by Mia Carson
All this sneaking around was going to end badly, and they were barely in their third week of classes. Her hands shaking, she gripped the wheel and drove to the coffee house. The second she spotted Reider’s Wrangler, she smiled nervously and parked a few cars down. He stood outside, waiting for her, and waved when she approached.
“There’s a table right by the windows again,” he said, shifting on his feet. He shoved his hands deep in his pocket. “Nicely played, by the way, with Professor Ashford.”
Johanna’s face went blank, and she lifted her lip in disgust. “Who said I was playing?”
Reider took a half step backwards before Johanna laughed quietly. “Oh, I see how it is. Are you trying to drive me crazier than you already do?”
“I drive you crazy, do I?” she asked and waggled her eyebrows until the seriousness of the situation sank in. “Reider, we can’t stay here. My sister’s on her way to be my cover in case my brothers try to figure out where I am.”
He turned and glanced down the street. “Right, well, that puts a damper on things. How did you manage the other day?”
She cringed. “My friend was in the bookstore the whole time,” she admitted. “I’m sorry. If Frank and Fredrick think I’m up to something and it has anything to do with a guy, they’ll track me down and it won’t end well. Especially now with… with… look, can we go somewhere else? Please?”
He pushed his left hip out as he crossed his arms, those green eyes piercing her amber ones until he nodded. “Get in the Wrangler. I have a place not far from here. No one will bother us.”
“Thank you,” she said, but he held up a finger. “What?”
“When we arrive, you tell me what you’re hiding and why you looked so bad this morning.”
“This morning? When did you see me?” she asked.
He smirked. “I have my ways. Deal?” He held out his hand, and after chewing on her tongue for a second, she shook it and followed him to the Wrangler. They hopped in, and she grinned at the fact that the vehicle had no doors. When he took off down the street, she let her hair fly wildly and laughed from the thrill of him speeding around turns. They left the small town behind and drove out into open fields, turning onto a blacktop road that veered and eventually gave way to gravel.
Johanna’s cheeks were sore from smiling for so long, but she couldn’t have cared less as she hopped out of the Wrangler and stared around the open fields. There was one building in front of them that looked like a barn, but when she walked closer and peered inside a front window, she saw a couch, a TV, and a radio, a small kitchenette, and steps leading up to what was once the hayloft.
“Where are we?” she asked as Reider came up behind her.
His head turned as he glanced around and breathed in the air. “We are on Marquette land. This is one of the stations we use, but at this time of year, it’s empty, so I use it as my getaway when the family’s too much to handle. This far enough away for you?”
Johanna nodded, eager to enjoy a few hours away from the prying eyes of anyone. Reider unlocked the door and slid it aside, flipping on lights as he walked. He set his bag down on the couch and smirked.
“I have to admit, I lied about not being able to read those notes,” he said quietly, not meeting her gaze as he fiddled with his notebook. “I… uh, I wanted to see if you were pissed at me about Saturday night.”
She set her tote down, too, and a light breeze from outside blew in, lifting the ends of her hair and bringing with it the smells of the ranches she grew up around, the sweet grass and fresh air not found near their home. “Since we’re not going to work, can we take a walk? You said there’s no one around, right?”
“No, we’re safe out here,” he said. “You owe me an answer anyway, remember?”
“I remember, don’t worry,” she said and led him back outside.
Reider left the door unlocked behind them and motioned towards a path leading into the field along the old fence. “So spill, what’s going on with your brothers?”
His hands were shoved in his pockets and his gaze watched the ground, but Johanna’s eyes remained on his face. “You never answered my question before.”
“Like you’re not answering mine now?” he asked, his lips twisting in amusement.
“Fine. My brothers’ friend has called me and is planning on dating me unless I can find a way to put it off,” she replied in a breath. “Your turn.”
Reider stopped abruptly, and Johanna turned back to look at him. His face was red, and his eye twitched as he stared at her. “He already tried to ask you out on a date?”
“Tried and was turned down, but he refused to officially take no for an answer,” she shrugged and grabbed a piece of tall grass near her hand. As she spoke, she shredded it, imagining it was her brothers instead. “I can’t keep turning him down with the excuse of schoolwork. My brothers will pick up on it, eventually.” He cursed, watching her hands closely. “Reider, tell me.”
“Tell you what?” he asked, his voice rough.
“Why you’re risking this? I’m not worth this. I can’t be.” She threw the rest of the grass aside, her mind racing with every single confusing thought she’d had since they sat in that coffee house for hours and talked like two normal people. “I’m a Chadwick. You can’t like me, not like this, so what are you doing?”
He moved away and leaned against the fence, propping his boot up on the lowest railing, and stared out over the open fields. The wind rustled his black hair, and Johanna pictured him living out here, working the land and not having anything to do with the family feud. She blinked and for a second, saw herself standing beside him in a life she could only dream of. Anger flooded her chest at that life snatched away, and she wiped at her eyes before the hot tears could fall.
“Why did you come here with me?” he asked finally, breaking the heavy silence.
“What?”
“Why come here with me, Johanna? You didn’t have to. Hell, you could’ve stopped that kiss as easily as I could’ve, and we both had good reason to keep meeting strictly for our work,” he argued, pushing away from the fence to face her.
She stood straighter, almost eye-level, and licked her lips when her gaze darted to his and back to his eyes. “We could have, but we didn’t.”
“No, we didn’t,” he said softly and moved closer until Johanna’s body shivered in anticipation.
“Reider,” she whispered. “Why does this feel right?”
His feet stilled, and his jaw clenched. Johanna mentally kicked herself, thinking she said the wrong thing, and was ready to take it back and cut and run when he stretched out a hand for her waist and drew her up against his hard, muscled silhouette.
“I don’t think we’ll ever know,” he replied, his brow furrowing as she ran her hands up his chest to his shoulders. “But, goddamn it, I don’t give a shit. I want you.”
Much like at the charity event, the moment Reider’s lips caressed hers, Johanna melted into him and moaned at the fire flooding her body down to her toes and up to her fingertips. She ran a hand through his hair, and he lifted her higher as his mouth claimed hers in a kiss so intense it couldn’t be real. She waited for her alarm to sound, to wake up in her bed filled with a painful longing for him, but Reider deepened the kiss. His tongue danced with hers in a fierce need to possess her, and she let him.
Standing together with the light breeze blowing the tall grass around them and the warmth of the sun shining on their bodies, Johanna lacked any care in the world except to keep kissing Reider for as long as she could.
Reider’s arms wrapped tightly around Johanna, knowing they were doomed. He could never have enough of her succulent lips, the sweet scent of honeysuckle in his nose, or the quiet moans she made when he deepened the kiss. The game they played was dangerous. It could destroy both of them if they were caught and cause an even worse rift, but for the first time ever, Reider knew with whom he wanted to spend his life.
The thought hit him hard, and he broke the kis
s to catch his breath so he could understand his racing heart and the woman in his arms. Her eyes were dark, the brown showing more than the green, and he ran his hands through her curls, loving the softness against his calloused palms.
“Damn, woman,” he muttered and laughed. “I don’t think I can stop this from happening.”
“Good,” she said breathily and kissed his lips in a sweet peck. “Then it’s not just me.”
“You want to do this?” he asked, resting his forehead against hers.
“Don’t tell me you don’t?” she asked and leaned back until he stopped her gently by holding her closer. “Reider?”
“I do, trust me I do, but if this goes wrong… If it ends badly, it won’t be just a bad day,” he warned, watching the emotions race across her tensed face as his want for her grew until he could hardly stand not to kiss her.
She nodded. “For our families, you mean.”
“No, not exactly,” he said and fidgeted, laughing nervously in disbelief over the words about to come out of his mouth. “I just met you, really met you a few weeks ago, and I haven’t stopped thinking about you since. It’s crazy and makes no sense, but this feels right and I don’t think I can live without you now that I know what it feels like.”
He waited for her to pull back and call him crazy, to run off and never talk to him again, but Johanna did none of that. Instead, she reached her hands up and cupped his cheeks, staring fiercely at him.
“I don’t want to date Brandon or anyone else. It might be crazy, but I want you.”
He let out a loud sigh of relief and kissed her gently, enjoying the feel of her in his arms and the way they fit so easily together. He held her close and rested his chin on her head as they looked out over the tall grass swaying in the breeze.
“I know what you mean, though,” she said quietly against his chest.
“About what?”
“If this ends badly, it won’t just be a breakup,” she whispered. “It’ll be the worst storm this state has ever seen, and we’ll be at the center of it.”
Reider’s arms tensed around her in a sudden urge to protect her and keep her away from her brothers, her parents, his parents, and anyone who might come between them. A Chadwick and a Marquette being friends was unheard of, but two of them dating? Having a relationship and possibly falling in love? The notion was beyond treacherous, and he tried not to think about how limited their time might be together if they couldn’t overcome the prejudices that surrounded them.
“How about we finish that walk?” she suggested and leaned back to smile up at him, taking his hand in hers.
Reider held her hand securely in his, and together, they moved through the grass, talking about anything and everything besides their families. Before long, they laughed loudly as old friends would, the sound carrying across the open land. Reider had been in plenty of relationships before, but never had they felt this right. Johanna’s hand in his fit perfectly, like a puzzle piece, and he never wanted to let her go. They were both insane, had to be to find such a strange connection between two people meant to be enemies.
An old cottonwood tree grew beside a small creek running through the land, and Reider pulled Johanna to a stop beneath it. They stared up through the leaves at the sun speckling their faces and rested in the shade. He leaned his back against the bark, and she stood on her toes, smiling as she captured his mouth. He grunted, loving the boldness of the woman in his arms, and let her kiss him passionately.
Figures the one woman you fall for is a Chadwick, he thought, amused by the typical fierceness of the family appearing in a way he never thought to experience.
“Jo,” he said quietly when she stopped to take a breath.
“What? Don’t like it when a woman takes control?” she asked, smirking.
“Hell no, no complaints here,” he said and brushed her wild curls from her face. “Do you want to go on an actual date soon? Only you and me with no one around?”
“Isn’t that what this is?” She glanced around, laughing, and he joined her.
“Well… yeah, but I meant a nice one with dinner and not worrying about your sister—”
“Shit, Izzy!” she screeched and pulled her cell from her butt pocket. “Oh, God! I don’t have reception out here, and it’s nearly six!”
Reider pulled her close for one last kiss, leaving them both breathless before he took her hand and they ran, laughing despite the lateness of the hour, cutting quickly through the field. They reached the barn, grabbed their things, and leapt into the Wrangler. He wanted the afternoon to last longer, but they were just getting started and he didn’t want to risk what this could be because he didn’t drive her back home in time.
When he parked outside the coffee house, Johanna blew out a breath when she spotted Izzy through the window, her head bouncing to whatever music played through her earbuds.
“She probably doesn’t even know what time it is. Never even texted me,” Johanna laughed.
Reider saw the urge to lean over and kiss him in every twitch of her hands and the way she bit her lip, but he placed his hand gently on her thigh to stop her, squeezing gently. “Just have to imagine it. Go on. I’ll see you Wednesday.”
“Text me tonight?” she asked quietly, resting her hand over his.
She tugged nervously at a stray curl, and watching her twisted his gut until he wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her again, no matter who was around. “Promise,” he said. “Go on, before she sees you getting out.”
He watched her hop out and hurry into the coffee house. She sat down across from her sister, and Izzy’s face lit up, laughing at whatever Johanna told her. Reider idled at the curb, unable to look away, but she was waiting for him to disappear. He threw the Wrangler into drive and took off down the street, his future looking both brighter and more perilous than ever before.
7
“Jo, did you hear your brother?” Ben asked loudly at the dinner table on Thursday night.
“Huh? No, sorry, Frank,” Johanna muttered as she plastered a smile on her face and stared across the table at her brother. “What?”
Izzy stifled a laugh as Lucy scowled at her eldest daughter and Ben frowned at her. Johanna picked at the salad on her plate and acted as if she hadn’t snapped at her brother—something she never did, at least not in front of their parents. No, to their parents, the four siblings got along swimmingly. Anything to keep them in the dark about what really went on in the family, especially now that they had chosen to take a backseat.
“I asked if you’ve heard from Brandon lately,” Frank said through gritted teeth. “You’ve been on your cell a lot.”
Johanna controlled her features well, not even flinching at the question. “Yeah, so? Melody’s going through a rough time right now. Am I not allowed to talk to my friend?”
“You sure you’re not hiding something?” Fredrick asked suspiciously.
Turning her glare on him, Johanna let her fork clatter against her plate. “No, I’m not. Are you?”
Fredrick’s eyes widened, and he sagged in his chair. “No, course not.”
She hadn’t meant to actually imply he was hiding something, but Fredrick didn’t meet her gaze again and his jaw clenched so hard she thought he’d crack his teeth. The rest of the tense meal, she watched him closely, wondering what her brother had got himself into. Even Frank seemed thrown off by his sudden change of behavior, but as always, her parents remained oblivious in their perfect bubble, thinking everything was right with their kids and the family.
When dinner finally ended, Johanna carried the dishes to the kitchen, helped Izzy wash up, and walked to her room as quickly as she could without arousing suspicion. After locking her bedroom door, she rushed to her desk and unlocked the bottom drawer to pull out her cell. She was taking no chances in case her brothers were snooping. A message from Reider waited for her as she unlocked the screen, and she fell onto her bed to read it and text him back. She wanted to call him and hear his voice an
d his deep baritone laugh, but a call risked being overheard. For now, texting would be enough. He had planned their date and needed to know when she thought she might be able to sneak away.
She tried to think of a way to be gone for that many hours without anyone noticing when a knock sounded at her door. “Johanna? Are you still awake, sweetie?”
Tossing her cell back in the drawer, she told her mom she was coming and answered the door. “Something wrong?” she asked, hoping her smile looked normal.
“No. I wanted to remind you of our plans in two weeks.”
“Plans?” she asked, searching her mind. More time away from Reider was not something she looked forward to.
Her mom strolled into her room and straightened her scattering of books and papers on the floor and desk. “Honestly, I don’t know how you function in such clutter,” she mumbled under her breath. “Yes, plans. Your father and I are taking your brothers to the cattle conference in Montana. We’ll be gone Friday afternoon until Sunday. I could have sworn I told you about this months ago. It’s why your brothers have been pushing you to date Brandon.”
Johanna nearly shouted in excitement. Instead, she frowned at her mom. “What does Brandon have to do with anything?”
“They were hoping you two would have a nice romantic weekend getaway, but I guess if you’re too busy with school, it’ll have to wait,” she said wistfully and smiled, tugging at her daughter’s curls. “I’ll let you know more about our plans soon.”
She waited impatiently for her mom to leave, praying she wouldn’t want to talk about Brandon anymore, and finally, she walked out of the room. Johanna waited until her steps faded before she relocked her door and grabbed her cell.
After she sent the text telling Reider they had a whole weekend to plan a date, she held her cell in her hand, waiting for his reply. When it vibrated, she checked it quickly and laughed. Even without him in the room, she sensed the same excitement in him as she’d had when she found out. He said he’d see her tomorrow in class and looked forward to their weekend together.