by Kinney Scott
“No, they moved to North Carolina. I’m lucky if I see Dad and my brother once every few years. Later, when Mom remarried we moved to Arizona. Now, they have two kids. I love my little brothers, but the age difference makes it hard to have a relationship.”
Seth nodded, “I understand the age difference problem. Amanda and I have ten years separating us. In my mind she will always be an annoying twelve year old.”
Natalie laughed, “I’m probably closer to Amanda’s age then yours, Seth. I hope you don’t see me as an annoying teenager?”
“Far from it.” His eyes smoldered for a moment. He leaned in and stole a kiss then settled back again. “How did you end up moving back to the Northwest?”
“When I decided to apply to schools I wanted to be near my grandpa again. Right after the divorce, when I was little, we lived in Edmunds with him and my grandma. Their place always felt like home. Even after Grandma died, I made a point to spend a few weeks each summer with Pete. I really missed the Northwest.” Nate paused, and Seth could tell she didn’t want to tell the next part of her story. “I’m sorry Seth. I didn’t mean to give you every last detail of my life.”
“Go ahead, I want to know you,” Seth said, encouraging her to continue. As she hesitated, biting her lip, he laced his fingers between hers and patiently waited.
Eyes closed against the brilliance of the sun and to control her emotions, she continued, “I got accepted to school in Seattle and moved. At first I thought I would be helping Grandpa Pete as he got older, but I found that grandpa didn’t need me nearly as much as I needed him.” Seth stroked her hand as she tensed a bit.
“He shared a fishing boat with his friends from his days in the Navy, and had plenty to do in the retirement community. Of course, there was Elsa. By the time I moved back to Seattle Elsa and my grandpa were very close.”
She turned to face him, and sat up with her legs wound behind her, “When Elsa had surgery a few years ago Kels came up to help her in Seattle. That’s when Kelsey and I met.”
Seth absentmindedly toyed with the edge of her shorts, the spot where her pale skin stopped and the line of her summer-tanned skin started. Her breathing changed a bit at the contact. His eyes stayed on that spot as he spoke, “Elsa often visits Ashwood, she’s fantastic. I remember meeting Pete when he traveled here with her a time or two,” Seth looked up, encouraging her to continue.
Natalie moved to his side, curled a bit smaller, up against his arm. She looked so vulnerable, almost like a child, finding a shield in his strength. “Seth, did you know my grandpa died just a few months ago?”
“I do. I just found that out from Kent.” He paused for a moment, wrapped his arm snug around and pulled her closer as he whispered, “Natalie, Kent tracked me down. He wanted to make sure I was treating you right.”
She took in the new information, rolling the events of the past few days through her mind like a film reel. “That explains a lot…Kelsey and Kent are really close aren’t they? Every detail I share with Kels makes its way to Kent.”
“Looks like it,” he agreed.
“I don’t know how I feel about that.” Her eyes closed slowly again. Seth slid his hand on the curve of her hip as Natalie spread her fingers across the warm skin of his thigh.
“Are you OK Natalie?”
“Yeah, I just don’t talk about my grandpa to many people. It’s easier than it used to be, but today I’m more aware of the hurt. Maybe I’m just a little short on sleep.”
Natalie took a breath. Her hand on his tanned leg flexed, and then tightened. “Grandpa Pete had a heart attack. He had spent the day fishing with his friends. The weather was warm, unusually warm for March. They got back to the Marina. He jumped onto the dock. I guess he was tying off the lines and securing the dock bumpers, when he collapsed.”
Her head tipped down for a moment, but a small smile tipped the corners of her mouth. “His buddies said he had a perfect last day. They kind of envied him, going like that, quick and all, after a day on the water.” Natalie sank her head onto Seth’s chest. He secured her there, caressing her by the nape of her neck, stroking her hair for as long as she needed.
She was still leaning back on the secure expanse of his chest as Rick and Justin wandered back to the blanket, followed closely by Molly and Mandy. “Hey Seth, when did you get here?” Rick asked.
“About an hour ago, town was dead, so I thought I’d come down. I stopped by and saw Wade at Mosquito’s tent earlier.”
Kelsey walked up quickly, “Does anyone know why Kent handed me the keys to his rig? He just took off with some guys from Hood River? He told me he’d find his own way back.” She looked from Nate to Seth, and guessed the problem.
“I’m sure it’s cool Kels. You know he crashes in Hood all the time,” Rick assured her.
“Something’s not right. He would not even get close enough to talk to me. Just tossed me his keys and headed out. It was weird. When I texted him it was the same crap. He only texted that he would see me Sunday.” Kelsey sank onto the blanket, frustrated and irritated. No one seemed to give a rip.
Rick wanted to get the party back on track, “Hey Seth, good to see you. I thought we might run into you here today.” His smile had a teasing quality. It occurred to Seth that it was time to steal Natalie away to check out the festival.
“If Natalie hasn’t wandered around much I’d like to steal her for a while,” He said standing as he spoke, surprising them all with his claim on her.
In Ashwood, Seth typically kept his private life to himself. That was all about to change. He held his hand out to pull Nate to her feet, and when she stood, he did not let go. Their fingers laced as he led her away toward the art vendors.
Molly stared at their backs, her mouth dropped open when Seth pulled Natalie to his side, his hand resting on the soft round curve of her hip. “What is going on with our cousin?” she asked her sister. “It’s like an alien has taken over Seth.”
Her sister Mandy laughed, “Not an evil alien, because I prefer Natalie to Chelsea.”
“Who wouldn’t,” her twin agreed.
Kelsey stared at their path, and then lost the new couple to the sea of people as they wandered away. “Hell if I know. I am not sure this is the best thing for Nate. She’s not a hook-up kind of girl. She had a boyfriend in Seattle a while back, but when he graduated and moved to California, there was not a chance she would follow if it meant leaving her grandpa.”
Molly turned to Kelsey, “Last night I thought Kent might end up asking her out.”
Then Mandy finished “If she was looking for a summer fling Kent would have been perfect. Casual and no commitment.”
Kelsey looked between the twins, “You don’t think that’s why Kent took off do you?”
Rick grabbed the paper basket holding the dwindling supply of nachos, stuffed in a chip, dripping the bright orange liquid cheese in his mouth. “Kelsey don’t worry about Kent. He only hung out with Nate for a while at Northside Grill. Kent doesn’t need any help finding a girl.”
As he drained his beer Rick added, “Does anyone want to volunteer for designated driver tonight, now that Kent is AWOL?”
Kelsey claimed the duty just as another band began their set. “That would be me. I’ve already switched to soda.”
***
The sun dipped below the horizon as Seth and Natalie wandered through stalls selling tie-died shirts and cheap sunglasses. Orange and pink hues of the sunset bounced off the water giving her hair a burnished glow. While Nate picked up some beaded jewelry, hand-made by a local artist Seth watched her closely.
He was surprised and a little alarmed by the immediate draw she had on him. She picked up a pair of beaded earrings with a tiny hummingbird etched into a dangling glass disk. As she moved to open her purse and fish out some money he said, “I got it,” pulling out his wallet. He handed the vendor cash before she was able to make a move.
“Seth, just for that I’m going to buy you a tacky beer gift, and don’t ev
en try to stop me.”
“Surprise me. I can’t wait to see what you choose.”
“Promise you will keep whatever I pick out?”
“Do your worst,” he laughed. Booths began to light up with glow-stick and neon knick-knacks as darkness descended.
She wandered toward a spot with neon-lit visors and hats designed to hold a pair of beer cans on your head. “That’s perfect,” she laughed as she secured it to his head. “If I made you wear this would you think only of me?” She said laughing as he cringed.
“Maybe not, I’d be too busy getting wasted,” he laughed, as she pulled it off and set it back on the table.
The next vendor had handmade leather journals, belts and vests that were beautifully tooled, but expensive. Natalie spotted a bracelet that had a metal clasp designed to hide a bottle opener. The design was actually very interesting, masculine without trying too hard to be edgy.
She paid the artist, and waited while Seth held his wrist in front of her, while she put the masculine bracelet on, her fingers shook just a little. “Nice, I like it. Thank you Natalie. ”he said with a short but thorough kiss.
“It won’t turn as many heads as the neon cowboy beer-can-hat, but I’m glad you like it.”
He lowered his head again and caressed her lips with a kiss that teased with the tip of his tongue. Natalie’s moan vibrated against his mouth. He longed to deepen the contact, but pulled away. Slipping his arm around her trim waist, they moved from booth to booth, walking in time to the music drifting from the main stage.
Bright lights from the stage broke through the near complete darkness. Lit booths overflowed with shoppers looking to buy cheap souvenirs. White lights that hung under the canopies swayed in the breeze coming off the river illuminating picnic tables where laughs and shrieks grew louder as beer consumption increased.
Suddenly, Kelsey ran up to them from a dimly lit canopy. A game of giant Jenga had been set, one that involved beer shots. “Come be my partner Nate! I’ve been sentenced to drinking soda, because I have to drive. You can drink for me!” Kels drug Nate and Seth into the game. Wade now mingled with the Ashwood group.
Seth let Natalie’s hand drop as she joined in with Kels, and wandered over to Wade, “are you taking a break?” he asked his cousin.
“Actually, we stop serving alcohol as the evening winds down. We switch to our organic root beer primarily as a PR move. I’ll be here for a few more hours before we cleanup for the night.”
Wade shifted to thoughts of business, these festivals were essential to the growth of Mosquito Brewing. “Hey Seth, you should try this Hefe. It’s brewed out of Lewiston, and is a good summer beer. I need to keep an eye on the competition.” Then he followed his cousin’s gaze as Seth watched the redheads every move.
Wade took a long look at Nate, then asked, “Hey, Seth I don’t mean to pry, well yeah I do. Are you here with the leggy girl I saw earlier? Not your usual type. She’s going to be in town for a while. How are you going to manage that?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out. We only met a few days ago, but I can’t seem to stay away from her. She hired me to build a tiny house. Over the past few months, we started exchanging emails about the project. I met her in town when she arrived with Kels. At first I hoped to keep her at a professional distance…as you can see I’m completely failing at that.”
“You may as well just see how it goes. After today, you won’t be able to stop the talk in town.”
“I have managed to avoid that over the past few years. I guess it might be my turn to be the target of the family gossip train. Seth groaned, and then begged with a smile, “Wade, if you want to commit a crime, maybe rob a bank, could you do that now. It’s the only way to get the target off me.”
“Good point, I will have to use your suffering to my advantage.” The tower of wood pieces was beginning to sway. Natalie leaned forward with arms lifted in a steadying movement, giving both men a good look at her shapely curves. Wade commented quietly to Seth, “at least it looks like you can count on getting laid.”
The growl and dark scowl from Seth caused Wade to take a step back, quickly apologizing, “Crossed the line there, Seth, sorry. Point taken.”
Wade wandered off cleaning up plastic beer cups as he went. Seth watched Natalie as she pulled a Jenga piece out of the stack, nearly toppling the tower, letting out a small scream as it teetered. “Kels, you are so screwed, it’s so unstable.”
“If it falls, everyone else has to chug! I’m driving, so Kelsey’s rules apply.” She slid the block carefully away, somehow managing to place it back on the stack. “You’re up Justin.”
“Always up,” Justin laughed.
“A couple of beers and he’s thirteen,” Molly said, as the rest groaned. Justin attempted to release a wood piece from the tower, and completely failed, sending the tower of wood cascading to the floor.
“Chug! Chug! Chug!” was chanted as he emptied the plastic cup of beer, followed by an epic belch.
Snaking his arm across Natalie’s body, Seth pulled her away, “Kelsey, it looks like you have plenty of people to ride back with you. I’m stealing Natalie.”
“Figured you would. Don’t forget Nate, we have that family barbeque tomorrow, everyone wants to meet you.”
“I won’t be late. I may even beat you back to the house if you all stay to catch any more bands.”
Her comment sent a message. As much as he longed to, Seth would not try to talk her into going home with him tonight.
Natalie waved as Seth pulled her into the cool evening air, “See you all later, I had an awesome day, thanks for including me.”
Wade jogged up, “I’ll walk part way with you two. I’ve got to close down the tent for the night.” The men slowed their normally long strides to set a pace for Natalie.
“Do you have more kegs delivered at night?” Nate asked Wade as they walked.
“Not for this event, we have a small refrigerated truck with a generator that we bring to festivals. It allows us to control temperature, and be self-sufficient. The more control we have over our product the better.” He stopped in front of the Mosquito Brewing tent, “this is me, great to meet you Natalie, see you soon Seth.”
“Later Wade.” Seth tucked a hand in Natalie’s back pocket as they walked. The night was still warm, but a breeze was coming off the water. The crowd cheered in the distance almost drowning out the sound of crickets chirping in the dry summer grass.
“Kelsey’s taking you to Sunday barbeque up at the lake? Her family is nearly as large as mine, good luck with that,” Seth said as they walked.
“Her parents stopped by the day after we got back, I really like her Mom. She’s a lot like Kels.”
Cutting across the grass to the farthest gravel lot took the last of Natalie’s energy. She yawned, “I’m sorry, it’s been a crazy couple of days. I think I fell asleep in the sun earlier.” He opened her door and placed her on the seat, stealing a quick kiss before he crossed to his side of the truck. The heat trapped inside the vehicle enveloped her body in warmth. Natalie sank comfortably into the soft leather, surrounded by Seth’s woodsy scent.
CHAPTER FIVE
Almost immediately, Natalie nodded off. Seth didn’t mind. Her steady breathing soothed him, as he stole glances at her in the dim blue lights from the dash. Somehow, she didn’t wake, even on the bumpy gravel road leading up to the house she shared with Kels
He carefully parked, and Natalie woke just barely, “I had no idea how tired I was, sorry Seth,” she whispered and stretched, getting her bearings as she woke from an unusually deep sleep. Seth scooped her up in his arms, kicking the truck door closed and going around the house to the side door he figured would be unlocked. “I can walk, I’m awake now.”
‘I’d rather hold you against me.” She nuzzled into his neck, and decided to give it a small bite. Seth growled, and picked up the pace to the door opening it with little effort.
Entering the kitchen, a light over the stove
illuminated the room, barely. His arms flexed pivoting her onto the counter, sliding between her legs as he placed her in front of him.
Grabbing her round ass, he eased her forward into his groin to align with his swelling cock. Her breathing became erratic as he slowly slid off her tank top, exposing the pink demi-bra that pushed her tits high.
Natalie needed to touch him, and pulled his shirt off over his head, then ran her fingertips over the dusting of hair on his chest, following the trail down the hard ripples of his abs. Her pink lace scrap of a bra followed his t-shirt to the floor. Seth just stood and looked for a moment, not touching but studying the rise and fall of her breathing. “Beautiful Natalie, you are perfect,” he said softly.
Stepping into the v of her legs again, he began sucking first one nipple, then teased the other with his lips and light grazes of his teeth. His broad hands spanned her round ass cheeks, while she circled his hips with her calves. Seth’s cock sought out her heat through his jeans and the thin fabric of her shorts as she ground into his erection, seeking her own pleasure and heightening his.
With her mouth at the same level as his, he thoroughly explored her lips, nipping and finally plunging his tongue into her, mimicking what his cock strained to do.
She pulled back to slide her hands across his chest, down the hard ridges on his stomach as she opened the top button of his jeans.
“Bedroom. Now.” Seth demanded. While he carried her, the heat radiating from their connection increased his desire with every step. “If Kelsey decided not to catch another band, she’s going to give me hell for the noise we are about to make.”
Natalie laughed and kicked the door shut, “I can be quiet.”
“I don’t want you quiet.”
Seth sat on the bed never breaking contact with her heat. She still had her legs wrapped round his hips. “Stand in front of me Natalie,” he commanded.
She wound her legs off him, and then stood while he slowly eased her shorts and pink lace panties off her curves. His strong hands grabbed her ass, easing her forward as his tongue slid across the trim red hair covering her slit. Her vanilla scent tempted him to taste her. Parting her with his fingers, he slid one digit slowly inside. She pushed against the pressure of the intrusion, increasing his penetration. Adding another finger, he began to move with her natural rhythm as she rode his hand.