Hope Falls: Treasured Kiss (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Virna DePaul

  “It sounds like you’re in my neck of the woods,” he said. “I recently settled in Hope Falls. It’s about forty miles from Lake Tahoe, tucked in the Sierra Nevadas. Do you know it?”

  “I’ve heard of it,” she said. It was supposed to be even smaller than Forestville but supposedly a lot of big stars had settled there. “Don’t Karina Black and Ryan Perkins live there?” They were both incredible musicians, and Dara believed Karina Black had actually grown up in Hope Falls.

  “They do. Ryan’s grandmother Sue Ann owns the café in town. I think Ryan met Karina when he arrived in Hope Falls to help his grandmother. Are you a fan of romance novels?”

  “Are you kidding? A hot highlander or vampire can keep me reading well into the night.”

  “Yeah. Well, Chelsea Paige lives in Hope Falls, too.”

  “Chelsea Paige! Wow. I love her books, especially When It’s Real. It was so freaking good.”

  Alder grinned. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

  “So Hope Falls must have a lot going for it if it can attract celebs like that.”

  “It’s a really small town; the downtown area is only around four blocks long. I expected to hate it, but you’re right, it has a lot going for it. For one thing you can’t beat the location. It’s carved right into the mountain and the views are stunning from just about everywhere. And while it’s small, the town is charming, with wooden sidewalks, and mom-and-pop businesses with colorful awnings. Lucky and I opened a gym there and it’s going to be our home base for training fighters. I have to admit, being in a place where everyone knows everyone else and everyone’s business is going to take me some time to get used to, but I love it. I’ve decided to settle there.”

  She laughed and nodded. “I can understand that. Being surprised that you’d love a small town, I mean, and actually wanting to settle in one. I grew up in a small town, too. Not quite as small as Hope Falls, but there were only forty-five graduates in my high school class. I’ve known most of them since pre-school.”

  “Aw. And you still live there? Are you planning on escaping soon to live in a big city? San Francisco maybe? A young woman like yourself must be itching for the adventure of a bigger place.”

  Young woman?

  Sure, now that she thought about it, Alder was older than her, probably by a decade, but that hadn’t even registered with her. But the way he was talking now, it was as if he was deliberately reminding her—and himself—of the difference in their ages.

  “That’s what’s so funny. I always thought I’d love living in the big city, but I gave it a try not too long ago. Started hospitality school. But I found I didn’t like my studies as much as I thought I would, and that was equally true for city life. I missed the open space and beautiful views of my small winery town, so I moved back.”

  “How long were you in the city?”

  “A few months.”

  “Aw, well you didn’t really give it a fair shot then, did you?”

  She frowned. “A fair shot for what?”

  “A young woman like yourself should see the world. You shouldn’t be afraid to leave the small town you grew up in and explore it a little.”

  “I’m not so young, Alder; I’m twenty-three. And I never said I was afraid, or that I wouldn’t be exploring the world. I just want to make a small town my base of operations, the same way you decided to.” When he said nothing, simply frowned, she felt like he was judging her. For what? Being a coward? That didn’t settle well with her. Even though she’d probably never see Alder again after today, she liked him. Respected him. She didn’t want him to think ill of her. “I’m not a feeble girl or a coward just because I decided I preferred small town living to city life, Alder.”

  “I never said you were—”

  “My parents owned a pub in Forestville up until a year ago. I realized that, studying hospitality? I think it just seemed like the obvious choice. But it wasn’t for me. To serve people for a career and do it well, you need to have a real passion for it. That was missing for me.”

  “Do you know what you want to do instead?” Alder asked.

  The age-old question. What did she want to do? Dara had no idea: she loved to draw, but she couldn’t support herself doing that. She considered herself too practical to go into debt getting an art degree of all things. Looking up at Alder, she replied, “I don’t know. But I’d already decided to move back home before I was mugged, so it wasn’t even that—”

  “What? You were mugged? What the hell?”

  She waved her hand. “It was little more than a purse snatching. Or it would have been, if I hadn’t resisted. The guy got pushy after that, and we were sort of tussling when a group of guys appeared and chased him away. I didn’t mean to hold on to my purse. Nothing I had in it was worth a physical altercation. But when he tried to grab it, I just instinctively held on.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  He asked the question in a gravelly voice, with murder in his eyes. Suddenly, she could see how deadly he could be, in a ring and outside one. Instinctively, she put a hand on his arm, marveling at the way his muscles bunched under her palm.

  “I think he was more surprised I didn’t let go. He grabbed me. I’ll admit, I was scared. I’d meant to take some self-defense classes before moving to the city but I hadn’t gotten around to it.”

  “Damn it, Dara, that should have been your first priority. Did you take lessons afterward?”

  At his tone, she pulled her hand away and lifted her chin. “Well no…”

  “Why not? You should have taken lessons years ago. Crimes can happen in small towns, too.”

  She blinked. She did not like how this was going at all. If Alder had sounded protective in a He-man, I want to protect my woman kind of way, that would be one thing. But he sounded like a parent scolding a child. She already had one overprotective father, thank you very much.

  Moving deliberately, she slid the tray off her lap, then stood. “What’s going on Alder?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean last night we had sex. Great, passionate, mind-blowing sex. And now you’re lecturing me. And you keep calling me ‘young woman.’ Why are you even still here? What’s the point of breakfast and getting to know each other better? Because if we’re going to fuck again, I’m all for it, but I’m getting the distinct feeling that’s not what’s happening here, now is it?”

  His jaw clenched and he ran a hand through his hair, then stood. For a crazy second, in their matching white robes, it was like they were facing off in a ring.

  Finally, he sighed. “No, we aren’t fucking again. This was just a one-time thing.”

  Dara wasn’t surprised at his words, but they hurt all the same. He’d been all over her last night, yet now he looked like the last place he wanted to be was in this room with her.

  “Fine,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean you get to talk to me like I’m some stupid teenager.”

  He frowned. “I’m just concerned about you. You were mugged and you didn't take any measures to protect yourself even afterward. You’re being reckless with your safety.”

  She turned away, uninterested in his lecture. Suddenly, her lover from only hours earlier had turned into a pseudo-father figure—or annoying older brother—and she didn’t particularly want to hear what he had to say. For one, he didn’t really know her, and secondly, she was an adult. She could take care of herself. And she was planning on taking self-defense lessons; she just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Just because he had lived more years on this planet didn’t make him an expert on how she should live her life.

  “Look, Dara, about last night… You’re young. You have your whole life ahead of you. You should use this time to figure things out. Explore the world and all that.”

  She began grabbing her clothes, strewn about the room. “You know what? If you don’t want to see me again, you can just say so.” She stuffed her bra into her dress, but she couldn’t for the life of her find her panties. At thi
s point, she didn’t care. She placed the wrinkled clothes into her suitcase, then took out a V-neck shirt and jeans to wear for the day.

  “You don’t have to make excuses because you thought last night sucked,” she said. “I’m a big girl. I prefer guys be honest than try to sugarcoat bullshit.”

  “I’m not sugarcoating anything.”

  She merely glanced at him, an eyebrow raised, as she went into the bathroom. Just because she’d slept with him last night didn’t mean she wanted him to see her get dressed. Any feelings of intimacy with him had evaporated.

  She dressed quickly, brushing her hair and pulling it into a ponytail. She didn’t have time to mess with the dark circles under her eyes, but she could at least brush her teeth. Rinsing her face again with cold water, she stepped out, feeling at least semi-human.

  Looking at Alder, still dressed in a white robe, her heart pounded despite her best intentions. Tattoos peeked from the V in his robe, and she had to restrain herself from tracing those colorful designs again. He’d also managed to avoid looking tired, and instead looked as awake and ready as if he hadn’t spent the night in bed with her, kissing and licking and thrusting inside of her.

  Dara gulped. She couldn’t think about that. It was over. Dead as a doornail and not worth crying tears over, either.

  As she began putting on her shoes, Alder said, “I’m sorry I’ve upset you, Dara. But please, take those self-defense lessons. I can hook you up with a guy—”

  “I don’t need you to hook me up with anyone,” she replied, standing up. A headache began pounding in her temples. “I’m perfectly capable of arranging lessons on my own, and as I already told you my cousin Liam is a fighter. If anything, he can show me some moves.”

  Grabbing her purse and keys, she was about to leave—she didn’t care what Alder did at this point—when he touched her arm.

  At her stink-eye, he let her go.

  “So you’ll take the lessons from your cousin.”

  “Maybe. Eventually. There’s no rush. As you so helpfully reminded me, I’m young. I have loads of time.”

  “Look, Dara—”

  “Don't try to explain yourself. Just don’t. I get it—I do. Despite the fact that I’m so much younger than you, I’m smart enough to know when a guy’s no longer interested in me. Please be gone when I get back.”

  Before she left, he said, “I did have a good time last night.”

  But that’s all I want from you, she thought, already knowing the words he hadn’t said. Smiling a little, she shrugged. “I’m a big girl, Alder. I’m fine. And thanks again for stripping for me and my friends. I think I’ve paid you in full, don’t you?”

  ***

  “Way to go, Alder,” he muttered to himself. “You totally cocked that up, didn’t you?”

  He sat back down on the bed, rubbing his temples. That had gone about as badly as he could’ve imagined. He’d thought he was letting her down gently, giving her a legitimate reason that they couldn’t be more than a one-night stand, but he’d sounded like a condescending prick instead. You’re young, you have the world to see, his voice echoed in his mind. What was he, some eighty-five-year-old life guru trying to inspire young people to go out and explore?

  He could still see Dara’s hurt, pinched face as she’d moved about the room. Her body language had screamed “don't touch me,” even though Alder had wanted to do just that. Badly. He’d wanted to kiss her, pull her down to the bed and fuck her until she made those amazing sounds again.

  Damn, she was sexy. And already so confident for someone so young. Only twenty-three years old, but Alder had met women ten years older that weren’t as self-assured as Dara Brennan. She may not know what she wanted to do with her life, but that didn’t make her a shy little rabbit, either.

  He groaned, remembering how she’d stroked his chest, kissed him, moved her body against his. Alder’s lovers generally ranged from great to mediocre, but Dara had been a cut above the rest. It wasn’t so much that she possessed tons of experience—he had a feeling she hadn’t slept with a host of men—but her enthusiasm and lack of inhibition made her irresistible. She hadn’t been embarrassed to show how much she wanted him. Some women preferred to act coy, even in the bedroom, but not Dara. She’d moaned and cursed and locked her arms around him, tonguing his throat and running her hands through his hair. She hadn’t cared what she looked or sounded like—and to Alder, that was the sexiest thing any woman could do.

  He already missed her, and it had nothing do with sex. Okay, that was a lie. It had a hell of a lot to do with sex, but not just sex. He wanted to hear her laugh, see her smile again. Twirl his finger around a strand of that pretty hair. Count the freckles dotting her nose and shoulders. He wondered if she had freckles in other places, places he didn’t get to see fully in the dim light.

  He wished he’d had sex with her during the day, with the curtains wide open to let in the sunlight so he could have seen every detail of her beautiful body.

  But if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

  Pull it together, Alder.

  He found his clothes and dressed. He pushed away erotic thoughts of Dara, which unfortunately cleared the way for thoughts of her wrestling with some faceless assailant, the man who’d attempted to snatch her purse. She’d said some bystanders had appeared and helped her, but what if they hadn’t? Dara was strong and independent, but she was also small. Untrained in how to protect herself.

  It drove him mad thinking about something like that happening again.

  It drove him mad to think that he wouldn’t be there to protect her.

  To hold her afterward.

  To love her…

  Love.

  Shit. There was that word again.

  He didn’t love Dara. He barely knew her.

  But apparently, his mind was convinced she was a woman he could love.

  And that had never happened before.

  Now, the idea of never seeing her again made his chest ache. He wanted more time with her. Wanted to sink into her as they made love all afternoon long.

  He just plain wanted her to be his.

  Suddenly feeling weak in the knees, Alder once again sat on the bed. Reaching out, he ran his hand across the sheets, as if he could recreate the bliss he’d felt when touching Dara.

  He was pathetic, pining after a girl when they’d been together a total of one night. What was it about her that he couldn’t shake? It wasn’t her beauty—she was gorgeous, but he’d been with plenty of beautiful women—and it wasn’t like she was some unattainable celebrity, where getting with her would be a feather in his cap. He had a feeling it was something deeper than that. Her intelligence, her feistiness, even her loyalty to her friends. What kind of girl found a strange guy, begged him to do her a favor like she’d needed, and pulled it off just to keep her friend’s party from being ruined? Not many, he suspected.

  Fuck. He’d made a huge mistake, blowing off Dara just because she was younger than him. Yes, she had a lot to experience in life, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy some of those experiences together.

  Then again, if he felt so strongly about her now, what was the use of spending even more time with her, growing even closer to her, only to lose her when she was ready to move on? It would happen eventually. She needed to figure out what she needed to do with her life. Yes, she liked living in her small town now, but that was likely to change. The last thing she needed was to pursue a relationship with a man who’d just decided to settle down in Hope Falls.

  But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends.

  It didn’t mean he couldn’t care about her and make sure she was safe.

  She’d said she could ask her cousin Liam to show her some self-defense moves, but would she actually follow through with that?

  Suddenly the name Liam Brennan rang a bell, and pulling out his phone, he Googled him. Photos of a young Irish fighter came up, and Alder glanced through some of the articles written about him. He was a year
younger than Dara, but had already made a name for himself, at least in Ireland. He’d recently moved to the States, and Alder couldn’t blame him, as the opportunities for MMA fighters were much better here. He could even see a resemblance between the cousins—both with that dark brown hair and tilted nose—and he had a sudden urge to meet the kid.

  Maybe he could give him some pointers, hook him up with people in the industry.

  Who am I kidding? He didn’t want to meet Liam Brennan because he was an altruistic soul looking to assist a fellow MMA fighter. He wanted to see Dara again. He wanted to make sure she took some self-defense classes. And maybe if he could make up for the debacle this morning, they really could be friends.

  Taking out a pad of paper from the dresser, he began writing a note. At first he started with Dear Dara, but he tossed that paper in the trashcan. This wasn’t some Jane Austen novel, he grumbled to himself. He began again with a simple Dara, writing a straightforward note.

  Dara,

  If your cousin is interested in talking to me about fighting, feel free to give him my contact info and we can set something up. Although I’m retired, I’m a trainer with many connections.

  Also, I say this not as some annoying older brother but hopefully as a new friend: take those self-defense classes. You won’t regret it. And if all else fails, you can come kick my ass after you’ve become armed and dangerous, right?

  Alder

  He scrawled his phone number and email address below his name.

  He had no idea if Dara would even consider giving her cousin his contact info, let alone if he’d see her again, but it was worth a shot.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  When Alder went down for the third time, Lucky didn’t even help him up. He just stood over him, eyebrow cocked and a frown on his face.

  “Dude, what is up with you today?” Lucky asked, exasperated.

  Alder stared up at the ceiling of the gym, not sure how to answer. He’d been back in Hope Falls for a week, and he’d hoped that he’d get Dara out of his head by now. No such luck. Sparring today with Lucky showed him how distracted he still was by the girl—the girl he’d pushed away in the first place. If he weren’t so annoyed with himself, he’d laugh at his own stupidity.