat, then joined her. “Hey listen, speaking of feeding you… How would you feel about joining us for Thanksgiving?”
She paused mid-bite, then took her time swallowing before she answered. “Who is us?”
“My brothers. Becca and Hayden and Charlie.”
“The whole family.” She hadn’t stiffened up or pulled away from him, but she was clearly reluctant.
Owen smoothed his hand over her back. “Never mind, it’s okay if you don’t want to do that kind of public thing.”
“It’s not that.” Her brows pulled together, like she was picking her words carefully. “It’s more like, are we there yet? We haven’t really talked about what this is and what it isn’t. But on the other hand, this is a really good sandwich, so I’m probably going to say yes.”
He laughed, because she was both earnest and funny, but also damn, that level of honesty was refreshing. “I want you to say yes, and if we need to talk about what this is—and isn’t—first, I’m fine with that. I like you so much, Kerry. I want to spend an obscene amount of time with you, and I’m happy for my family to know that I’m rolling out the good cranberry sauce just for you.”
“Tell me more about this sauce.” Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in for a quick kiss.
He told her about the entire meal. How Becca and Will usually did the sides, but the main elements were all Owen. A free-range turkey from a local farmer, dry-brined with spices. Sausage and apple stuffing. A special cranberry sauce this year, from scratch, since Kerry liked the chicken salad sandwich so much. The world’s best gravy.
“It all sounds amazing. I’m on call that weekend,” she warned. “But if I’m not with a client, I’m there.”
He floated back to work as if he’d won the lottery, and didn’t bark at anyone for the rest of the day.
Chapter Twenty
Owen loved Thanksgiving. Seth always flew south for it, and this year the plan was to make a whole weekend out of it. Seth would fly in Saturday morning and they were going to rent four-wheelers for a brother-bonding day that Adam kept threatening in the group chat to “make epic.” Owen worried that meant it would end with them rolling up at the strippers in Owen Sound.
Adam: Chill. We know Kerry has you on lock.
Owen couldn’t argue with that.
Owen: I invited her to Thanksgiving.
Will: I should hope so.
Owen: It’s a significant step!
Adam: For emotionally stunted people, maybe.
Seth: Shots fired.
Owen: Shut up. I don’t see any of you cooking your women a feast for the ages.
All the dots on the screen appeared then, all three of them writing at the same time.
Seth: Your woman?
Will: Your what?
Adam: YOUR WOMAN!
Why couldn’t he erase text messages? But he’d said it, and he wasn’t taking it back. He grinned, grateful he was alone in his office so nobody could see just how wide his smile spread. His heart thumped heavy in his chest.
Owen: I have to get back to work.
Adam: Epic, I say.
But before the epic-ness could commence, Owen had the pre-holiday week to get through, and it was a busy one. The week before Canadian Thanksgiving saw a big turn in the season. The nights got colder, the leaves started to change colour at a rapid pace, and after the quiet of September, suddenly the peninsula ramped back up for tourists. One final rush full of retirees doing day trips to see the colours and then, on the long weekend, cottagers flooding back to their weekend homes to close everything up for the winter.
Which meant emergency services had to work overtime to keep everyone safe and respond to the greater volume of accidents that inevitably happened.
On the Thursday, Owen spent the last of five twelve-hour shifts in a row helping police untangle a traffic jam of more than eight hundred people all trying to get into a picture-perfect corn field for some social media challenge. So when he handed off the weekend supervisor responsibilities to Dani, his newest recruit for the leadership stream, he was damn glad to be done with people.
He already had everything he needed for the family feast on Sunday. He was going home for some much needed peace and quiet. And the house was actually going to be all his. Hayden’s parents had just left for a two-week Mediterranean cruise, so Becca and Charlie were staying with him at their house—a trial run of them living together.
Owen had even driven the baby swing over there himself the night
before. And then he’d arrived on Kerry’s doorstep unannounced, and she’d taken him to her bed. They didn’t talk. He had an early morning for his final shift in a row, and she was on a baby countdown for a client. Time was a precious commodity.
And then the corn field happened. Idiots with drones and tripods and a complete lack of safety comprehension.
Owen was bone-fucking-weary by the time he pulled into his driveway. Absolutely done with the world. He headed inside, got the laundry sorted, and then threw himself into a hot shower. As the steam worked its way into his muscles, he thought about the night before. How good Kerry tasted. His cock thickened, his balls pulled tight, and he closed his eyes. His fist wasn’t the same as her body, his memory of her laugh not the same as actually hearing it. The joyous way she giggled at the funny parts of sex, the husky note her voice took on when she got really serious about his pleasure.
If he didn’t think he would fall asleep mid-act, he’d invite her over. Maybe tomorrow…
He stroked himself a little harder, enjoying the squeeze of his fist. But even coming by his own effort sounded like, well, too much effort. Fuck it. He was going to bed—and that was a good call, because his head had barely hit the pillow before he was asleep.
The next thing he heard was a knock at the door. He bolted upright in bed and blinked in confusion at the window—it was sunny out.
How the fuck long had he slept?
The clock told him at least twelve hours. And the knock sounded again. Annoyingly chipper. Definitely Adam. He rolled out of bed and stalked through the house, stretching and shaking off the stupor he’d apparently been taken over by last night. He was mid-yawn when he opened the door and found Kerry standing there instead of his brother.
“Oh!” Her eyes went wide as she took in the sight of him standing in front of her in nothing but his boxer briefs. His hand went to his head, his fingers shoving into his hair, and her eyes zoomed wider still. Then her sweet, sexy little mouth split into a big, wide grin. “Uh, good morning.”
It most definitely was with Kerry on his doorstep. She looked good enough to eat, in black leggings and a soft, touchable tunic sweater in a dark orange that made her eyes look like they were flecked with gold.
“Coffee?” She had two travel mugs in hand.
He stepped back. “Absolutely.”
“I won’t stay long, I know this is your first day off all week, but I made myself a latte for the road and thought I’d drop one off for you, too.” She gave him a sly smile. “I didn’t realize I’d get such a nice show for my effort.”
Owen felt himself blush, and since he was mostly naked, there was no hiding the way his neck went red and it crawled onto his chest. “Come here,” he said gruffly as she laughed. He kissed her forehead. “Tell me again where you’re going? Did you already tell me about a road trip? I’m still waking up.”
“It’s not a road trip. I overstated the ‘for the road’ bit, probably. There’s a farmer’s market down the highway, but I’ve learned I need to take my own lattes with me.”
Owen knew the farmer’s market well. It was popular with the same people who had flocked to the corn field the day before.
“You’re welcome to come with me if you want.”
“Yeah,” he heard himself saying. “Of course. Let me go brush my teeth and maybe put on clothes. You want to follow?”
She kicked off her boots and set the coffee mugs down on the little table in his vestibule. This was the first time she’d been in his house since those home visits after Becca gave birth, and now they were alone. He gestured to his bedroom as he headed into the bathroom to wash up.
When he came back, Kerry was looking at the photos on the wall. It had been a project he’d done a couple of years ago, although he’d recently added a picture of Charlie, too. Every picture was in a black frame, but that was the only rule. It had started with a cluster in the middle—him and Becca, a photo of his brothers when they were younger, and an even older picture of his parents. Since then he’d added photos of him in his uniforms, both army and paramedic, and Becca featured heavily, too.
Kerry pointed at one of the army photos. He was in the field, all “cammed up” with scrim on his helmet and green and black paint distorting his facial features. “Where was this taken?”
He laughed. “The training base in Meaford.”
“Oh!” She looked surprised. “I thought maybe you went overseas. It looks so intense.”
“That’s the point. But no, I’ve never gone away. I had too much going on here at home.”
“Lore says you’re still in the army?”
He nodded. “The reserve, and I do the bare minimum these days. But it’s good to have a medic on staff, so I try to make as many weekend exercises as I can. It works out to once every other month most of the time, and a few ranges to stay qualified on the various weapons.”
“Wow.” She turned, her gaze following him as he went to the dresser and pulled out a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. “Have you ever been to this farmer’s market before? I’ve heard good things.”
“Nope.” He popped his head through the neck hole of his shirt. “First time. Can’t wait.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I don’t know.” She scooted closer as he stepped into his jeans. “It was on a list of the top ten not-to-be missed places this fall.”
“For locals, those lists are places to avoid,” he said dryly.
“Oh!”
He hooked one arm around her hips and pulled her in close. “But to spend a bit of time with you, I will brave the hoards of tourists in search of artisanal honey.”
“How did you know that’s what I wanted?”
He laughed as he kissed her. “That’s what everyone wants. Wild leeks, smoked rainbow trout—”
“The trout was mentioned in the article!” Kerry groaned. “Is it going to be very busy?”
Distressingly so, Owen was sure. “It’ll be fine. We’re armed with the best lattes on the peninsula, right? And it looks like a beautiful day out there. Let’s do this.”
They went in her car, which would be easier to park in a crowded lot, but they lucked out. The crowds from the city hadn’t arrived yet, and they found a spot. And the look of glee on Kerry’s face when the very first stall was selling artisanal honey made Owen genuinely happy.
“It’s single source,” she whispered.
Owen doubted the bees stuck to one kind of flower, but he kept that to himself. It probably meant something else. Instead he focused on how much fun it would be to lick a drop of the honey off Kerry’s finger. Or her—
“Ooh, these are cute!” She picked up some beeswax food wraps and did a little happy dance.
He could definitely enjoy the farmer’s market if Kerry kept making sounds like that.
After she made her purchases from that first stall, she slid her fingers through his and they wandered down the main aisle. He bought some fresh herbs for his turkey and stuffing, Kerry bought locally-grown apples, and then they went into the barn, where stalls that needed refrigeration were located.
There was a good-sized line at the counter for Great Lake Fisheries’s smoked trout, so they headed the other way. Kerry stopped at every cheese counter, and Owen filed that away for a date night idea. Just the two of them and a big-ass cheese board.
And then, in the corner, was a familiar face. “Hey, man!” Owen held out his hand for his turkey guy to shake. “I didn’t know you came here.” He gestured to Kerry. “Kerry, this is Duncan. He was going to drop a fresh turkey round to my place later today, but maybe I can pick it up now?”
“Absolutely,” the farmer said. He went over to the tablet that was attached to the debit machine. “I don’t have one here that’s exactly the same size as what you ordered, but I can size you up and that should be the difference for the delivery fee you paid, does that work?”
“Sounds good.” Owen slung his arm low around Kerry’s waist as they wai
ted.
“Artisanal turkey,” she whispered to him. “All the rage, I hear.”
He shook with laughter. “Yep.”
It was genuinely better tasting, though. That was his defence, and he was sticking to it.
The next day, after prepping his artisanal turkey to be dry-brined in the fridge while he was out, Owen headed over to Will’s place. Josh arrived next, with Seth in tow, and Adam showed up last. Because he was the last to arrive, they told him he drew the short straw for seating in the truck on the day of epic brother adventures.
They piled in Owen’s truck, Adam squished in the middle of the backseat between Will and Josh, while Seth rode shotgun. They stopped at Mac’s on the way out of town to pick up sandwiches and cold drinks, packed up to go, then headed north to the rental store on the edge of the provincial park.
After a day spent on the trails, Adam directed them even further north, to a craft brewery in Tobermory for dinner and drinks.
“Pretty good day,” Owen said as their plates were being cleared.
“It’s not over yet.” Adam glanced at his wrist. “Another surprise coming our way in about ten minutes.”
Will leaned back in his chair. “Ten minutes sounds like just enough time for you to tell us why you’ve organized such a big day.”
Adam flashed his best charming grin. “Ah. That.”
Owen was genuinely caught off guard. It wasn’t out of character for Adam to want to make a big deal out of brother bonding time. “What’s going on?”
“I got some news a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to tell you all together. Remember, we’re in a public place, and we have nine minutes, so if now’s not a good time—”
“Spit it out,” Seth said. “I’ll hold Owen back if need be.”
Owen protested that with a sputter.
Adam took a deep breath. “I’ve been accepted to a firefighting program, starting in January. I’ll be back at the end of the summer if all goes well.”
