“I can’t believe you’re leaving me to fend for myself in California, cuz.”
The familiar Hawaiian jargon loosened the lock on his jaw. He smiled. “I’m going to miss you too, brother.”
Kain hauled him in for a full-body-blocking hug and whomped his back.
“Christ, don’t crack my spine. I still have to drive a million miles.”
“I wish you’d let me—”
Shane stepped back and held up his hand. “We’ll be fine.”
Kain sighed and nodded. “Stubborn ass. You just want to road-trip with the hot girl.”
“You got me.”
Kendall looked up at him, that half grin making him want to return the smile. It would be so easy to slide his arm across her shoulders and drag her in. To stamp himself on her skin. Instead he looked back at his friend.
“I’ll let you know what happens when we make it to New York.”
“You’re welcome to come out during the holidays, Kain. My mother would love to meet you.”
Kain glanced at him, then back to Kendall. “I might do that.”
Would he still be there? Or would Kendall just like to see Kain? Shane swallowed down the acid burning up his throat.
Kain kissed the top of her head. “Aloha, `ânela. Be safe.”
“Still not going to tell me what `ânela means?”
Kain grinned. “Shane might bust my lip.”
Kendall turned to him, then back to Kain. “Nah.”
Oh, he would. He’d pulverize his face if Kain didn’t stop touching her.
“Now I have to go hijack the GPS. Shane doesn’t know it yet, but we are going to be taking the scenic route.”
His fingers loosened, and his chest tightened when she wrapped her fingers around his pinkie. That was not on his agenda, but her huge grin killed any reason to deny her. “Yosemite?”
“Oh, yes. I want to see the mountains and all the colors. I’m assuming you have color changes in California?”
Shane started to reply, but Kain interrupted him. “Yes. It’s gorgeous out there this time of year.”
There were places he could show her. And if it stayed as mild as it was today, he knew just where to take her. “We’ll take a few detours.”
She snagged her bag out of his hand. “I’m going to go look at my California travel book.” She bounded forward and dragged Kain down for a kiss on the cheek. “Make sure you come visit me.” She laid her hand on Shane’s arm, squeezing lightly. “I’ll let you two talk for a few minutes.”
Shane fingered the end of her messy braid. “Thanks.”
He watched her hoist herself up into the truck.
“You’re a dead man.”
He turned back to Kain. “I’m afraid you’re right.”
Kain’s eyebrows rose. “You have funny way of showing it.”
“Why the hell do you think I took off?”
“Yeah, I had a feeling. I have a soft spot for her, but it’s not what you think, so you can stop orchestrating my death.”
Shane’s lips twitched. “Caught that, did you?”
“Subtlety has never been your strong suit.”
Shane pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, I guess it hasn’t.”
“Just enjoy her and yourself. We have plenty of time to be grown-ups, brother.”
But what happened at the end of the trip? Would they have to sell the bed-and-breakfast, or could she buy him out? When they needed to go their separate ways, would he want to let her go?
He had nothing but Avery Furniture to offer, and that was fledgling at best. He needed the money from the sale of the property to give his dream a shot at reality.
Kain crossed his arms. “It’s a shitty time to make any decisions. Just take things a day at a time.”
Kain had always been the voice of reason when he and his father butted heads. Why would now be any different? “I’ll be in touch.”
“You better. Looks like I better sign up for frequent flier miles.”
“Marcus wouldn’t mind the change of pace.”
Kain laughed. “I’m sure my pilot already has a honey stationed in New York.”
“A few.”
“No doubt.” Kain’s face sobered. “Things won’t be the same without you.”
Shane held out his hand. “You’ll be taking over the world, just like usual.”
They clasped forearms. “I prefer to do it with you by my side.”
“I need to do this on my own.” He needed to find out if he could do this on his own now more than ever.
“I know.” Kain tightened his grip, then stood back.
Kain understood that more than anyone in his life. Shane opened his door and climbed into the cab of his truck. It smelled of her. Crisp apples and shampoo. It would always be Kendall.
She was true to her word. The GPS was hooked up and coordinates set.
“So where are we going, copilot?”
She tucked her chin on her shoulder and grinned at him. “I guess you’ll find out in four hours.”
He smiled. It was getting easier to do. He waved to his friend, and the pop of his gravel drive led to pavement and finally the open road.
* * * *
“Did you know the Yosemite Falls is twenty-four hundred and twenty-three feet high?”
“Nope.”
She simply eyed him. She’d been spouting off facts for the last two hours. But it saved him from trying to come up with conversation, so he didn’t mind. She sat cross-legged with her seat belt on and a bottle of water between her legs. Evidently she didn’t get car sick, because she’d had her nose in the California guide since they’d left.
“It’s the largest falls in North America.”
“I did know that.”
“You did?”
“I did. I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve gone a time or two.”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “I’m boring you, huh? Sorry. I’ve just never had the chance to go anywhere. Mom and I didn’t have a lot of money, and the Heron doesn’t allow much in the way of vacation time.”
His stomach flipped. His father had left her and her mother to fend for themselves. Oddly enough, she didn’t seem bitter about it. More like resigned. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his father had a daughter he’d never spoken of.
“How old are you?”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You and manners don’t get along too well, do they?”
He rolled his eyes. “Just answer the question.”
“Why?”
“I’m curious.”
She turned in her seat. “You’re never curious.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’ve known you for almost a week now, and you haven’t asked me a single personal question.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
She blushed and socked him in the arm. “You know what I mean.”
He grunted. “I was just wondering what our age difference was.”
“Oh.” She closed the guidebook. “I’m twenty-seven.”
He was thirty. He rubbed the heel of his hand over his chest. Lawrence had married his mom when he was eight. He wasn’t sure of the specifics, but it had been really fast. He didn’t know if his mother had been dating Larry before she introduced them, but all of a sudden Larry had been his stepdad and spending a lot of time getting to know him. He remembered moments of finding Larry staring out a window with a sad look on his face when he’d first married his mother, but Shane had been so happy to have a father in his life that he’d rush in and drag him outside to play ball.
Had Larry really left Kendall behind at such a young age?
It just didn’t make sense.
Of all Larry’s faults, being an absent father wasn’t one of them. Too involved would be more like it. The will was a testament to that. But why would he take away one more thing from Kendall? Shane wasn’t the first child to have a parent die without leaving anything behind.
“Going to
clue me in on the personal conversation going on in your head?”
“We’ll talk about it when we stop for the night.”
She jammed the guidebook into the backpack she’d bought that morning. “I hate when you do that.”
He rubbed his palm on his jeans. He wasn’t going to play dumb. “It’s a little heavy to talk about. And it’s too pretty a day to fight.”
“Oh, and that makes me feel a million times better.” She tucked her back into the door and crossed her leg over her knee. His large bench seat was perfect to let her stretch out. Part of him wanted to pull her feet into his lap. Everything about Kendall invited intimacy. She was so tiny and limber. God, was she limber.
His fingertips bit into his thigh in memory. That last night with her had been too intimate, too intense, too everything. He’d pushed her away as far as humanly possible.
She sat up suddenly. “Can we stop?”
He looked at the dash. They hadn’t been on the road three hours yet. “Already?”
“There’s a rest stop, and I prefer not to use a campsite one. I’ve seen them.”
He sighed. “You aren’t one of those girls that has a bladder the size of a walnut, are you?”
“No.” She sneered at him. “I need snacks and a coffee. And you need something with caffeine too. Did you sleep at all last night?”
“Enough.”
“Oh, yeah, big strong man. I no need sleep.”
He knew she was looking for a laugh, so he kept his face perfectly stony.
She slumped. “Your sense of humor is nonexistent.”
He pulled off for the rest stop and parked. Kendall clambered down and jogged ahead to the visitor’s center. After a trip to the men’s room, he made a beeline for the mini-mart and decided to go with cold caffeine. He got in line. She was right. The road was starting to blur a little. Even with her Lonely Planet narration, he needed a quick stretch to get out of his own head.
He didn’t want to ask her about when Larry had left her and her mother. He had a sinking feeling he knew the answer to that question. He just wasn’t sure about the why.
She slapped a bag of Skittles and a Coke Zero on the counter in front of him. He looked down at her. “Are you sure you need sugar and caffeine?”
She smacked his arm with a fistful of brochures. “Yep. We have tons to see. And I’ve got our first stop.”
“No, I have our first stop.”
“Oh really?”
He paid and thanked the teller and took the bag before she could grab it. “Yes. I’m going to take you to my favorite spot.”
“You actually have one of those?”
“Yes. My favorite spot is in Big Sur, but at Yosemite there’s a place my mom used to take me when I was a kid.” Shit. He expected her to clam up, but she didn’t. Her eyes were bright and friendly and curious.
“Yeah? I can’t wait to see it. Should we get a couple of sandwiches?”
“Yeah.” He dug a twenty out of his jeans. “Why don’t you do that.”
“I have my own money.”
Her raised chin and flash of pride made him want to kiss her boneless. He liked how she sighed into him and opened. All heat and generosity. “I told you I’d take care of getting you home, remember?”
Her brows lowered. “Yes.”
He hooked his forefinger into her belt loop and dragged her in until she was on her toes, then tucked the bill into her front pocket. “Then let me.”
Dark eyes dilated, and her mouth opened. She flicked her tongue along her bottom lip. He groaned, lowering his head until their lips lined up. A hint of peppermint teased the air between them. He brushed his nose along hers and breathed her in. She stilled in his arms. Soft. So freaking soft and lovely.
He let her go.
Her gaze dropped to his mouth before she pressed her lips together and backed away. She turned to the eateries.
“Kendall?”
She swung back to him, her eyes wary and still a little wild.
“Roast beef with the works. Hot peppers too.”
She stared at him blankly for a moment before nodding.
It was going to be a long damn trip.
KENDALL SNAPPED HER gum as she waited in line. Nothing, grouchy, a hint of friendly, then stony, and then that. How the hell was she supposed to keep up? Just when she thought she understood the unspoken rules between them, he pulled that bullshit on her.
Dammit.
Her blood was humming as if she’d just run a circuit around the lake at home.
She crossed her arms over her chest to hide her stupid reaction to that man. She was tired of being the one at the end of the strings. Her skin flushed at her neck. She could feel the heat. More than once she’d definitely been tied to him in a different way.
“Can I help you, Miss?”
“Yes, sorry.” Derailed by food. She made her order and added a couple of bottled waters to the list. She turned to lean on the counter and wait. Shane came out of the mini-mart again with another purchase. She saw the telltale red bag and grinned. Well, well. Oscar couldn’t be all bad if he liked Twizzlers.
“Miss?”
She turned around and smiled at the kid behind the counter. He smiled back; the sandwich fell out of the bag. She laughed and tucked it in. “Thanks. Have a good day.”
“Yeah…uh, you too.”
She jogged over to meet Shane.
“You do know that kid is half in love with you, right?”
She shrugged. “I’m prettier than the truckers he’s used to.”
His gold-green eyes flattened. “Mmm.”
She shook her head. “You get grouchy about the weirdest stuff.”
He took her bag. “You can’t be that oblivious.”
“What? A seventeen-year-old kid who works in a rest stop got a little fumbly because I gave him my big smile. Big deal.”
“Your big smile?”
“Yeah, the one I gave you the other night when I had my hand around your—”
“Kendall.”
His dark, uncompromising tone made her want to tease him all the more. She took the candy bag, and he grabbed it back. “Hey!” she said.
He reached in and tossed her the bag of Skittles.
“Something in there you don’t want me to see?”
He turned her toward the door. She grinned at the kid who was still watching them and waved.
“Christ, you’re a menace.”
She looked over her shoulder. “You love it.” His lips twitched. She ripped open a corner of her bag and popped a few candies in her mouth. His moods were beginning to make more sense. She was pretty sure he wasn’t quite as grouchy as he pretended to be. But she liked his growl face, so she didn’t mind so much. It was much better than the fake friendly she got at the inn. Oh, there were genuinely sweet people who came in, but for the most part, it was all about the good old boys who wanted to stink up her shed with fish.
Shane and Kendall walked through the parking lot. He slowed his stride to hers, and instead of climbing into the driver’s side like he usually did, he followed her to the passenger side. He opened the back door and stowed their food, then opened her door. Surprised, she froze.
“What?”
“You don’t usually open my door for me.”
“Yeah, well, I should.”
She grabbed the Oh, Jesus handle and hauled herself up. His wide hands curved around her hips as he gave her a boost. She bounced on the seat and met him face-to-face. He had such an interesting face. Almost pretty. But the beard softened his jawline in some ways and hardened it in others. She smoothed her thumb through the dent in his chin and placed a quick kiss on his lips. She reached for her seat belt, but instead of closing her door, he stepped up on the running board, held on to the roof of the truck, and sealed his lips over hers.
The cool bite of the soda he’d drunk mixed with his taste. Then the glide of his tongue dissolved the rest of her thoughts. Gentle was a useless commodity between them. His hand slid
along her ribs to grip her waist. His thumb traced the line of her underwire. A teasing touch that should have been nothing more than a little pleasure. Instead, it made her even more aware of how close he was to her nipple. His mouth was an invasion, and her defenses were nonexistent when it came to this man.
The wide, flat pad of his thumb was relentless.
Again.
He was going to drive her insane, and then she had to sit next to him for another hour?
She slid her hands up between them and turned her cheek to break the kiss. “Shane.”
He nipped her ear, then buried his nose in the curls that escaped her braid. “Buckle up, babe.” He stepped down and waited for her to get situated. She pushed her hair back.
When he continued to stare, she widened her eyes. “What?”
He grabbed the seat belt and slid it across her chest, making sure his forearm brushed her breast and the side of his hand grazed her left. She slammed her back into her seat as he clicked the tab into the buckle. “I can do it myself, you know.”
“Just being helpful.” He grinned and shut the door.
“Damn that man.”
He opened his door and climbed in. Without another word, he turned on the engine, buckling as he pulled out into the merge lane.
They didn’t speak for the next hour. She forced herself to look at the brochures for Yosemite and not at his profile. But as the highway road flowed into a winding road that was filled with rich amber yellows and hints of rust-colored trees, she fell into the scenery and the cloudless blue sky.
A few signs gave directions to attractions nearby. She rolled down her window and closed her eyes for a moment. Crisp air with a hint of water. The flavor was a little different from home but no less recognizable. He turned off a road—at least she was pretty sure it was a road. She braced her hand on the dash when they hit a dip, and she felt air between her ass and the seat.
“Why are we going off-road?”
“This is a road.”
She grasped the handle along the window frame and the dash as the nose of the truck suddenly dipped. “Oh, really?”
His lips quirked at the corner. “Yes.”
Oh, great. Now he was going to grow a sense of humor? She slapped the roof of the truck when her ass lifted again, and she was jarred back down. “I hope you’ve got good struts.”
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