It was supposed to end when you left Grand Turk.
Stef quickly shut the lid on that thought. She would end it this time. This was only temporary fun.
The moment they entered the house, Sandy, Jacob’s fat tabby cat, made her presence known. She rubbed against Stef’s leg, the gray and white tail curling along her calf.
“Is this the infamous Sandy?” Dustin asked.
“How do you know about Sandy?”
“Everybody at Hawk Transpo knows about the cat that brought Stefan and Callie together. Sandy is our unofficial mascot.”
She should have known her brother’s friends and coworkers would know the story of how Stefan and Callie met. He’d brought Sandy into Callie’s veterinary practice after he’d rescued her from the drainage ditch at the edge of Stef’s property.
Dustin stooped down and scooped Sandy into his arms, running his hand along the cat’s fur and melting every single inch of Stef’s heart. Before this very moment Stef had had no idea that men who liked cats turned her on. Apparently they did.
Sucking in a quick breath to calm her suddenly overactive heart, she clapped her hands together. “Why don’t I get started on the sandwiches.”
“You need any help?” Dustin asked.
“I’ve got it. Make yourself at home.”
Stef sought the sanctuary of the kitchen and used the minutes it took to throw the sandwiches together to collect herself. She needed to find some control. She had been so close to sleeping with this man after knowing him for just a few hours. If she were not careful, she would drag him upstairs to her bedroom before they had the chance to eat.
“Do not do that,” she warned herself in a low tone as she slid the sandwiches on separate plates.
When she returned to the living room, she found Dustin standing over the coffee table, studying the diorama she and Jacob had been working on for the past month.
“You’ve discovered my son’s newest project,” Stef said.
Dustin shot her a brief glance before returning his attention to the model. “I have no idea what this is, but it is cool as shit,” he said as he walked around the table, Sandy still in his arms.
“It’s the Chalmette Battlefield. Jacob’s class visited it on a field trip this spring, and he became obsessed with the War of 1812. He was already obsessed with dioramas. He’s built a few before, but nothing on this scale.”
Dustin leaned in closer, his gaze intent as he studied each and every piece. “This is amazing. The kid has talent.”
“I agree, but then, I’m biased.” Stef laughed.
She set the plates on the bar that separated the kitchen and living room before joining him at the coffee table.
“Jacob is super-meticulous about everything he does. Every piece has to be perfect.” She picked up the tiny blue cannon from the table. “I’ve been working on the cannons and the oak tree they sit under, but I want to make sure I have the proportions correct before I set them in place. I’ve searched for pictures online, but haven’t been able to find just the right angle. I want to have it done by the time Jacob comes home as a surprise for him.”
“When does he get back?”
“Not for another two weeks, but with my shift schedule there’s no way I’ll make it all the way out to Chalmette to see it for myself.”
“Why don’t we go right now?”
She jerked in surprise. “What?”
“After we eat we can head out there.”
“No we can’t.”
“Why not?”
She somehow managed not to roll her eyes. “For one thing, the battlefield’s visiting hours are during the day, which makes it pretty difficult since I work mostly the day shift. And, secondly, it’s nearly an hour away.”
The mischievous glint in his eyes sent a shot of both alarm and excitement down Stef’s spine.
Dustin slowly shook his head. “Not if you travel by helicopter.”
“Didn’t you just hear me say that the battlefield is closed?”
His brow lifted with deliberate smugness. “You’re not gonna let that stop you, are you?”
“You’re insane,” Stef said, even as she tried to halt the rush of adrenalin that coursed through her veins. “I’m not breaking into the Chalmette Battlefield.”
“You really are a goody-two-shoes, aren’t you?”
“Sticks and stones,” Stef said.
“It would take twenty minutes to fly there in my helo.”
“We cannot just land a helicopter at the Chalmette Battlefield and break in.”
“Of course we can. Get your stuff together and let’s go.”
Stef crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not doing it, Dustin.”
His grin grew wider, and Stefanie knew then and there that she was in trouble. He sauntered over to her. With that devilish gleam still shining in his eyes, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I dare you.”
Chapter Four
“I must be out of my mind to let you talk me into doing this,” Stefanie hissed in a harsh whisper.
A deep chuckle reverberated through Dustin’s chest as he watched her crouch in the open pasture, her head turning from left to right and back again, her eyes wide and suspicious.
“Why are you stooping down?” he asked with a laugh. “Who do you expect to spot us? The ghost of Jean Lafittte?”
“Shhh.” She batted her hand at him and yanked at his wrist. “Get down. There are probably guards walking the grounds. We’re lucky if we don’t get our heads shot off.”
“Do you really think the state goes to the expense of hiring armed guards to patrol a two-hundred-year-old battlefield? Who would break in here?”
She slid a sardonic look his way.
“Well, except for the two of us,” Dustin finished with a grin.
“I cannot believe I let you talk me into this.”
“Come here,” he said, tightening his hand around hers. He tugged her from her crouched position and pulled her toward him. His thighs brushed against hers. The contact caused his breath to quicken.
“Think about it,” Dustin said. “If we were going to get caught, it would have happened already. Someone would have called the police the minute they saw the helo land.”
She did that frantic left-to-right-to-left thing again, as if she was watching a ping-pong match. Dustin captured her chin, steadying her head so that he could look her in the eye.
“Calm down, Stefanie.” He tried to keep the amusement from his voice. He really, really did. But it wasn’t working.
“Would you please stop making fun of me,” she said. “Do you know how embarrassing it would be if we got arrested for breaking into a historical landmark? How would I explain that to my coworkers?”
“We won’t get arrested.” Dustin pressed his lips against her ear. “Just think of the look on Jacob’s face when he comes home to find his diorama finished. That alone will be worth having an arrest for B&E on your record, won’t it?”
He held his mouth in place for several heartbeats longer than necessary, breathing in her scent. He felt the slight shiver that ran through her body, and his followed in kind.
“You are nothing but trouble.” Her husky tone only added fuel to the fire simmering in his bloodstream.
“But you like my kind of trouble,” Dustin murmured against the curve of her jaw.
“I do,” she said. “You have no idea how much I wish I didn’t, but I do.”
Dustin trailed his hands along her arms as he stepped in even closer, bringing his body flush against hers. “There’s a lot more of this kind of trouble we can get into. Give me a chance and I’ll have you craving it.”
Her lids fluttered shut. She tipped her head back slightly, her lips poised in the perfect position to be kissed. But then she opened her eyes and said, “I know. That’s what scares me.”
She took a step back, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as if to ward off a chill.
Dustin’s brow furrowed. “Stef—”
>
She put her hand up. “Let’s…let’s just go find what we came here for.
Unease curdled the warm feelings that had been swirling in his gut only a second ago. He didn’t know what to make of the sharp change in her tone.
Dustin humored her, ducking his head and scurrying across the freshly mowed field. They arrived at the decrepit cannon, which sat underneath the arching branches of a mossy oak tree.
“Maybe we should have come when it was still light out,” Dustin said. “You won’t be able to take any good pictures in the dark.”
“If we’d come before nightfall, we would have been caught,” Stef whispered. “And please lower your voice. They may not have anyone out here, but there may be someone in the house.” She pointed to the large plantation home that stood on the property.
Peering at the cannon as if she was looking for the perfect shot, she took a couple of steps to the right and then let out a scream loud enough to wake the soul of every soldier who’d perished there in the Battle of New Orleans.
“Bug! Bug!” She hopped up and down like her feet were on fire, slapping at her legs with licks hard enough to leave handprints.
Dustin stared for several moments before he balled his fist over his gut and fell over laughing. He laughed so hard his side hurt. He had to take several huge gulps of air before he could get control over himself. Once he could finally stand without falling into another fit of laughter, he found Stefanie staring at him with her arms crossed. Apparently, she hadn’t found it as amusing as he had.
“You about done?” she asked him.
He shook his head, wiping the tears of mirth that had collected at the corners of his eyes. “I think so,” he managed to get out.
“You find my fear of bugs funny?”
“As hell,” he said. “What happened to the big bad army girl? And you had the nerve to make fun of this navy man?”
She shook her head. “Just when I was starting to like you.”
She tried to turn away, but Dustin caught her by the shoulders. “I’m sorry for laughing at you.”
“No, you’re not.” She swatted his hand.
“No, but why don’t we just pretend that I am. It’ll make it easier for both of us to move on.”
Annoyance flashed in her eyes. “This isn’t funny, Dustin. It’s a real problem. My fear of bugs has caused serious issues in my relationship with my son.”
Dustin sobered at the earnestness in her tone. “What kind of issues?”
“Jacob loves bugs. I have no idea why. I guess it’s a boy thing.”
“Sure, at that age boys like bugs,” Dustin said.
“Yes, and I hate them, but I don’t want Jacob to know that. So whenever he asks to go looking for lightning bugs or crickets or any of those other creepy-crawly things, I have to come up with an excuse because I’m too ashamed to let my son discover that his mom is total chicken shit.”
Dustin’s lips twitched. “You’re not chicken shit,” he said, smoothing a hand down her sleek ponytail.
Stefanie’s head bobbed with a vigorous nod. “Oh, yes I am. When it comes to bugs of any kind, I am total chicken shit.” She blew out a sigh. “It’s not as if Jacob doesn’t get to do all those boy things that he loves. Stefan has stepped in to help with stuff like that more times than I can count, but he’s married now. I can’t rely on Stefan forever.”
“Your brother loves that little boy more than you can possibly know. He isn’t leaving Jacob’s life just because he and Callie got married.”
“I know that,” she said with another of those sighs. “But I don’t want him to feel responsible for doing things with Jacob just because I’m not comfortable doing them myself. Who knows what the future holds for him and Callie. They may decide to have their own baby soon.” She placed her palm to her chest. “Jacob is my son. After Brandon died, I accepted that I would have to be both mother and father to him. And that includes touching nasty little bugs if that’s what my son wants us to do.”
Her shoulders shook with exaggerated shivers, wresting another laugh from him. Dustin wasn’t sure how to approach what he was about to say, so he just said it.
“I can do it.” He put both hands up with a quick explanation. “I’m not trying to intrude or push. I just happen to think kids are cool. If you need someone to hang out with Jacob and do the kind of things you’re not up to doing, maybe I can help.”
Her eyes softened. “That’s incredibly sweet of you to offer, but I can’t expect you to step in.”
He didn’t have to ask why. He already knew.
During their quick flight over, she’d explained that their time together must be limited to the short couple of weeks that Jacob was away. Once he returned from visiting his grandparents, things would have to return to the way they were. Dustin had protested, but she’d been adamant.
It’s a good thing he was always up for a challenge, because he wasn’t about to give her up. Stefanie was what he had been looking for, that spark in his life that he knew was missing but couldn’t put a name to. She was sweet, funny, sexy—damn was she sexy—and full of life. Dustin could not fathom going back to the way things were before he came upon her at that beach bar in Grand Turk.
The tricky part would be making her see that there was no going back.
“If I can’t take Jacob out on his bug-hunting adventures, at least let me help you get over your fear so that you can,” Dustin said.
She shook her head. “That will never happen. I’ve been this way since the fourth grade. Stefan hid this huge grasshopper under my pillow, and it hopped on my face while I was sleeping. I went to school the next day with a self-inflicted black eye.”
Dustin nearly busted a vein trying to keep a straight face.
“Go ahead,” she said.
He burst out laughing, once again wiping tears from his eyes.
“Boys are so dumb,” Stefanie said with a snort as she stomped out of his reach.
Using the built-in flash on her phone, she snapped pictures of the cannon from every angle. She even walked several yards out and took shots of the tree, before declaring she had enough.
As they hiked back through the field on their way to the helicopter, Dustin was relentless in his teasing. He couldn’t help it; she was too damn cute not to tease. He tickled her ear with a long blade of grass he’d snatched from the base of the tree. She jumped and swatted his hand away again.
“You’re such a brat,” she said with a laugh. “A sexy one, but still a brat.”
“I’m just trying to help you get over your fear of bugs.”
“By giving me a heart attack?”
“Actually, it’s called systematic desensitization.”
She stopped and turned. “What?”
“Uh, it’s just this thing where you slowly expose someone to their fear until they finally get over it,” he said with a shrug. This really wasn’t the place to explain his massive IQ and how he was capable of digesting and storing tons of information in that brain of his.
Dustin snapped his fingers. “I have an idea. I know the perfect place we can go to help you get over your fear.”
“Where’s that?”
“If I tell you, then you probably wouldn’t come.” He helped her into the R22 and strapped her into the seat. “But I promise it will be worth your while.”
Suspicion knitted her brow. “Does it involve breaking the law again?”
“Nope.” Dustin shook his head. “We can go during regular business hours. Do you work weekends?”
“I’m covering for a friend tomorrow, but it’s only a half-shift. I’ll be done by one o’clock.”
“How about I pick you up then?”
“In a car this time?”
He blew out an exasperated breath. “If you insist,” he said.
He rounded the helo and climbed into the pilot seat. He handed her the hearing-protection headset before placing his own over his ears. He started up the bird, the whooping of the blades stirring the grass aro
und them. “So,” he asked. “What do you say?”
“If it means that I can eventually catch lightning bugs with my son, I’m in. You don’t even have to dare me this time.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Stef held the six-year-old girl’s arm steady as Dr. Sengupta fitted the plaster cast around her wrist. When the girl started to cry again, Stef tucked a blond curl behind her tiny ear and whispered, “You want to know what’s neat about a cast? All of your friends at school can sign it. I still have my cast from when I broke my arm back in the seventh grade.”
“How…how did you…break it,” the little girl asked between hiccups.
“I was at a party at the skating rink. I fell and then someone rolled over my wrist.”
“Ouch,” Dr. Sengupta said.
Stef looked at him over the child’s head and mouthed not helping.
“Sorry,” the young doctor replied.
They finished setting the cast, and Stef gave the little girl’s mother instructions on how to take care of her arm while the child was healing. She finished up the paperwork and brought it to the charge station.
“Skateboard?” Angelica asked.
“Jungle gym,” Stef replied.
“Same difference. Both end in broken bones. An accident waiting to happen.”
“I used to love the jungle gym when I was a kid,” Stef said.
“You?” Angelica eyed her with a skeptical hitch of her brow. “You don’t seem like the daredevil type.”
Stef nearly choked on her laugh. She’d apparently done a heck of a job in suppressing that inner wild child, seeing as she’d been the epitome of a daredevil up until her early twenties. She still wasn’t sure if she was happy about having traveled so far to the other end of the spectrum, but she would always be grateful that she’d changed her ways before anything more catastrophic happened.
Well, more catastrophic than what actually had happened on this exact day twelve years ago.
Stef’s eyes fell shut as she thought about Tania’s phone call earlier this morning. After everything, her friend called every year on the anniversary to see if Stef was okay, when it should have been the other way around.
I Dare You! Page 6