Lonely Road to You (Class of '85)

by Jannine Gallant

  Her heart thundered in her chest. “Tyler, I don’t think—”

  “I know you're not indifferent to me.” His thumb caressed her cheek. “We’re both adults.” He bent his head and kissed the side of her neck, his breath hot on her skin. “I missed you last night. It surprised me how much.”

  “I missed you, too.”

  “Then stop fighting the inevitable. Sooner or later you know we’re going to make love.”

  Kate wondered why she was so determined to resist him. Her emotions were already fully invested to the point where saying goodbye to him would be beyond painful. It was going to feel like an amputation without the benefit of anesthesia. Maybe a few really incredible memories would help numb the pain. The way her body trembled as his hand worked up under her shirt and spread across her bare back left her without any doubt that they would indeed be unforgettable.

  “Kate,” he whispered, his teeth tugging on her earlobe.

  She sucked in her breath and nodded. “You win.”

  He took a step back and stared down at her in the last of the fading light. “Are you certain? I don’t want to push you.”

  She rested her forehead against his shoulder. “I’m not certain about anything except I really, really love it when you touch me. For tonight that’s enough.”

  “You won’t hear me arguing.” He took her hand and led her across the campsite, whistling for Lucy. The dog came running.

  Kate paused outside the tent. “I’d like to brush my teeth first, and, uh, use the glamorous facilities provided by the park.”

  His smile made her stomach jump. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere, and we have the whole night ahead of us.”

  By the time Kate finished preparing for bed, she was a bundle of nerves strung tighter than the wires on Tyler’s guitar. Taking a deep breath to still her shaking hands, she unzipped the tent and slipped inside, leaving her shoes at the door. Heart thumping, she tugged off her shorts and unbuttoned her blouse. Her hands stilled on the fastening to her bra.

  “I’m not very good at this.”

  His arms came around her, pulling her back against his bare chest and stroking her hair. “Relax. We won't do anything you aren’t ready for.”

  She turned, resting her cheek against the sprinkling of silky hair on his chest. Her hand covered his hard bicep, running slowly down to his forearm. His skin was tough and warm, so different from her own. She lifted her face, and his mouth closed over hers, taking her breath.

  He laid her back onto the sleeping bag and kissed her until she felt drugged. Her breasts were full and tender, and a warm, pulsing ache settled low in her belly. He kissed her eyes, her nose, the tender skin behind her ear. He ran his teeth along her neck, nipped her shoulder, and licked the supple skin swelling above the edge of her bra. A moment later the scrap of material was gone, and his mouth settled over her nipple. Her back arched off the sleeping bag, and she gasped for breath. At her feet, Lucy growled low in her throat.

  He raised his head, leaving her damp nipple tightly budded in the cool night air. “Damn dog.”

  Kate giggled. She couldn’t help it. She laughed harder when Lucy stood and stuck her furry face between them. Collapsing onto her back, she covered her mouth with her hands, trying to control her merriment.

  “It’s not that funny,” he said, his voice rough with amusement. “Go lay down, Lucy.”

  The dog let out a deep sigh then thumped onto Kate’s feet. “Did she kill the mood?” she asked when her giggles finally subsided.

  “Hell, no. It’s going to take more than that mongrel to stop me.” He hesitated. “Unless you want me to stop?”

  She shook her head. Lucy’s interruption had settled the last of her nerves. She smiled, feeling truly relaxed for the first time all evening. “I don’t want you to stop. We were just getting warmed up.”

  Tyler rolled with her until she lay full length on top of him. “You know I’ve been crazy with wanting you these last few days.” He pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Who’s kidding who? I’ve wanted to do this since about ten minutes after we crashed into each other.”

  “That I doubt. I was soaking wet and muddy, not exactly the stuff of erotic dreams.”

  “You’re wrong.” His hands cupped her bottom, pulling her tight against the hard evidence of his desire. “Your shirt was so wet I could see right through it. If my ankle hadn’t been killing me, I would have put the moves on you then and there.”

  “Nothing’s stopping you now.”

  He pushed her panties down her legs and ran his hand up the inside of her thigh. Her flesh tingled and burned at his touch. Her muscles clenched as his fingers reached their goal. Never before had she felt such need. Never had she wanted a man as much as she wanted this one. With a little whimper, she reached down and closed her hand around him. He jumped.

  His voice was a moan in her ear. “Jesus, Kate.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “We don’t have to.” He pushed deep inside her, filling her soul. When he began to move, she bit her lip and held on, afraid she would fly to pieces. Time stopped as she shook with the force of her release.

  They lay still in the nest of sleeping bags, Kate draped across his chest, the sweat on her body cooling. Finally she rolled to his side, and he used one long arm to pull her tight against him. At their feet, Lucy let out a gusty sigh.

  “That was...unexpected,” he said with a short laugh.

  She pulled away slightly. “You didn’t think I’d...” She stopped, too embarrassed to say the word.

  “God no!” He turned on his side to face her. “I knew the sex would be great.” He picked up her hand and pressed it to his chest. “But I didn’t expect to feel it here.”

  Warmth flooded her. Maybe she wasn’t just another woman in an endless parade who’d thrown themselves at Tyler. Maybe he really did care, but she wouldn’t kid herself into believing she was more than a temporary diversion. To imagine anything more lasting would really set herself up for disappointment. She might be inexperienced when it came to men, but she wasn’t naive about what they wanted.

  She would enjoy the present and try not to think about the future. Beneath her hand, his heart beat steadily. Her lips curved. It was a long road to New York, and though she knew in her head their journey together would end there, she couldn’t bring herself to squelch the budding hope in her heart that perhaps it wouldn’t.

  ****

  The rabbit sat motionless in the grass. Kate drew the funny white tail, the long still ears. Then, with a sudden twitch, the rabbit was gone. She lifted her face to the faint breeze and breathed in a scent reminiscent of baking bread.

  “I’m sorry. Did we startle it?”

  She looked over her shoulder and saw Tyler and Lucy approaching. “It doesn’t matter. I captured the feeling I was looking for, the quiet emptiness of the prairie.”

  He reached down and pulled her to her feet. “You’re a poet and an artist.”

  She smiled as she tucked her drawing pad into her backpack. “Hardly. Shall we keep hiking?”

  “You bet. I’m dying to explore those cliffs even if it is hotter than Hades out here today.”

  The grass thinned, then disappeared completely as they drew closer to the multicolored rock formations. Her hiking boots stirred up dust as she walked, her gaze on the eroded pinnacles shading from pink to orange to yellow. She wanted to pull out her pastels and capture the incredible colors on paper, but settled for using her camera. Raising her Nikon, she snapped shot after shot.

  “Watch your feet, Kate. The ground is full of crevasses, and it doesn’t look very stable in this area.”

  She lowered her camera and spread her arms out wide, turning in a circle. “This place is amazing, and there’s no one around but us. What a day.”

  Tyler wiped sweat off his forehead and resettled his hat. “We’re a long way from the well-traveled paths, which is fine by me.” He reached out and ran his finger up her arm and acro
ss the tops of her breasts.

  Surprisingly, she hadn’t felt awkward with him this morning. They’d settled into their usual routine, taking a step back from the intimacy of the night before. But every now and then she caught a look in his eyes that told her he was remembering what it had felt like to sleep in each other’s arms, to wake in the dead of night and make love all over again.

  Reliving the feeling of his hands stroking her, his lips kissing the backs of her knees, the insides of her thighs—

  Kate swallowed, her mouth as dry as the summer day. She reached for her water bottle, and the ground crumbled beneath her feet. She screamed as she fell, sliding in a torrent of dirt and rock. She landed on her back, breath gone and ears ringing. Shock kept panic at bay.

  “Kate, are you hurt? Answer me!”

  She gasped for breath and slowly turned her head. Tyler was struggling out from beneath a pile of soil and rock. Somewhere above her Lucy barked frantically.

  “I’m okay,” she croaked, choking on a mouthful of dirt. She spat and cleared her throat, pushing up off her back. Slowly she sat up. “What about you?”

  “I tweaked my bad ankle again, but I don’t think anything is broken.” He finished freeing his legs and crawled across the debris to her side. Gently he brushed dirt off her face. “You’re bleeding.”

  She touched her temple and stared at her fingers, sticky with blood. “I have a first aid kit in my backpack.”

  “It doesn’t look too bad.” His hand was shaking when he pulled her to her feet. For a minute they stood quietly, leaning on each other. “My heart nearly stopped when I saw the ground swallow you up.”

  “I didn’t know you’d fallen until you called my name.”

  “I couldn’t get away from the edge in time. Lucy was quicker.”

  She shaded her eyes and looked up. Lucy’s brown eyes stared at her from beneath a mop of red fur. She whined and crawled closer, sending down another shower of rocks.

  “No, Lucy,” Tyler yelled. “Stay back,”

  The reality of their situation sank in. “How far did we fall?”

  “Probably about twenty feet.” He winced as he shifted his weight onto his left foot. “We should be able to climb out easily enough.”

  An hour later the sun was riding lower on the horizon, offering blessed relief from the blinding rays, but they were no closer to getting out of the crevasse. Finally he dropped down next to her. “We’re stuck here until someone finds us. We aren’t going to be able to climb that wall without a rope. It’s just too unstable.”

  “I can’t believe I left my phone in the car,” she said, rubbing her temples. “Are you positive yours won’t work?”

  “It’s smashed.”

  She leaned back against the crumbling dirt wall. “How long do you think we’ll be stuck down here?”

  His steady blue gaze met hers, and he pulled her against his shoulder. “It may be some time. Hopefully a ranger will find your car and send out a search party.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “We have food left over from lunch and water. We’ll be fine.”

  “How’s your ankle feeling?”

  “It’s a little sore.”

  Her lips twisted. “Do you know what I told Ben when he was worried about me traveling alone?”

  Tyler eased a rock out from beneath his hip. “This should be good.”

  “I said, and I quote, ‘What could possibly go wrong?’”

  “I said the same thing when my mom was concerned about me riding my Harley across the country.” His eyes twinkled. “We were just asking for trouble.”

  She drew a line in the dirt at her side. “Do you wish you’d stayed home?”

  He touched her chin, turning her face until her gaze met his. “Absolutely not.”

  Kate was very still. “Me neither.”

  “Of course we may miss the reunion altogether if we don’t get out of this hole pretty soon.”

  “Chelsea would kill me.”

  “Who’s Chelsea?”

  “She worked on the school newspaper with me. She’s the one who talked me into going to the reunion. She wants my support when she faces her daughter’s father again for the first time since graduation.”

  His eyes widened, and his voice shook. “Please tell me I didn’t hook up with her in high school.”

  She scowled and kicked a rock. “Relax, Tyler. The father’s name is John Lucas.”

  “Hey, I remember that guy. We weren’t exactly pals, but he didn’t seem like the type to dump his pregnant girlfriend.”

  “She didn’t tell him.” Kate stared at him, studying his clean profile, the long lashed eyes, the smile that positively radiated relief. “Were you really worried you could have gotten a girl you don’t even remember pregnant?”

  He covered her clenched fist with his hand. “Honey, I told you I was a complete jerk back then.”

  She bit her lip. “Is Sophie your only child?”

  His face softened. “Sophie is my one and only. Years ago a couple of women named me in paternity suits, but they were just after a quick buck. Their kids weren’t mine.”

  She let out a shaky breath. “I can’t even imagine.”

  He squeezed her hand. “That’s not my world anymore. My life on the ranch is about as quiet as you can get, except in the summer. July and August we stay busy.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I can’t picture you herding cows.”

  Tyler laughed. “It’s more like herding children. We run camps for disadvantaged city kids all summer. Most have never seen a cow or mountain or land that isn’t cluttered with buildings. We take them fishing and canoing and teach them to ride horses.” He shrugged. “It’s what I do to give back.”

  Her heart expanded, filling her chest to bursting. He was a good man, full of compassion and understanding. He knew first hand what it was like to be one of those kids, and he was trying to make a difference in their lives. She wondered if he could see how much he’d changed, how far he’d come from the wild teen he’d been back in Summerville.

  “What about you? Is Josh your only child?”

  She nodded and bit down hard on her lip. “He’s off to college at the end of the summer.”

  Tyler opened his mouth then shut it. She wondered what he’d been about to say. Before she could ask, he reached for his backpack and pulled out a snack bar. “Let’s split this now. We can save the orange and brownie for later.”

  “There’s trail mix, too.”

  He grimaced. “That will probably be our breakfast.”

  She let out a sigh. “You really think we’ll be spending the night in this hole?”

  “I’m afraid so. It’s after six now.” He snapped the snack bar in half. “Eat this, and then we’ll get some rest. My guess is we’re in for a long, uncomfortable night.”

  Chapter Eight

  Tyler stared up at the sky, watching as it faded from black to gray, and tried to shift his aching back without waking Kate. He glanced down at her sleeping face and forgot his discomfort. There was just enough light to make out the soft curve of her cheek, her short nose and full bottom lip. His own lips twitched in a smile. She didn’t have much of a poker face. Whenever she was upset or worried she bit that lip. After the night they’d spent, he was surprised it wasn’t a bloody mess.

  She snuggled up closer against him; he tucked his jacket more tightly around her. Thank God he’d stuffed it in his backpack yesterday morning. The warm fleece had kept them from freezing when the temperatures dropped in the early hours. That and body heat.

  Feeling her firm breasts pressed against his side, his body responded in a predictable fashion. Who would have thought a woman as prim and proper as Kate would turn him into a randy teen again? It had taken an amazing amount of willpower to let her rest last night when all he’d wanted to do was kiss her until she ached for more. But making love in a pit of dirt wasn’t exactly her style. She deserved better.

  She deserved more than a washed up rock star with a bus load of baggage. She
deserved a man like her ex-husband. His hand flexed against her hip. Steadfast, reliable Ben had bored her. Tyler knew he was a lot of things, but boring wasn’t one of them. He wanted to believe Kate felt more than just attraction for him. Somewhere along the road the idea of a quick vacation fling had lost its appeal. He’d almost asked her to bring her son and visit him on the ranch after the reunion was over, but he’d stopped himself, afraid of what such a request would mean. More afraid she’d turn him down.

  Above them, he heard a scrabbling noise and felt his hopes rise, but it was only Lucy. The dog looked over the edge of the crevasse and barked once. Kate stirred against his side and blinked, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

  “Is it morning yet?” she asked around a yawn. Lines of fatigue radiated from her eyes, and she looked pale and drained.

  Tyler kissed her, and her breath came out in a little gasp of surprise. “The sun will be up shortly.” He kissed her again, enjoying the way her eyes darkened.

  Lucy whined, and Kate reared back. “Oh God, the coyotes—”

  “Are long gone. They stopped barking a couple of hours ago. Lucy is fine.”

  She rubbed her face. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. I was so worried those coyotes would find her.”

  “Apparently your dog has a few survival instincts. Anyway, I’m glad you got some rest.” He stood and stretched, feeling every aching muscle. “I don’t know when I’ve had a more uncomfortable night.”

  Kate grimaced. “That’s easy. Never.” She shifted and looked away. “But now I really, really have to pee.”

  He gestured toward the far corner, wishing there was something he could do to ease her discomfort, some way to give her a little privacy. “I’ll keep my back turned.”

  Hands on his hips he stared up at the wall of dirt. The dog watched him from the top. Suddenly she stiffened and disappeared out of sight, barking wildly.

  “Do you think she saw someone?” Kate asked, coming to stand at his side.