by A. J. Pine
Her cheeks flushed. “I don’t date firefighters, Lieutenant. And you made it very clear that you don’t want to date me.”
“Good. Then we’re both on the same page. I can’t let anything get in the way of work right now. My future rides on everything that happens in the next month. Plus, I’ve already dated a woman or two who either couldn’t handle the hours I worked or the risks I took. I won’t change who I am, not for my father and not for any woman, even if it means missing out on something great. On someone great. No matter how much you bat those big brown eyes at me.”
“I do not bat my lashes,” she insisted. “Wait, what did you just say?”
She stood there, eyes wide, for a long moment as everything he said registered. Then she held out her right hand.
“Friends, then?” she said, the word leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. But it was all she could offer and all that it seemed he’d be willing to take.
He wrapped his hand around hers, his calloused palm sending a shock of electricity up her arm as he shook.
“Friends it is.”
“Well then,” she said. “I’m around after five tomorrow if you want that haircut. No charge, of course. Just a favor from one friend to another.”
He nodded once, then let her hand go. “Appreciate the offer. I’ll get back to you on that. Good night, Ms. Serrano.”
“Good night, Lieutenant.”
He flashed her a grin, spun on his heel, and then headed off the way he had come.
Ivy leaned against her door and let out a long, shaky breath.
“Friends,” she said to herself. “Friends.”
If she said it enough, she might even it believe it was true.
Chapter Four
Ivy went through the store, checking all outlets. even though she hadn’t used any up front. You never could be too careful. Then she went to the back office, where she checked on her new battery-powered mini fridge and powered down and unplugged her laptop. She went to her design table, where she’d been trying out a new pattern, hated it, and went at it with the seam ripper, then unplugged the sewing machine as well. Then she scanned the small space twice, made sure the circuit breaker looked up to snuff, and locked the back door. Once over the threshold and into the store, she doubled back one more time to make extra sure she hadn’t left an unknown fire hazard behind.
It was a quarter past five. She remembered her offer to Carter the night before. It had been in the back of her mind the entire day. One minute she hoped she’d make it home to find him waiting on her doorstep while the next minute she prayed he’d forgotten the whole thing.
Why had she even put the offer out there? A haircut, one-on-one? It was almost as intimate as kissing. It wasn’t like she could blame it on the alcohol. By the time he’d walked her home, she was as sober as could be. But the things she’d confided in him about losing Charlie—and what he’d told her about Mason? She’d connected with him in a way she hadn’t anticipated.
Shake it off and move on, she said to herself as she turned off all the lights in the shop. You get close to someone like that and you’ll never find peace. It was why she’d established her rule. And it wasn’t just firefighters but police officers, too. She had the utmost admiration for those who put their lives before others, but she couldn’t fall for someone like that. No way. No how.
When she’d finally satisfied herself that the shop was safe to leave for the night, she hoisted her bag over her shoulder and slipped out the front door and locked it behind her. After spinning toward the sidewalk to walk home, she gasped to find Carter Bowen leaning against a dusty, beat-up red Ford F-250.
“Evening, Ivy,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
She shook her head, half hoping she simply needed to clear her vision and it would be Shane or Wyatt or any other guy she didn’t think about kissing the second she saw them. But nope, it was Carter Bowen all right. Lieutenant Carter Bowen. And tonight he was wearing a blue-and-white-plaid shirt rolled to the elbows, jeans that looked about as old as his truck, and dirt-caked work boots.
Shoot. He looked as good in clothes that should probably be marched straight to the washer as he did in his uniform. He’d have to take said dirty clothes off, and she’d bet he also looked pretty darn good—
Stop it, Ivy. You aren’t doing yourself any favors letting your mind go there.
“Ivy?” Carter said, and she realized she had not offered him any sort of verbal response yet.
“Lieutenant. Hi. What are you doing here?”
He crossed his arms. “First, when I’m not in uniform, Carter will do just fine. Second, are we going to do that thing where we act like you didn’t invite me around last night for something as innocent as a haircut?” He ran a hand across the stubble on his jaw. “Could probably use a shave, too. Don’t suppose that’s included with the cut?”
She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “I’m not pretending anything,” she said. “Guess I was expecting you at my house, though, rather than outside my shop. My trimmer and barber shears are back at home.”
He shrugged. “It’s early yet. Sun won’t go down for another few hours. Figured we could take a ride first, show you the trail I rode with some ranch guests earlier today. It’s real pretty, and there’s a great view when you get to the hill. Though I have to admit the view’s pretty good right where I am now.”
She rolled her eyes and fidgeted with the messy bun on top of her head. Today she wore a chambray linen tunic that had wrinkled the second she’d put it on, but she loved it anyway. It was so comfortable and looked great with her floral leggings and black moto boots. Comfort all around. Maybe she’d been sober when she’d gotten home last night, but that didn’t mean waking up this morning was easy after putting away four drinks the evening before. She hadn’t had it in her to wear wedges today.
“With corny pickup lines like that, it’s a wonder you’re still single. Wait, you are single, right? Not that it matters. I mean it might matter to other women, but not to me.”
She winced. She was about as smooth as sandpaper.
Carter grinned. “I’m single. Not that it matters, since we are just friends. Is that a yes to the ride, then?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
“Everything okay?” he asked. “You said you were free after five. It’s after five. It’s not too hot, now that the sun is headed west…”
Not too hot. Ha. He was funny. Carter Bowen was an actual riot. Had he looked in a mirror? He was hot on a stick dipped in hot sauce. That was part of the problem. His overall charm didn’t help either.
She rolled her eyes again and groaned.
“Okay now I feel like I missed a whole conversation,” he said.
She laughed. “Only what’s going on in my head. And trust me, you do not want access to what’s in there.”
He pushed off the side of the truck and took a step toward her. “May I?” he asked, lifting her bag off her shoulder.
“Um, sure,” she said.
Now that he had her stuff, she guessed she had no choice but to go with him. Her house keys were in that bag, which meant she was practically stranded. That was sound logic, wasn’t it?
He opened the passenger door and held out a hand to help her climb in. She plopped down onto a black leather seat with a stitched-up tear down the middle. The interior was clean as could be, but the dashboard looked like something out of an old movie. There was no USB port and a very minimal digital display for the radio.
When Carter climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled his door shut, she gasped.
“Is that a tape deck?” she asked.
He nodded. “Works, too.”
“Wait a minute,” she said, brushing a hand over the dashboard. “Does this thing even have airbags? Because I’m not sure if you remember my safety setup in the shop, but I don’t do risk.”
He laughed. “The truck’s old, but it’s not ancient. Twenty years never looked so good on another vehicle.”
She put one hand on the door handle, threatening to get out. “You didn’t answer my question, Lieutenant.”
He cocked a brow. “I’m not in uniform, Ivy. See how easily I bypassed the Ms. Serrano? I bet you can do it, too.”
She sighed. “I can call you by your name.” Except that meant they were dispensing with formalities, which also meant they were—what? They’d agreed on friends, but this little after-work activity already felt like something more.
“That’s funny,” he said. “Because I didn’t hear you say it.”
“Please, Carter, can you confirm that this vehicle is safe by today’s standards?” She smirked.
He laughed. “Yes. There are airbags. It has four-wheel drive if we ever get stuck in the mud or—highly unlikely for this time of year—snow. Hell, it even has working seat belts. You forget I’m the son of a mechanic. I know a thing or two about maintaining a vehicle.”
She pulled her seat belt over her shoulder and clicked it into place, then crossed her arms over her chest. “Tease me all you want, but there’s no reason to ride in a death trap when I can walk almost anywhere I need to go around here. Plus, it’s enough that you do what you do for a living. The least I can do is make sure you’re cruising around town in something safe.”
He laughed harder this time. “Cruising? Darlin’, you don’t cruise in a machine like this. You ride, drive, and sometimes even tow, but wherever you’re going, it’s always with a purpose. Cruising is aimless, and I am anything but.”
Damn he was sure of himself. In any other man, that quality would be sexy as all get-out. But she didn’t want Carter Bowen to be sexy as anything.
He put the key in the ignition and shifted the truck into drive. She expected the tailpipe to backfire or the car to lurch forward, but the engine purred quietly as Carter maneuvered smoothly onto the street.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve been on a horse,” she said, her heart rate increasing. It wasn’t because she was afraid of riding, though. It was being next to him, the thrum of anticipation, but of what she couldn’t say. If he’d have kept to the plan and come over for a haircut, she’d have been in control. But Carter Bowen was literally at the wheel, and Ivy had no idea what came next. “Used to ride every summer at sleepaway camp,” she continued. With her big brother, Charlie. There he was again, creeping into her thoughts and reminding her of what unbearable loss felt like. Her throat grew tight, and she hoped Carter would fill the silence while she pushed the hurt back into its hiding space.
“Well,” he said with a grin. “This is your lucky day. Because in addition to this morning, I’ve been riding my whole life. My father may be all about cars, but my mother is a rancher’s daughter. We spent a lot of time on my grandad’s ranch growing up, and our mama made sure we could all handle ourselves on the back of a horse.”
This made her smile, the thought of a young Carter and his big brothers, ribbing each other like brothers do, riding around a ranch.
“Sounds like you and your family were really close growing up,” she said.
He nodded. “My father always preferred four wheels to four legs, but he managed.” His jaw tightened, and his smile faded.
“I feel like there’s another but in there somewhere,” she said.
He blew out a long breath. “He makes a good enough living doing what he does. My brothers do, too. And for a long time I was fine with following along.” He shrugged. “Meant I didn’t have to take school too seriously and it meant my parents weren’t breathing down my neck about grades and stuff like that as long as I was serious about the auto shop. And I was.”
She laid a hand on his forearm and gave him a gentle squeeze. “But it wasn’t important to you.”
He shook his head. “I’d trade everything to have Mason back, even if it meant fixing cars the rest of my life. But I know now that something would have always felt like it was missing if that was the path I took. I wish I’d figured out what I was meant to do in a different way, you know? But I’m happy where I am now. What I do means something to me, just like I’m sure what you do means something to you.”
Her hand slid off his arm and back into her lap. “I have a degree in fashion design,” she said. “The stuff I sell in the shop comes from a lot of local designers. But—some of it’s mine, too.” Her cheeks heated. She was proud of the few pieces she had in the shop and would be even prouder when she sold them. But after growing up with a firefighter for a father and watching her brother follow in his footsteps, it was still scary to share her creative side, to run the risk of someone not liking a design or thinking her work wasn’t as important, even when it was to her. “It’s not saving lives,” she blurted. “But it means something to me.”
He rounded a corner and came to a halt at a four-way stop sign on a rural road outside the main part of town. She could see the sign up ahead welcoming her to Meadow Valley Ranch, but Carter put the truck in park.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He turned to face her, one arm resting on top of the steering wheel.
“I’m making sure you can see the truth in my eyes when I say what I’m gonna say so you don’t think I’m blowing smoke.”
“Okaaay,” she said, drawing out the word with a nervous laugh.
“Is making clothes your passion, the one thing in your life you can’t live without? Filling your bucket and whatever other mumbo jumbo means you’ve found your calling?”
She nodded slowly, his ocean blue eyes holding her prisoner so that even if she wanted to look away, she couldn’t.
“Then don’t ever sound apologetic about it,” he said, his face serious. “Because you’re never going to change the minds of the naysayers, if there are any. And worrying about what other people think of what you do? All it does is rob you of some of the joy you’re due.”
He stared at her long and hard until she nodded her understanding, though she knew he was likely trying to convince himself even more than convince her. Still, the power of those words and the intensity in his gaze? No one had ever looked at her like that.
Once he got his response from her, he turned back to the wheel, put the car in drive, and drove them the final thirty seconds to the ranch.
After that speech and the way his eyes had bored into hers, she’d held her breath, thinking he might do something crazy like lean across the center console and kiss her right there. Only when they rolled to a stop in front of a stable and riding arena did she realize she hadn’t yet exhaled. Or how much she wished he had planted one on her right at the four-way stop.
“You ready?” he asked.
To ride a horse? To find herself even more attracted to him by the day’s end? To wonder if he did want to kiss her and what she’d do if it happened? Or how in the heck she was going to get this little crush out of her system once and for all? Because Carter Bowen could and would break her heart eventually. So no, she wasn’t ready for any of it. Not one little bit.
“As I’ll ever be,” she said instead, and Carter flashed her a smile that knocked the wind straight out of her lungs.
Honey, you are in trouble, she said to herself as he rounded the back of the truck and opened her door.
“Did you say something?” he asked, offering her a hand to help her down. He had a pack over his shoulder he must have grabbed from the bed of the truck.
“Just how much I’m looking forward to an evening ride,” she said.
Lies, lies, lies. Her words were nothing but lies. Only the flutter in her belly when her palm touched his spoke the truth. So she pushed it down deep, hiding it where she’d tried to hide her grief for two long years.
“Me, too,” he said. Then he laced his fingers with hers and led her toward the stable doors.
And just like that, butterflies clawed their way to the surface without any warning at all.
Trouble with a capital T.
Chapter Five
Carter held the door for Ivy as they entered the stable. Sam Callahan—on
e of the ranch owners and also a recent transplant to Meadow Valley—greeted them inside.
“Ivy Serrano, this is Sam Callahan. Not sure if you’ve met him or his brother Ben yet. Or Colt, the third owner of the ranch.”
Ivy shook her head and also shook the other man’s hand. “I’ve seen you about town but don’t believe I’ve officially made your acquaintance, Mr. Callahan. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s just Sam,” he said. “I’m not big on formalities, Ms.—Ivy,” he said, grinning and catching his own error.
Sam, Ben, and Colt were young transplants to Meadow Valley, just like Carter. When it felt like he didn’t yet fit in, which was most days, he at least had them as allies—and a horse to ride if he needed a quick escape.
“Ranch is officially open for business?” Ivy asked Sam.
“Sure is. It’s a slow start, but we hope to get things off and rolling in the next several months. First year in a new business is the most important. Keep your fingers crossed we start drawing more folks into the area.”
She smiled. “I’ll cross all my fingers and toes that you have a great first year. Business for you means more business for the town, so it sounds like a win-win to me.”
Sam shook Carter’s hand as well. “Glad to have you back. You did a heck of a job this morning, even if we only have ten total guests at the moment.”
Carter laughed. “Yeah, but those ten will tell ten more about it, and then those ten will tell ten more. You see where I’m going here?”
Sam shook his head ruefully, then waved his index finger at Carter. “I sure hope so. Building a new business in a new town isn’t as easy as I’d hoped.”
Carter shrugged. “If your mare treats Ivy well enough, she may just be the person to start spreading the news in town. Heck, when that happens and you’re booking my riding services on the regular, I’ll lower my commission from fifteen percent to ten.”
Sam clapped Carter on the shoulder. “I sure met you at the right time. Someday I may really be able to pay you.”