“They’re good people.”
“The best.”
Shane jammed his wallet back in his pocket. “Well, we better get on the road.”
Kendall jerked her thumb at him. “We’re behind this one’s schedule.”
Jasper held out his hand to Shane. “Good luck.” He turned to Kendall, but she stepped forward and wound her arms around the wiry older man.
“Thanks again.”
Jasper blushed and fussed with his cap. “Don’t mention it.”
Shane opened the passenger door and tucked their bags away. Not trusting himself to touch her right now, he gave her a wide berth to go around the car. She hoisted herself in and settled into her corner with her car charger for her phone. They waved as he pulled out onto Main Street. Silence permeated the cab of the truck. She didn’t speak, and he didn’t have anything to say.
Three hours later, they’d crossed the border into Utah.
The dusty road was as flat as Arizona with the hazy blue of mountains to come. The sun blazed, belying the middle-of-November date. Kendall stripped down to a T-shirt. She had lightweight khakis on, and her legs crossed in her usual fashion. The silence was heavy, but he didn’t know what to say to her. He didn’t know how to handle the jealousy and the emotions she dragged out of him so effortlessly. None of this was in his plans. And all he had right now was his plan.
Those days he’d left her with Kain he’d finalized his life in California. The fact that it had been so easy to do didn’t sit well on his shoulders. California had been his home for most of his life, and yet the moment he’d lost his father, the disconnect was like cutting a string. When he hit New York, he’d get to work on the orders he was behind on, figure out a space for his shop. Maybe a little apartment over it until he got himself established.
Work was his solace, and it made sense. It was all he had—all he’d ever wanted. Now he had a bed-and-breakfast he didn’t know what to do with and feelings for a woman who made him think of sunshine and…well, something other than work.
Kendall finally looked up from her phone. “There’s a rest stop coming up.”
“Need to stop?”
“I could use a bathroom break and a refill. I need caffeine.”
He nodded. “We need to make it—”
“Quick, I know. Five minutes is all I need.”
She shoved her feet into her sneakers and pulled out her wallet as he drove up to the gas pump next to the mini-mart. “Go on ahead. I’ll fill up.” She nodded and slid out, then slammed the door. While he was alone, Shane fanned out the money in his wallet. Six hundred dollars to get them through the next few states. He drew off one hundred for gas. Make that five hundred. With his background he could find a day laborer job, but that wouldn’t haul in much more than gas money. And that was only if he was lucky and a crew needed an extra pair of hands. Shit.
He hopped out and paid the attendant, pumped his gas, and followed Kendall into the store. She had a sneer on her face when he found her. “That was gross.”
“The joys of gas station bathrooms.”
“There’s no joy. I need to bathe in Purell.”
His lips quirked. He missed her voice. The ride was getting stale because he couldn’t get his act together when it came to this woman. “Luckily I don’t have to touch anything.”
“It’s a good thing, believe me. Want something to drink?”
“I’ll get it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself.” She disappeared into the aisles, and he took care of business. He met her at the registers. Diet Coke, water, and a bag of peanut M&Ms. She did like her junk food. He wasn’t sure where she put it, but she sure liked it. He put his Coke on the counter and pulled out a ten.
“Don’t be stubborn about money now, Shane.”
Ignoring her, he gathered his change and their bag. “I figure we’ve got another six hours, and we can stop for dinner. I’d like to drive through as long as we can.”
“My butt says no, but yeah, that’s probably for the best.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been a bear, Sunshine.”
Her eyebrow rose. “I’m sorry. Did you apologize?” She cupped around her ear. “I heard that right?”
He sighed and hooked his arm around her neck to drag her into his chest. “Funny girl.”
She circled his waist and tucked her hands into his hip pockets. “We kind of forgot the fun part of our road trip.”
“Yeah. The church thing was definitely a sexy-road-trip killer.”
She looked up at him, her sly grin back and her eyes twinkling. She squeezed his ass. “Well, we’ve got a few more states to debauch.”
He lowered his head and found her mouth. He traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, and she dragged him closer. She softened for him, her tongue teasing his as playful Kendall emerged. Keep it light. Just enjoy the moment. There wasn’t anything they could do about their situation but get through it. And at least he got to touch her. He bent his knees, and she shifted her hands out of his pockets and up his back.
He held her closer, dragging in the taste of her until his muscles stopped throbbing. He dropped their bag and gripped the waist of her pants and hauled her up. Her arms went around his neck, and her legs curled around him. Just like that they were locked in. But he couldn’t be pissed off. Not when she tasted so fucking good.
“Get a room!”
He tore his mouth from hers, and her laughter pushed some of the cobwebs out of his head. The disgusted tsk from a woman old enough to be his grandmother made him blush. He set her down and bent for their bag. “You make me forget myself.”
“I think you should forget yourself more.” She walked ahead. “I like this Shane,” she said over her shoulder.
He took off after her, and she skipped into a run. His legs were a hell of a lot longer, and he hoisted her up under his arm. She kicked out at the air. Her laughter filled the parking lot, and people turned to them with smiles.
“Shane. No, put me down.” Her laughter released his own, and he put her down next to the truck, caging her in. Her curls fluffed around her shoulders as her ponytail sagged. He slipped the tie out, and she rolled her eyes. He didn’t care what she wanted right then. He dipped his fingers into her hair and tipped her head up. In the semisecluded part of the parking lot he took his time kissing her until he heard that soft quake in her throat. He nipped her chin and chased the sound, trailing his lips down her neck until he reached her clavicle.
She wound herself around him, up off the ground, hanging on to him as he pushed her into the door. He ground his hips into the V of her legs. “You drive me insane.”
She slid her hand up the back of his head, holding on tight, resting her forearms on his shoulders. He attacked her neck again. Anything to keep the scent and taste of her surrounding him. Her thighs flexed at his waist, his name a chant between kisses. He tore his mouth away and sank his teeth into the smooth skin between her shoulder and neck. The thin-strap tank top hugged her chest and torso like a second skin. No bra.
He groaned.
She was a tiny thing with little palm-sized breasts. She fit him better than any other woman had in his life. But he didn’t want to take her against the side of his truck. He wanted to stretch out with her and lose himself in her scent and softness for hours.
“Dammit.”
The pads of her fingers dug into the top of his head. “What?”
“Look around.”
She peered at the small parking lot, her dark eyes finally clearing. “Not exactly the right place for this.”
“No.”
“So let’s go find a secluded spot and steam up the windows.”
He nibbled on her earlobe. “We need to get some miles under our belts.”
She flipped open the top button of his jeans. “Not the belt I’m worried about.”
He grabbed her hand and gently lowered her to her feet. “You have no idea how much I want to do just that. Part of me wants to move enough clothes
so that I can get inside you.” Her eyes widened, the doe color obliterated by her pupils. “I laid next to you all night and couldn’t stop thinking about wrapping your fingers around the slats of that headboard and driving into you until the walls came down. Until whatever deity wanted to be offended tapped me on the shoulder and told me to stop. And I wouldn’t have stopped.”
The pulse in her neck fluttered madly.
“I wanted to dent the damn mattress, and still it wouldn’t have been enough.”
Her chest heaved, and she sawed through her lower lip. “Where can we find another place that’s got that headboard?”
He laughed. “Christ, you make it hard to be smart.”
“I don’t want you smart. I want you to let go and smile. I want you to drive into me like that until neither of us can stand. I want it so much it scares me.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “You scare me even more, Kendall. I had a plan. Have a plan. Not had a plan. Fuck. We both know that New York is the endgame.”
“Don’t think about New York. Just let it be about us. No promises, no tomorrows, nothing but this.” She laid her hand against his chest, her palm digging the cross of his rosary into his skin. “Just us for as long as it takes.”
He nodded and caught her mouth in a harsh kiss. He’d been planning for as long as he could remember. Day-to-day wasn’t his way. But for her he’d try. For a chance to hold on to this a little bit longer, he would.
He bit her lower lip until it went a deep berry red. And when her lips were swollen and full, he kissed her harder. Then he pulled away and laced his fingers behind his neck. “Get in.”
Without a word, she opened the door and climbed in. He cracked his fist into the front corner panel of the truck, and the pain cleared his head. Driving was what mattered now. He’d have her tonight. And they would be a little closer to New York, even if he was wondering if New York still held all the answers he was looking for.
* * * *
Kendall woke with a growling belly. Damien Rice’s soothing voice filled the cab of the truck, and sunlight streamed over her shoulder.
“Morning, sleepyhead.”
She squinted at the dashboard clock. “Why’d you let me sleep so long?”
“What am I supposed to do? Prop up your eyelids with toothpicks?”
She jammed her overshirt behind her back against the door. “You could”—she gasped—“talk to me.”
“I was talking, and then you were snoring.”
“I do not snore!”
“You keep telling yourself that, Sunshine.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ass.”
“Nag.”
She swung her leg out and nudged his thigh. “Was that a smart-ass remark there, Oscar?”
“No, you’re just a nag.”
She dug her toe into his thigh. “Jerk.”
“You want to make a pit stop? There have been signs for a place called Mom’s.”
“Where are we?”
“Someplace called Salina.” He shrugged. “I need something more than a Coke.”
She lifted the empty bag on the bench. “You ate my M&Ms.”
“You snooze, you lose.”
She took a swig of her lukewarm soda and winced. “Yeah, maybe we can get a sandwich or something.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
She stretched and turned to look out her window. “Wow, desert is gone, huh?”
“Yeah, all about the mountains here. It’s cooler too, so you’ll probably need that shirt before we go in.”
She looked down at her tank top. “What? I’m covered.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “One wrong move and everyone can see the trio of freckles around your nipple.”
She pulled the shirt away and looked down. “Huh. I don’t think I noticed those before.”
“They’ve been there all your life.”
She shrugged. “I don’t look at them. Do I look like the kind of girl who stands in front of the mirror and checks out all my flaws?”
“What flaws? Christ, Kendall, you’ve got a rockin’ body.”
She laughed. “I’m too skinny. I’ve been told that all my life. And when I had braces? Kids in my class kept asking me if I was going to fall forward because my head was too heavy.”
“You’re tiny, but it’s all muscle and softness. Believe me, I’ve enjoyed it all.” He pulled into the parking lot and found a spot along the back of the building.
She watched the flush slide up her chest and felt it in her cheeks. “Yeah, well, you’re already getting laid. You don’t have to lie about the merchandise.”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not a smooth talker. That was my father’s way. That’s how Kain works, but that’s not me. I say what I mean.”
She’d only been teasing him. He was so incredibly intense sometimes. “All right.”
He unhooked his seat belt and cupped her face. “I don’t know if I ever want to get to New York. I’ll be bashing heads if I find out there’s a town full of idiots who have no idea how beautiful you are.”
She covered his hand. His eyes were so fierce. “It’s a little different when you’ve gone to school with all the guys you know since kindergarten, Shane.” And none were like him. No one had ever treated her like spun glass one minute and an exciting sexual equal the next.
“Doesn’t stop people from growing up and grabbing a clue.” He curled one arm around her waist. He feathered his mouth along her cheek, bypassed her mouth, and coasted down her neck to her shoulder. He nosed off one strap of her tank top and pulled down her shirt until the tops of her breasts showed. He lowered his head to swirl his tongue around her nipple, then sucked until it beaded to a point. “Now look.”
Her nipple was a deep pink from his strong pulls, and a tiny triangle of freckles shone against her fair skin. He dragged the first knuckle of his finger around the tip. “Creamy and freckled and tipped with pouty little nipples. This is what I see when I look down. This is what I can’t keep my mouth off of. Just a small part. There’s so much that I want to touch and taste.”
“What am I supposed to say to that?”
“You don’t have to say a damn thing. Just believe me when I say you’re beautiful.”
She smiled slowly. “I’ll try and remember.”
“I’ll keep on reminding you.” He reached behind her and dropped her shirt in her lap. “For now, put this on.”
“Bossy.”
He grabbed his wallet off the dash and got out. She let her head tip back against the bench seat. The overwhelming man was like a shot of adrenaline. She jumped out and followed him into the whitewashed brick building. It wasn’t a big place and reminded her of a million different mom-and-pop cafés in the Adirondacks. A sign invited them to seat themselves, and a woman with an honest-to-God beehive hairstyle came out from the back with a smile. Pastel purple shadow and mascara-heavy lashes finished her retro look.
“I’m Maude. You folks hungry?” She dragged an old-style ticket pad out of her apron. “Drinks?”
“Iced tea.”
“Make that two,” Shane said.
“You got it.”
Kendall looked around at the checkered plastic-coated tablecloths and simple salt and pepper shakers beside milk bottle vases. A single white carnation with its fluffy petals leaned against the opening of each vase. “Did we go back in time?”
The corner of Shane’s lips tipped up. “The side of the building said 1929.”
“Maybe 1959 for this table.”
“Maybe.”
Maude bustled back with their drinks. “Need a few more minutes?”
Kendall picked up her menu and scanned quickly. “Roast beef club for me.”
Shane took the red-and-white plastic board from her. “Burger and fries.”
Maude scribbled their orders. “Salad bar?”
They both shook their heads. “Okeydoke. Be back in a jiff.” She winked.
Kenda
ll turned to Shane with a huge grin. “Can’t wait to see if everything comes out on a Corelle plate with blue flowers.”
Shane took a sip of his tea and choked.
She waggled her eyebrows.
Three men in jeans and button-down shirts came in—two with wide buckles under expanding waistlines and a third who was long, lean, and could have been a stunt double for Sam Elliott. Not quite as handsome, a touch craggier if that was at all possible, and probably twenty years younger than the actor. He had an interesting face—an arresting face. He definitely didn’t have an off-the-rack JC Penney’s shirt on like the other two. His was tailored to fit his rangy body.
He smiled and tipped his cowboy hat at her as they walked by and took a seat at a larger table a few feet away.
She turned back to Shane, laughed at his quirked brow. “Oh, stop. I just thought Sam Elliott walked in the door, that’s all. But he’s too young to be him. Cold be his son, though. Jeez.” Again just a mild, blank look. She shrugged. “Road House, baby. He was hot.”
Shane laughed. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I have a few ideas.”
Shane’s eyes lit with that inner fire that left her buzzy.
Maude exploded from the back door. “William Doyle, as I live and breathe. What are you doing off that ranch? Lucinda usually keeps you boys watered and fed.”
The Sam Elliott look-alike sighed. “I had to get off the ranch before I killed all those idjits working on my stables.”
Kendall shifted to listen. Shane tapped her wrist. She turned her hand and caught his but didn’t stop listening. This she understood. Small towns were about gossip. And she was tired of thinking about her own problems.
“Those boys are hard workers.”
“No, they have ability but no drive. Goddamn lazy shits. Pardon, Maude.”
“Well, the kids these days don’t have the sense God gave a flea.”
“They work plenty hard when I stare at their—uh, when I’m present. But I have a whole ranch to run. I don’t have time to babysit,” Doyle said.
He nodded to the two men across from him. “Pat and Charlie have foals to deal with and new horses to buy for the expanded stables.”
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