by K. J. Emrick
Then he jumped out with the car still moving, gun in hand, and told both men to stay where they were.
Rysen was so amazed by what had just happened that she forgot to stop the car for another ten feet.
"What the hell is this?" the van driver demanded.
Rysen was just coming around as Brandon said, "You two are stealing from my employer. Can't let that happen, mate."
"You gotta be joking," big rig driver said. "You insane? Dude, there's two of us, and there's one of you."
"Two of us," Rysen pointed out. She couldn't help smiling, seeing these two caught in the act like this.
"Not to mention," Brandon added, "I'm holding a gun, and you're holding a box."
The guy in his baseball cap looked down at the crate, then back up at Brandon, his face sour.
And then threw the big wooden box full of wine at Brandon.
He brought his arms up in time to block it but the weight of eight wine bottles packed inside heavy wooden slats knocked him off his feet and to the ground. The guy from the van, big heavy that he was, ran for his van and got behind the wheel and peeled out backwards so fast that dirt flew up from where his tires bit into the roadside. He was gone before Rysen could take two steps.
The big rig driver was running up along his truck at full speed. Brandon was still on the ground, moaning and holding his left arm.
Rysen realized it was up to her.
She took off after the guy, hopelessly far behind and realizing only now that she should have used her car to catch up to him. When he got to the door and climbed up the steps and got ready to get in, she was finally able to overtake him, grabbing hold of his ankle and yanking with all of her might. He lost his footing, slipped, and fell on top of her. All of the air went out of her lungs in a big whoosh and stars swam in her vision.
The guy was screaming at her, and suddenly his hand was on her throat and holding her down as his other arm reared back, his fist threatening to smash her in the face.
"Do. Not. Move."
Brandon's voice was a rough growl as he put the barrel of his gun against the big rig driver's temple. The guy slowly raised his hands, rocking back on his knees, taking his weight off Rysen and giving her a chance to finally draw a breath.
"Are you okay?" Brandon asked her.
"No," she squeaked. But truthfully, she was feeling great.
She'd just caught the guy stealing wine from her sister's shop.
Chapter 6
"It was too bad we couldn't catch the other guy," Brandon said.
They were sitting in the back office of Christina's wine store, her and Christina and Brandon. Rysen hadn't realized how close the space was with its old metal desk and its filing cabinets and boxes of old receipts. She was sitting very close to Brandon, and the memory of him putting his hand on her thigh in the car during their little adventure kept flashing back. Was it warm in here? Yes. That was it.
"Did the police have any luck finding the other guy?" Christina asked. She kept switching between giddy happiness that she had her delivery again, and severe concern for what Rysen had done.
After the fifth "What were you thinking, Rysen?" she reminded her sister that she was a grown woman and perfectly capable of taking care of herself and it was her that had actually caught the bad guy while big Mister Security Expert had been trapped under a crate of wine.
"No, they haven't found him," Brandon reported, scratching at the skin on his left arm just above the cast. The bone wasn't broken, the doctor had explained, but it was badly bruised and needed to be set for a few days for his own good.
"I can't believe you two did this," Christina said, turning to Rysen again. "What were you thinking?"
Rysen threw her hands up in the air and got out of her chair to pace. Three steps took her from wall to wall.
"Miss Christina," Brandon said, "your sister did great. There's no way I could have done this without her. You two make a good team."
"Hmph," was Christina's comment. "Sounds like you two made a good team while I sat at home and worried. You know, Ry, when I woke up and you weren't in the house I actually called Dad to see if you were there?"
Rysen felt the color drain from her face. "You did what?"
"I called Dad. What else was I supposed to do?"
"Not call Dad!" Rysen couldn't believe it. For more than a week she'd been here in town and she hadn't spoken with her dad yet. They hadn't seen each other, which was kind of a blessing as far as she was concerned because she didn't want to explain herself to her father. When she'd left, there had been certain things said that would take both of them a long time to get over. "Oh, man. Why would you do that?"
"Because I was worried about you, Ry. You could have at least left me a note. Or answered your cell phone."
"I…couldn't."
"And why was that?" her sister pressed.
"Because I was worried you'd tell me not to do it," she admitted sheepishly.
"Exactly." Christina tried for a scowl but it turned into a broad smile again. "Whatever. You two saved my shop! I can't believe it. I'm so happy."
"The police are going to need that paperwork I mentioned to you," Brandon put in, now that the sisters were done their little argument. "I'll help you get it together if you want."
Rysen had been chewing at her thumbnail, worrying about what she should do about her dad now, when the finality of the situation hit her. The problem with the store was taken care of. It was over. That meant Brandon's job was done.
He'd be leaving now. Back to New York City by way of Sydney, Australia, or whatever. Damn it. Here she was falling for a guy who wasn't even going to stick around. Then there was the other side of that coin. Josh. He was a guy sticking around town, but no matter what feelings he had stirred up in her again, she couldn't do anything about it because he was taken.
She had such great luck with guys. They left her, or they weren't available.
Brandon looked up at her just then, and she realized he represented both of those. A guy who was leaving, and someone who wasn't available. What was she thinking? That he was just going to give up his life as a travelling security consultant and stay here in Cambria with her? Or take her with him when he left?
Of course not. Get real, she told herself.
"Um," Christina said, "I'm going to go…yeah. Put stock away? Yes. That's what I'm going to do. Now that we have stock again. And open up the shop to sell to thirsty tourists. Right. That's what I'm doing."
She walked out the office door, still talking as she went, but Rysen knew what she was really doing. Her sister could see her feelings written on her face. She'd always been able to tell when Rysen was happy or sad, or into a guy in the worst way.
"So," Brandon said, tapping his hands against the wooden armrests of his chair. "I guess everything worked out."
"Yes," Rysen said simply. "I guess so. You never got around to telling us everything the police found out from the driver. What's going to happen to that thief?"
"That's a little unclear," he told her. He stood up, pushing his chair in so he could stand close to her. "Apparently there's more to this than just your sister's shop. The driver's name is Al Bentsworth. He claims he wasn't working alone."
"What? Seriously?"
He shrugged. "Take it for what it's worth. He might just be making stuff up. Trying to get a lesser sentence. One thing's for sure, your sister isn't going to have to worry about Mister Bentsworth anymore."
"That's good."
"Yes."
"I, um, I'm glad to have met you," she said. "To work with you, I mean. For Christina. To help Christina."
She bit her lip to keep herself from talking. He was so close right now that she imagined she could feel his heat against her skin. The scent of his cologne came to her again. Rysen heard her blood pounding in her ears.
Then she heard him say three little words.
"I'll miss you."
She closed her eyes and sighed out a breath through her nose. She ne
eded to face reality. There was a strong physical attraction between them. At least, for her. That's all there was. There would always be good looking guys who crossed her path. She needed to accept that it would be a long time before she found someone who would want to make it more than that.
Then she opened her eyes, and saw his face, right in front of hers.
Brandon brought his hands up to cup her face, to hold her and study her with his eyes, his fingertips caressing her cheeks. The world tilted on its axis as he closed the bare distance between them and covered her mouth with his.
It lasted an eternity. Then it ended with a little brush of his tongue against hers and damn, damn, damn that was the best kiss she'd ever had.
"Thank you," he said to her.
"Um. For what?"
"For the most interesting first date I've ever had."
With a stroke of his one finger along her jaw, he turned away and went to the office door. She thought he was going to do the macho thing and just walk away without saying another word. Then, with one hand on the knob, he looked back at her.
"I think I'll be back in town in a week. Maybe two. Would it be all right if I called you?"
She was nodding before she could get the words out. "Yes. Please. I'd like that."
He winked at her. "So would I. Rysen."
***
Rysen didn't think it was all that long before she stepped out of the office and into the main room of the wine shop but by the time she got her brain in gear again, Brandon was gone.
"So," Christina said to her. "He's something else, isn't he?"
She was standing behind the counter, writing in her ledger, and the look on her face was infuriating. Rysen tried to find the words to explain how she felt to her sister, in a way that wouldn’t make her sound like a star-struck teenager. “I—”
Her phone buzzed at her from her pocket. Rysen sighed, quickly pulling it out and answering it without even looking to see who it could be. “Saved by the bell,” she muttered.
“We’re not done talking about this,” Christina promised. “I want details!”
Rolling her eyes, Rysen turned her back on her sister. “Hello?”
“Hi, Rysen.”
It was Josh. “Oh, hey. I’m glad you called. It turns out we’ll be able to fill that order for Beatrice after all.”
“So I heard.”
“You heard? What do you mean?”
He didn’t exactly laugh at her, but he did sound like it should have been obvious. “It’s all over the news what you guys did yesterday. They didn’t name any names, but I knew it was that bodyguard your sister hired for the shop. What’s his name?”
“Security consultant,” Rysen corrected him, a little too defensively. “His name was Brandon. And I’ll have you know, we caught that thief together.”
“Was?”
“Huh? I don’t understand.”
“You said his name was Brandon. What, did he leave already?”
She hadn’t realized her slip of the tongue. “Well, yes, he did. I mean, his job was over so there really wasn’t anything to keep him here.”
Her heart flip-flopped in her chest. Nothing to keep him here, except maybe her. He’d promised to come back.
Hadn’t he?
“I see,” Josh was saying. “Well. In that case, I didn’t exactly call about the wine order. I mean, that’s great and all but I’m calling about something else.”
“Oh? Does Beatrice need something else from Christina?”
“This isn’t about Beatrice.”
Now she was totally mystified. “Okay, as much as I’d love to stay on the phone and play twenty questions with you I need to help Christina put wine out and then it looks like I’m going to have to go over to my dad’s because somebody—” she emphasized, looking over her shoulder at Christina “—let him know I was in town before I was ready. So, if there’s nothing you need…”
“I was wondering if you’d like to go out for lunch tomorrow.”
She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. Was he asking her out? On a date?
“Josh, you’re with Beatrice. Remember? You called her honey?”
She could hear him breathe slowly and deeply. “I’m not with Beatrice anymore.”
“What? Why?”
“We had a fight. It’s a long story.”
“You can not break up with Beatrice for me,” she told him flatly. “I won’t do that to a good friend of mine.”
“No, it’s not like that. Look, she and I have been off-again on-again for longer than I can remember. She gets mad at me over things like how long I work or who I’m hanging out with and we fight and she tells me to get out. That’s all.”
When he said this wasn’t about Beatrice, she realized. This was what he meant. “So you just broke up with her again and you decided now was a good time to call me for a date?”
“Not exactly,” he said after a pause. “I’ve kind of wanted to ask you out since I saw you in the flower shop. It’s been a while, Ry, but I haven’t forgotten what it was like to be with you. I tried to hide it when I saw you for Beatrice’s sake. I guess I just never got over having feelings for you.”
Rysen leaned against one of the shelves of wine. She’d almost melted when she first saw him again in Beatrice’s shop. She would have given anything for him to say these words to her then. But what about now? What would it do to Beatrice if she accepted a date from her boyfriend? Or ex-boyfriend, even. There were codes that women followed when it came to sharing men. Basically, the code said don’t do it.
But Rysen couldn’t deny the feelings she still had for Josh, either.
“I’ll think about it,” she told him. “Call me tomorrow. Okay?”
“All right.” There was just a little bit of disappointment in his voice. “I guess that’s more than I could have hoped for. I’m calling you first thing in the morning, though. Like, six o’clock.”
“Oh, dear God, no,” Rysen said. “Who in their right mind gets up at six?”
“Physician’s assistants with crazy hours,” he answered without missing a beat.
Rysen found she was smiling in spite of herself. She and Josh had always been able to make each other laugh. Apparently, that would be an easy thing for them to fall back into.
Maybe love would be that easy, too, if she let it be.
“Eight,” she countered. “Call me at eight.”
“Seven.”
“Fine, seven-thirty.” And just like that she was laughing and looking forward to being woken up by his phonecall. “You know I have to talk to Beatrice about this, right?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he told her, although somehow Rysen didn’t quite believe him. “I don’t want to come between you and her. I really just want to start over. With you.”
Rysen felt a flutter in her belly. Emotions stirred, and she liked it. “Tomorrow,” she said, and hung up.
Behind her, Christina cleared her throat. “So. Josh?”
“Yeah,” Rysen admitted, with a sigh. “Why do men have to be so complicated? Did Beatrice really break it off with him?”
“Who knows?” Christina asked with a twist of her hand. “Those two are apart more than they’re together. I thought you knew the gossip by now.”
“I try to stay out of gossip,” she said. Which was true, especially since a lot of the gossip had to do with her and her failed job-slash-romance. “I guess it won’t hurt to have lunch with him. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get back together. As long as Beatrice is okay with it.”
“And Brandon?”
Rysen stopped in the middle of the shop floor. She’d forgotten about Brandon in the rush she’d gotten from Josh asking her out.
Why, she asked herself again, did men have to be so complicated?
Chapter 7
Rysen opened the door to the house she’d grown up in and waited for the memories to hit her. She’d left this house behind her in her journey to self discovery, a journey that had ended misera
bly and brought her back here again, full circle. Her dad’s house.
It had never really felt like her home, even when she had lived here. It had been dad’s house. A place she could stay until she found what she wanted to do. All through high school, even, she’d spent more time over at Josh’s house or at the flower shop or over in the park. Anywhere but here. When Christina had gone off to college, she’d made up her mind that her days in this house were marked, too. When she was able to, she made good her escape.
Now she was back. Funny, how life had a way of working things out for you whether you liked it or not.
The house had always seemed so big to her as a little girl. Now she saw it for what it really was, a two-story little bungalow with stucco walls and a slate roof. Fireproof, her dad had always said, and she would giggle at that until she was ten and the joke had gotten old and stale. It had never kept her father from trying to make her laugh at it just the same.
“Dad?” she said uncertainly. She’d knocked, and he’d told her to come in, and now she stood in the little entry space like a trespasser.
“In here, Rysen,” his round baritone voice answered. “The living room.”
She traced a path from the door through the hallway to the living room without missing a step. She still remembered the whole layout to the house. Here in this room, the same green couch and matching armchair and the same bookshelf stocked full of paperback mysteries and an aged set of encyclopedias stood in the exact same spots she remembered them. The television was new. So were the curtains. The fish tank in the corner…
“Are those the same fish?” she asked in amazement, crossing the room to watch white and orange goldfish swimming around fake plastic plants and an aerator shipwreck. The water was crystal clear and immaculate.
“Of course they’re the same,” her dad said from his armchair. “I’ve been taking care of them since you and your sister left home. Someone had to.”
He hadn’t gotten up when she came in the room. Just sat there, waiting for her to say something. She’d decided to talk about the fish. It seemed safer.
“Rysen, what were you thinking?”
Her back stiffened, and she kept her eyes carefully on the goldfish moving around in the tank. “I know you’re upset that I left home but I had to take the chance when I had it. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, Dad, I really am—”