Darkness Unknown

by Alexis Morgan

  And why did the way he said that make her think he meant far more than a quick spin down the road? Her heart fluttered. “Haven’t you had enough of the Mosely clan for one day?”

  “Maybe one of them, but not nearly enough of the other.” He came closer, causing her to back up a step before she decided to hold her ground.

  “I’ve got a strong hankering,” he said, coming a half step closer and lowering his voice, “for a banana split with all the toppings. But ice cream isn’t much fun for one person.”

  Lord, he’d tempt a nun. And she definitely wasn’t a nun.

  She grinned. “Let’s go!”

  He snagged her hand and pulled her toward the car.

  “Wait, I need to tell Chase that I’m leaving.”

  Jarvis opened the passenger door and tucked her inside before she could protest. “I’ll tell him.”

  He loped over to the front door and yelled in, “Hey, Chase, I’ll bring your sister back eventually.”

  Then the two of them were flying down the highway, with a classic rock station blasting on the radio. The heady combination of loud music and speed filled her senses, leaving no room for second thoughts or doubts. Gwen leaned back and let the powerful car and its handsome owner carry her away.

  What was Gwen thinking about? Definitely something good, judging by the soft smile and dreamy look in her eyes. Jarvis had taken the long way to the small drive-in restaurant where there was a banana split waiting with his name on it. As content as she looked, he almost hated to stop.

  But he’d promised her ice cream, and he wanted her to trust him on the small things so she’d think he was a man of his word. That way, when he did need to lie to her, she might not notice as fast. She’d eventually find out, which was a damn shame, but he knew that Gwen wasn’t going to like his real motive for mentoring her brother. Until that moment arrived, though, he was going to enjoy cruising the Ozark highways with a beautiful woman.

  As they crested the next hill, he spotted the giant rotating ice cream cone ahead on the left. He slowed down and eased the Chevelle into the gravel parking lot, wincing when he hit a chuckhole.

  Gwen giggled. “If you keep driving on gravel, you’re going to need a new paint job.”

  “Yeah, this beauty is always wanting something. Last month it was a new exhaust system.” He shook his head in mock disgust as he parked. “She’s always had expensive tastes.”

  Gwen arched an eyebrow. “So I take it that the two of you have been an item for a long time?”

  He patted the steering wheel. “We’ve been through an engine rebuild, a new interior, and a couple of paint jobs. Nothing is too good for my girl.”

  “Sounds expensive.”

  “Some things are worth it.” He raised his eyebrows in mock horror. “I actually had a friend who suggested I could have owned two or three boring beige sedans for what I have tied up in her. What fun is that? Besides, if I bought another car, it would hurt her feelings.”

  “I can see how that could happen.” Gwen’s green eyes crinkled in amusement.

  “Now, about that ice cream. What do you say we eat at one of the picnic tables? There’s a nice breeze, now that the sun’s going down.”

  “Sounds good.” She opened the door and walked around to meet him at the front of the car. “Besides, I’d live in terror of dripping chocolate on the upholstery and having to walk back home.”

  “I’d never make you walk.” He put his hand on the small of her back as they walked up to the window to order, and liked that she didn’t pull away. “Of course, you’d have to ride home in the trunk.”

  She gave him an arch look. “Just try it and see if I invite you for dinner again.”

  “We can’t have that, can we?” So she was already thinking ahead to the next time—good.

  The clerk came to the window. “Can I take your order?”

  “I’ll have a banana split with all the works. What sounds good to you, Gwen?”

  He watched her nibble on her lower lip as she considered the options, and the small gesture had him wanting to kiss her.

  “I’ll have a chocolate cone—two scoops, please.”

  When they had their ice cream, Gwen led the way to the rustic picnic tables. The small voice of his conscience warned Jarvis that sitting across from her might be the safer choice, but he ignored it and slid in beside her. She stiffened briefly, but relaxed when he stopped short of touching her.

  “This will hit the spot.” He spooned up a big bite of the ice cream and savored it.

  Gwen eyed the three scoops and piles of toppings in his bowl. “If I ate something that big, I’d have to run all the way home to burn off the calories.” She shook her head sadly. “It’s not fair that both you and Chase can eat like that without gaining an ounce.”

  “I hear it catches up with men later.”

  Purely human men, anyway. Part of the Paladin package was a higher metabolic rate, but few of them lived long enough to see if that would eventually change. The oldest known Paladin was Devlin Bane in Seattle, and he still looked to be in his late thirties.

  “So one of these days, you’re going to be walking along and all those calories are going to blow you up like a balloon? Now that’s something I’d pay to watch.” She held her cone close to her mouth and her tongue darted out to catch a drip.

  The sudden tightness in the fit of his jeans had nothing to do with the ice cream, and everything to do with watching her lick her cone with such sensuous pleasure. Right then, he’d give almost anything to be a double scoop of chocolate.

  She nodded toward his bowl. “Your ice cream is melting.”

  “I’ll have to eat faster.”

  Maybe that would keep him focused on something other than the growing urge to kiss her. From the way she was watching him out of the corner of her eye, she still felt skittish around him. But damn, there went that tongue again. It was definitely time to steer the conversation to a safer topic.

  “So I’ve been meaning to ask about those beasties in the pasture out behind your barn. They look a little small for llamas.”

  “That’s because they’re not llamas. They’re alpacas. I’m a breeder. We sell the offspring, and keep the rest for their fiber. I usually get enough of that to sell to people who spin their own yarn, although I keep a fair amount for my own use. Thanks to the Internet, I’ve built up a steady clientele for my yarn and for what I weave and knit.”

  “How long have you been doing that?”

  She scrunched up her nose as she thought. “Must be close to seven years now. My mom left enough insurance to pay off the farm, but it never was a moneymaking proposition. I was away at school when she died, and came home to take care of Chase.”

  For the next few seconds, she seemed lost in the past. When a large drip threatened to run down the side of her cone, he captured her hand in his and stole a big lick of her ice cream.

  “Hey!” she protested, pulling free. “You have your own.”

  “My intentions were strictly honorable. My quick action saved you from being the victim of a nasty drip.” He tried to look put upon, but couldn’t keep from grinning. “So you were telling me about your critters.”

  “I needed a way to make the farm profitable, and decided that breeding alpacas would be a good choice for the two of us. I invested in some good-quality breeding stock and slowly built up my herd. I sell a few off each year, which provides the bulk of my income. The rest is gravy.”

  “That must have been hard, giving up your college plans and taking on the job of raising your brother.” He doubted many young women would have done so.

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t any sacrifice. We’re family, and that’s what family does.”

  “Then Chase is a lucky young man,” he murmured, thinking how different his friend Trahern’s life would have been if he’d had a loving sister to take him in. Blake had been living on the streets when he’d been years younger than Chase was now. Jarvis’s own situation had been a lit
tle better, but having an unstable Paladin for a father was no picnic.

  Gwen ducked her head and blushed. “Thank you for saying so. We’re not exactly rolling in the dough, but I’ve never doubted that it was the right decision for both our sakes. I could never have abandoned him to the foster system just so I could finish school.”

  Jarvis gently pried her cone from her fingers and set it down in his bowl, letting the chocolate mix with the pool of vanilla. She had to know what was coming, and didn’t protest as he cupped her face to tilt her mouth to just the perfect angle.

  But he owed her the right to make the final decision. “Tell me to stop and I will.” Even if it killed him.

  “Now why would I do something so foolish?” Her eyes drifted half shut as her mouth softened in invitation.

  Their lips met on a sigh, then he tasted the sweetness of her chocolate-flavored kiss.

  The world narrowed down to the solid strength of Jarvis’s arms wrapped around her shoulders as he plundered her mouth. Gwen hung on to those broad shoulders, loving the play of his muscles and the warmth of his body next to hers.

  When he teased the corners of her mouth, asking for entry, she smiled and opened to him. His tongue swirled in and out, coaxing her to surrender to him. It was hard to hold back, even though this was hardly the place to do more than kiss.

  Jarvis slowly withdrew, using the gentle brush of his fingertips along the column of her throat to say he was doing so only reluctantly. She stared into his dark eyes, gradually regaining awareness of their surroundings. The warmth of the setting sun. The rough surface of the picnic table. The faint scent of aftershave mixed with the tang of male sweat. The sound of a car going by on the road. How cold she felt when he moved a few inches away.

  “Wow,” she breathed.

  Jarvis smiled. “Totally.”

  What to do next? Their ice cream had melted into a big blob. She identified with it all too well. She had to do something besides stare moon-eyed at him. “I’ll throw this away so we can get going.”

  When she headed for the garbage can, he thoughtfully avoided crowding her by walking over to open the car door for her. She used the few seconds of separation to bring her badly rattled nerves back under control. Although it was only a kiss, she’d never been kissed that way before, as if they had all day to enjoy it.

  Feeling a bit shy, she approached the car and Jarvis. He stepped around the open door to stand in front of her again, looking as confused as she felt. Finally, he brushed a stray lock of her hair back from her face.

  “I have to tell you that I’ve been wanting to do that since I woke up in your house.”

  “Was it worth the wait?” she asked bravely.

  His mouth curved up in that sexy smile that set her pulse racing. “Oh, yeah.”

  Gwen smiled back and then, feeling daring, rose up on her toes and kissed him again. “Next time, don’t wait so long.”

  The flicker of headlights turning into the driveway meant they were finally back. A few seconds later, the Chevelle rumbled down the driveway and stopped outside the barn. When Gwen got out of Jarvis’s car, Chase turned away from the window, not wanting her to think he was spying on them.

  They’d been gone for almost two hours, and he wasn’t sure what he thought about that. On the one hand, it was about time she had a life of her own. Between taking care of him and the farm since Mom died, Gwen had rarely had time to breathe, much less hang with her friends.

  But seeing her with Jarvis reminded him that she was more than just his older sister. She was an attractive woman, even if he forgot that most of the time. Jarvis seemed like an okay guy, but Gwen needed someone who’d be willing to stick around. According to his driver’s license, Jarvis lived up near St. Louis. What had he been doing in their woods that had left him cut up and half dead?

  And why was he hanging around their farm now? Chase had a feeling that returning a worn T-shirt had been just an excuse. Maybe he should have a talk with Jarvis the next time he came back. If he came back.

  He went into the living room and turned on the ball game, keeping the television muted until he heard Jarvis’s car start up again. Then he turned up the sound, to look as normal as possible when Gwen came in. For the time being, any questions he had were for Jarvis. After he had his answers, he’d decide what to tell his sister, if anything.

  He suddenly realized he was holding the remote so hard that his knuckles were white. Ever since the phone call from his football coach after Gwen left, he’d been prowling the house looking for a handy target for his anger. He fought the urge to heave the remote across the room, not wanting to upset his sister any more than necessary.

  He and Gwen both knew that it was getting harder and harder for him to keep his cool, no matter how he tried. He did his best to stay busy, working himself into near exhaustion to help maintain control. But he worried that one of these days he’d explode, and that Gwen would get caught in the fallout if he hurt someone. Or worse yet, her. That would be some payback for everything she’d done for him.

  The back door opened and he forced himself to relax, using the techniques from that book Gwen had ordered online. They helped some, at least taking the edge off. He muted the television again as she walked into the room.

  “So, did you have a good time with Jarvis?” Darn, he wished he’d worded that differently. “Did you like the car?”

  Was she blushing? Yeah, she was. What was up with that?

  “Yes, I loved the car. Did Jarvis tell you that he’d rebuilt the engine and did most of the restoration on the car himself?”

  “Yeah, he did. That’s pretty cool. I’d like to try doing something similar.” He gave her a hopeful look. “Maybe I could practice on our truck.”

  “Have at it, big guy. However, while our only means of transportation is in bits and pieces, you’re the one who gets to hitch a couple of the alpacas up to a cart to get groceries. It’s only about ten miles to town, so it won’t take you more than a few hours each way. Think Jordan will think that’s as cool as riding in the Chevelle?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, and think of all the hotties who’d be lining up to admire my sick new wheels.”

  “Hey, it could start a whole new fad when school starts up again. Though I doubt the football coach would appreciate his field being used for a pasture.”

  Chase turned to face the television to avoid his sister’s eagle eyes. “Speaking of football, I’m kinda worried about going out for the team. Last year I didn’t always handle being tackled very well.”

  Admitting that was hard, but the coach’s call had been a warning that if there was any more trouble, Chase wouldn’t make the first cut despite his size and speed.

  Before he could tell her about the call, Gwen dropped down beside him. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. You know Jarvis has the same ability to heal that you do.”

  Chase nodded.

  “He said he had some of the same problems when he was your age—the temper and things. He offered to teach you martial arts because they helped him learn control.”

  Chase stiffened. “What else have you been telling him about me?”

  “I didn’t tell him much of anything. He wanted to know why we didn’t call the authorities when we found him, and I told him that we didn’t think he’d want them to see how fast he healed. And that morning, he recognized you without me telling him anything.”

  “What do you mean, he recognized me? We’d never met before.”

  Gwen drew a deep breath. “He knew your father. He said you look just like him.”

  Chapter 4

  Chase lurched up off the couch and glared down at her, his body vibrating with anger or hurt. It was impossible to tell from the stony expression on his face.

  “I’m sorry, Chase. I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t know how.” She looked her brother straight in the eyes. “And this was obviously the wrong way to go about it.”

  “You’ve known for over a week, Gw
en. In all that time, you couldn’t have found a way to tell me something as important as this? What did you think would happen when you told me? That I’d run off with Jarvis to hunt down my long-lost daddy?”

  “No, that’s not what I thought.” She gentled her voice. “Your father died before you were born. That’s why he never came back.” She reached out to touch his arm.

  Some of his fury melted away. “How did he die?”

  She shook her head. “Jarvis didn’t say how, just that he had. He also said your father wasn’t the kind of a man who would have abandoned his child.”

  Chase sank back down on the couch. “How come Mom never knew what happened to him?”

  “Jarvis’s best guess is that no one knew they were involved.” She took a seat across the room, figuring she’d crowded Chase enough for one evening.

  “What else did Jarvis tell you?”

  “I was too stunned to ask more. Maybe you should take it up with him yourself—although he may not know much more than your father’s name. If the man died eighteen years ago, Jarvis would have been a boy at the time. He said they were only distantly related.”

  Chase sat in silence for a minute.

  “So what was his name? My father, I mean.”

  She smacked herself on the forehead. “God, what a dunce I’m being. His name was Harvey. Harvey Fletcher.”

  Chase grunted, obviously not ready to let go of all of his anger. “It’s no biggie. This Harvey guy obviously didn’t care enough about Mom to tell his friends about her.”

  There was no easy answer to that. “If you decide you want to know more about him, call Jarvis. I’ve told you everything I can.”

  After a few seconds of uneasy silence, Chase asked, “And what’s this about Jarvis teaching me martial arts?”

  The crisis had passed, at least for the moment. “Like I said, Jarvis admitted that he had some of the same problems when he was your age, but that someone taught him martial arts to help him focus and maintain control. He’s willing to do the same for you, if you’re interested.”