All the Days After

by Carrie Thorne

  Wiping away the pesky tears that soaked her cheeks, she hugged her friend. “You get to work your dream job as a teacher and live with the man you love. Maybe make a few adorable babies soon. Even if he does smell sometimes.” He didn’t, but he was an easy, affable mark.

  After a few sniffles and another round of tears, Pippa pulled away. Lincoln knew his fiancé well and had already started carrying boxes out to the moving van. Returning from load number one, he was now followed by his very handsome friend, Grady, who was carrying a stack of pizza boxes.

  Lincoln put one arm around Pippa and kissed the top of her head. “I hope you don’t mind, I dragged Grady up from Foothills. I figured we could use a hand.”

  Mustering up her appetite, Sophie endured yet another meal of pizza. She loved pizza, but it might be time for a break. Grady made eyes at Sophie immediately, as he seemed to be more and more flirty each time she saw him. Glancing to Sophie subtly over her folded slice, Pippa raised her eyebrows suggestively.

  Sophie rolled her eyes and shook her head No. Grady was ridiculously handsome. Ocean blue eyes, surfer blond hair, incredible body he’d toned to perfection. An attorney that had graduated from law school last year, he was a great conversationalist. And, rumor had it, was good at everything.

  He was an old friend of Lincoln’s from Foothills and his business partner, so she’d only met him a few times. She’d be seeing a lot more of him in the future. The pair had just opened their own law firm in Foothills with an office a block or so down from Foothills Accounting.

  Pippa seemed to think he was her soulmate. She liked him. A lot, really. Maybe once she was settled, she’d give it a chance? She’d already put him off once, claiming she wanted to get to Foothills before she started anything.

  Stalling. She knew what it was. Trying to think of a nice way to refuse him, as she really did like him. Hell, he was perfect. Everything a woman could want.

  He just… she didn’t get that heat deep in her belly when he walked into a room. Her heart didn’t skip a few beats, forgetting its rhythm, when he winked at her. She’d never felt those things, but knew they were imperative when considering a permanent mate. Maybe she would react differently when the stress of the last few months was gone?

  Love at first sight was a stupid notion anyway, one she did not buy into. Not even in response to a few stupid photographs of a man she couldn’t–and wouldn’t–be with that had burned into her brain.

  2

  Four hours on the road and Sophie was sick of white and yellow lines on asphalt. It should only have taken an hour, two at the most, but, thank you Seattle traffic, it had taken four. She was sick of living in the city. Case in point. Although she’d always lived in the city, she was a country girl at heart.

  You didn’t have to be raised in the country to know it was for you. The first time she’d stayed at Pippa’s folk’s place in Foothills, as usual, she’d been the first one out of bed. Sitting and watching the sunrise, the glow over the mountains illuminating the trees lining the high peaks, she’d fallen in love.

  Despite the crazy traffic, she hadn’t lost sight of the moving van. Lincoln was easy to follow, ensuring there was always room for all of them. That included Pippa’s car being towed behind the moving truck, and Grady following in Lincoln’s car behind hers.

  In their cozy caravan, they’d made a dusty wedding and grad-school graduate parade across Western Washington. Lincoln had been staying with Grady in Foothills for the past two months since he’d finished law school, but after the wedding, he and Pippa would move into a rental house, just the two of them for once. High school sweethearts reunited by no mere coincidence; they were eager to start their little family.

  Pippa was habitually a pragmatic planner and, Sophie suspected, she was born that way. She and Lincoln had broken up after high school, not wanting to sacrifice their careers for young love. Pippa went away to UCLA for her undergrad, where she’d met Sophie. When Pippa discovered Lincoln was going to Seattle U’s law school, she’d dragged Sophie with her to get some experience under their belts, then attend grad school together at UW, conveniently located fifteen minutes away from Lincoln. Well, if one avoided I-5.

  Ever the good-girl, Pippa had wanted to wait until they were married to move in together. Which generally meant Sophie got to know Lincoln well, as he crashed at their place at least two nights a week. Sophie wouldn’t miss needing to turn her headphones up to drown out the sound of the lovebirds.

  At last, they pulled into the driveway. She’d been here several times over the years. Since leaving LA, she hadn’t been back to that over-populated metropolis.

  Refused to go home to LA for the holidays, as her aunt didn’t care to see her any more than she cared to see her aunt. Unless she was flush from a recent deposit from her trust fund when dear Aunt Yvette decided they needed some quality girl time.

  Denise and Paul Sutherland had welcomed her into their home instead. When Pippa had shared Sophie’s sad history, they fixed up a special bedroom just for her. They had plenty of space; had built a massive four-bedroom home expecting tons of kids, but they hadn’t been able to have more after Pippa was born.

  They had always tried to make up for Sophie’s lack of family. Fresh flowers, cozy sheets, a thoughtful birthday present sent to her every year. The first Christmas she’d joined them, they even had a stocking hanging up for her with her name embroidered on it. To this day, Sophie couldn’t figure out what she had done to deserve them.

  The moving van kicked up quite a bit of dust that seeped into the air vents of her little SUV, but even her dust-encrusted nostrils couldn’t take away from the beauty of the drive. Wildflowers were densely scattered along the sides of the driveway. Grandfatherly maples and cedars made a canopy through the first hundred feet of the rural drive, as if welcoming her to the magical homestead hidden within.

  As the trees thinned, a clearing sprawled out before her, with neatly mowed green lawn to the left, an oversized shop-garage combo up ahead to the right, and the house beyond. Behind the house, to the right, lay an expansive concrete patio, a great entertainment setup including a hot tub with a waterfall that poured into the heated pool. To the left, east, she supposed, was a sizeable wooden deck no more than a few feet off the ground, with a propane outdoor fireplace and expansive seating that overlooked the bulk of the property. Her favorite part was the view off the deck, with a small, heavily vegetated valley leading to the rugged mountains that dominated the vast landscape.

  Pippa hopped out of the moving truck and motioned Sophie to park her car into the garage. Theatrically waving her arms for Sophie to the last of the four bays, Pippa guided her in with gusto. Her friend was as giddy as she’d ever seen. Quite the pair, they were way too excited to be done with a long, long trudge through academia.

  Sophie rolled down the window of her well-loved, high-mile CR-V and hollered at Pippa. “Are you sure? I can park wherever.”

  Skipping like a carefree kindergartener as she approached the car, Pippa leaned into the open passenger window and winked. “Not to worry, it’s not prime real estate. Mom and Dad park in the double-sized first garage bay, I get the second, and I see Asher has claimed number three. So, you get to stash your stuff, and your car, in number four. Lincoln is bringing all of my stuff to our house.”

  “What? I didn’t know the house was ready.” Holding her foot steady on the break, Sophie leaned across the center console to hear better, convinced she must not have heard correctly.

  “It’s not, but Lincoln is handling the landlord’s divorce, so he’s letting use move stuff into the garage while he finishes up with painting and new floor installation.” Beaming, Pippa was clearly excited to have a spiffy new place. Or brag about her fiancé doing some real work.

  Either way, Sophie was excited with her. “That’s awesome. Okay, I’ll unload my boxes into my very own garage bay.” Before pulling her foot off the brake, she locked eyes with Pippa, “Don’t think you get to keep that coffee table.
In fact, I’m going through all your stuff after you unpack to steal back all of my stuff that I know you tried to pilfer.”

  Pippa tapped the roof of the CR-V, the metallic thud echoing through the car, and backed away to let Sophie park. “We’ll see. That coffee table looks great with my couch.”

  Sophie continued in reverse until she’d backed neatly into the garage. Turning off the ignition, she stepped out into the unseasonably arid June day. She attempted to smooth her road-wrinkled skinny jeans and white t-shirt, shook out her tired feet in her black Toms, and pulled her windblown hair into a loose ponytail. She felt almost presentable.

  A shrill, grinding sound pierced into her brain. She covered her ears reflexively. Wincing, she walked around the back of her car and caught sight of the racket in the neighboring garage bay.

  No wall separated the three single bays of the garage. Just tool benches, boxes, and automotive equipment that formed an unofficial, mobile divider. A pair of legs covered in oil-stained jeans and ratty combat boots stuck out from an antiquated Ford pickup.

  Assuming this was the notorious Asher, Sophie attempted to sneak away. Not that she was a fraidy cat, but she didn’t feel an overwhelming need to meet him just yet. Not after Pippa’s warnings about him. Not when she was tired and likely wouldn’t be very witty or quick on her feet to deal with the rumored Casanova.

  Too late. The screeching halted, leaving a thick, deafening silence in its stead. The body connected to the legs shoved out from under the truck and rose to stand.

  Oh. So that was Asher.

  Floppy as over-boiled spaghetti noodles, Sophie’s legs completely betrayed her, and she worried as to whether they could continue to hold her up. A warm, fuzzy sensation coursed rapidly through her veins. All reasonable brain activity went caput like a fried hard drive, and she forgot her own name.

  Before he noticed her, with her mouth gaping open from the next garage bay, he pulled his ratty cotton shirt over his head and used it as a makeshift grease-rag to wipe the black grime off his hands and face. Now that was just unfair. His abs defied reality; that was more than a six-pack. Was that even possible? Without her consent, a dreamy sigh escaped Sophie’s mouth.

  Dammit, he heard. Asher turned in the direction of the sound. If he was surprised to see a stranger standing there, he didn’t let it show. “Hey. Want to give me a hand with something?”

  What? She managed to pull her gaze from the ridiculously chiseled abs in front of her and looked at his face.

  Not helpful.

  Warm, whiskey eyes surrounded by dark lashes brushed over her from head to toe and back again. His sharply angled jaw was accented by last Friday’s five o’clock shadow. His brown hair, a few shades lighter than his stubbled beard, was a few weeks past needing a trim.

  The corner of his mouth quirking into a devastatingly attractive smile, he asked, “I can’t get the light at the right angle, mind holding the flashlight?”

  She surprised herself with a docile nod of assent and ambled brainlessly over. May as well extend her arms out and start drooling, demanding brains for dinner.

  He handed her a flashlight, which she accepted without thinking. As if talking to a clueless child, he showed her the location of the black hole that had swallowed the lost bolt.

  Scowling, she remembered herself. She was an intelligent human being. Not a zombie-giggling-horny-groupie flashlight holder. “Actually, I just got in. Pippa’s waiting for me so we can go unload the moving van.”

  With a nod and a heartbreaking sigh, he ran a wiped-clean grease-blackened hand through his already mussed hair. “Of course. Sorry. Never mind. I’m good.” Eyes lingering on her lips for a fraction of a second, he shifted his focus to the flashlight.

  Well, now she felt like a jerk. Refusing when he tried to take the flashlight back, Sophie moved closer towards the truck. “Sorry, it’s been a really long drive. My brain turned to mush after being stuck on I-5 behind an accident for hours. What do you need?”

  Asher’s gaze flashed back to hers and stayed this time. His eyes softened, the whiskey warming to a gooey honey. “Thanks. I really appreciate it. I lost a fucking bolt.” Gesturing at the engine compartment, he scowled at the beast that had so cruelly swallowed such a tiny, critical part. “If I could just get the light in the right spot to see what I’m doing, I think I can reach it.”

  Sophie walked closer to the truck and shined the light down into the engine, searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

  “It’s right down there,” he gestured as he approached. Moving to her side, smelling deliciously masculine, all sweaty and half-naked after working in the garage all day, he pointed where he’d last seen the bolt.

  Inhaling his mind-bogglingly rugged scent, an unexpectedly appealing mixture of engine oil and mountain air, she tried to focus on her task. “Here, you hold this,” Sophie ordered as she handed him the flashlight.

  Stepping up onto the rusty chrome bumper, placing her feet wide apart for stability, she rested one hand on the side of the truck and leaned down over the engine. With her free hand, she grimaced as she reached deeply into the narrow opening where the light shined on the troublesome bolt.

  Stretching to her shoulder until she nearly fell headfirst into the engine, she was able to grasp it out from the crevice it had been lost in and hopped off the front bumper. Got it. She almost cheered but didn’t want to sound too eager.

  Holding the prize between two fingers, she rested the other hand on her cocked hip and raised an eyebrow. “Looking for this?”

  Smiling with relief, he tried to grab the bolt from her hand.

  Feeling uncharacteristically flirty, she pulled it away, hid it behind her back and demanded a thank you with a raised eyebrow and a taunting smile. It had been a painfully long time since she’d flirted with an attractive man… and meant it.

  Clearly enjoying the challenge as much as she did, he closed the distance between them. Stopping inches away from her, he drove her mad as she ached with the need to get closer, nipples standing at attention. She could feel the heat radiating off his body, warming her down to the bone. Biting her lip, she managed to withhold the dreamy sigh that tried to escape, again.

  His hands trailed down her arms, his fingers tracing every groove in her skin, until he reached her hands, his chest a breath away from pressing against hers.

  Stunned by the electricity between them, she didn’t have the wherewithal to maintain her tease and her grip loosened. Snatching the bolt from her hand, he stepped back and flipped it in the air like a coin. If she weren’t so aroused by the playful smirk he wore proudly, she’d smack it right off his arrogant face.

  Seeing her offence at his lack of politeness–well what was actually an expression of oh-shit, because she couldn’t believe she’d reacted so strongly to him–he leaned toward her and placed a sadly fleeting kiss on her cheek. Hesitating a moment longer than needed, he whispered, “Thank you.” His breath brushed across her ear, before he pulled away.

  Before she knew what had happened, he was back under the truck. What the hell was that? Her cheek still burned where his lips had been, her hand still gripped the non-existent bolt in the foolish hope that he’d touch her again.

  She’d really lost her marbles. Shaking off the moment, she grabbed her bags and headed for the house. Berating herself for falling into exactly the trap Pippa had warned her against, she tried to deny the desire he’d stirred in her.

  Pippa was already inside. Lincoln and Grady had gone to unload the bulk of their belongings alone and head home for the evening. Sophie was glad for some peace and quiet. She really enjoyed Lincoln and knew she would hit it off with Grady as a friend, but his persistent attentions were getting exhausting.

  Everyone expected them to get together, particularly now that they were best man and maid of honor, and living in the same town, but Sophie just didn’t see it happening. Maybe once she was settled, she’d give it a try.

  With her fresh new start, maybe a fres
h new look at his handsome face would tempt her. Although, after her response to Asher, she wasn’t so sure.

  ***

  Sophie inhaled the familiar, fresh and homey scent of the Sutherland’s house as she stepped inside. Dinner was nigh; Denise was clearly cooking up a storm to welcome the girls.

  Home… good feeling. Not that it was actually her home, but it immediately felt that way, since her first trip, like a favorite aunt and uncle’s home you visited every summer. Part of that was Denise, ensuring she had a welcoming hug as she entered, cheery conversation, and her own space when she needed quiet. What else could she call it, but home?

  The open floor plan set the tone. To the right of the entry, the dining room flowed into the kitchen. To the left, a sunny great room was cozy and inviting with plush furniture, a huge fireplace, and family-style coffee table. Straight ahead, an understated staircase led to the large loft sitting room that was surrounded by four bedrooms.

  Of the spectacular home, her favorite part was the massive wall of windows that displayed a broad mountain vista. The Cascades were glowing green as the sun was starting to lower in the sky. She could almost smell the breeze wafting through the fir, pine, and cedar trees in the evening sun.

  Young kids would have been a terror in this house. Throwing stuff over the loft rail to the living room below. Blasting the tv loud so the whole house could hear. No wonder Denise and Paul had built their own master suite downstairs, under the open loft and behind thick walls.

  Dropping her bags in her bedroom, Sophie freshened up in the connecting bathroom. Well, the Jack and Jill bathroom that attached to Pippa’s bedroom. Of the four bedrooms upstairs, each pair shared a bathroom in between. Normally she shared with Pippa, but, judging by the men’s toiletries scattered around the left-hand sink, and NAVY swim shorts hung over the shower, Denise must have moved Asher and Pippa around.