by Jeannie Moon
She thought being back home would require her to spend even more time looking for that inner peace she found so elusive, but that wasn’t the case. Not this time.
Normally, being home sent her brain into overdrive. Her parents were good people who loved her, but everything was a contradiction. Especially with her mother. Keely had been sick when she was just a toddler, and the best she could figure, her mother never got over it.
On one hand, Mom encouraged her in all her educational endeavors. On the other, she treated her like she was fragile. She never mentioned Keely’s illness… no one did. But for the life of her, Keely couldn’t understand the contradiction. She’d won one of the biggest science prizes in the country when she was seventeen years old, she was healthy and happy, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone when the best universities in the country had accepted her. Still, her mother wanted her close to home, pushing the state university like it was her only option.
It wasn’t.
In an act of defiance, that would be the first of many, not only did Keely go farther away to school than she originally intended, she went to a school that had given her a full ride. It was her way of showing she could be independent. That she wasn’t as fragile as her parents made her out to be.
Her heart and mind loved her family; she loved the mountains, and the people of Marietta. However, her soul had been looking for freedom.
And she’d found it. Keely was proud of her work, and her accomplishments. But the Siren song of the mountains and her hometown had drawn her back, and she had no idea why.
Taking a deep breath, she focused on the sound of the wind and the soft whinnies from the horses in the field. She inhaled, and exhaled. Inhaled and exhaled. Inhaled…
“What the hell are you doing on the floor?” The sharp voice arrived on the scene, bringing the scent of expensive perfume in its wake.
So much for relaxing. Hurricane Lucy was in the house.
Lucy Hanaford had been her best friend since kindergarten, when the two of them had been plopped at the sand table together and told they should be friends.
Over the years, Keely learned to appreciate that Lucy was an amazing human being and a good person to have in your corner. She was also exhausting.
Opening her eyes and leaning back on her elbows, Keely looked up. Lucy looked exactly the same. Her long, wavy red hair was perfectly smooth and silky, and her green eyes flashed with life. A reporter for a newspaper in Helena, almost two hours away, she didn’t expect to see her friend in the middle of the week.
“Well hello to you, too.” Keely stayed in her posture and waited for the next snarky comment.
“So, what are you doing down there?”
“You’re not going to pick on me?”
Lucy cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t pick on you. I simply point out the absurdity of a situation.”
“You pick.” Keely rose in one movement. “I was meditating before I did my Yoga today.”
“Meditation and yoga. Hmm. Does it help?”
“Help what?”
“I don’t know… anything?”
“If it keeps me relaxed when you blow into a room, I’ll consider it a success.”
“Ha ha.” Lucy crossed the threshold and grabbed Keely in the hug she’d been expecting since the minute her friend turned up. “I’ve missed you, kiddo.”
“Same. It’s good to be home, but I didn’t think I’d see you until the weekend at least, and here you are on a Tuesday.”
Her friend strolled around the large room, running her finger over the finishes and décor. Eventually, she sat in one of a pair of large leather chairs that used to be in her grandfather’s law office and crossed her legs in a power move Keely was sure Lucy practiced. “Believe it or not, there’s a story cooking in dear ’ole Marietta, and I’m here to check it out.”
“A story? Here? Do I want to know?”
“If it’s true, it’s a good one.”
Taking a seat opposite her in the other chair, Keely leaned in. “I’m listening.”
“You know all about what happened with Harry Monroe?”
“Of course, my mom told me.” The town was bereft over the loss, and while she hadn’t been around much, Keely was a little put off that Lucy felt the need to ask the question.
Everyone knew his family. He had two sisters and two brothers, and his family owned the grocery store in town. It destroyed them. Harry was a good man, and he’d died tragically. It broke Keely’s heart.
“The town commissioned a project in his name, right?”
“Yes. The place was donated in Harry’s memory to become an after-school center for the kids in town. It would offer homework help, activities. They’re going to call it Harry’s House.”
“It doesn’t surprise me. It sounds very Marietta.” It would make a nice human-interest story, Keely thought, but Lucy’s stories tended to be more high profile than that.
“Yep. The house has issues and the town is trying to raise enough money to get the repairs done by the deadline.” Lucy was twirling the ring on her finger. “The bake-off last month raised a lot of money.”
“It all sounds great. Are you here to write about the push to renovate the house?” This was why Keely loved her town.
“Yep. Fantastic, but that’s not my story.”
“No?”
“Nope. It seems the house’s foundation needs more work than there is cash.” Lucy paused, her mind always working. “It’s going to cost fifty grand, and they need to raise it in less than three months.”
“I heard about that.” That wasn’t going to be easy. Marietta was doing all right, but it would be a stretch. “What are they going to do?”
“Well, that’s why I’m here. Have you ever heard of Charlotte Foster?” Now Lucy was the one leaning in.
Keely thought for a second. “I have. She’s a photographer. Didn’t she just have some big spread in National Geographic?”
“That’s her.”
“Where does she fit in?” Keely pulled her knees to her chest. This was getting interesting.
“Well, it seems Miss Foster was passing through our fair town, and overheard some of the boys talking about the problem at one of their manly chat fests at Grey’s. She came up with an idea.”
“Oookay…”
“A calendar.” Lucy licked her lips and grinned. “Filled with a selection of Marietta’s finest first responders. Nekkid first responders.”
“Holy hell.” Keely could only imagine. This must have been the fundraiser Jonah had mentioned. A calendar. She was getting warm just thinking about it.
“Right? That’s my story. I was just heading into town to snoop around. Wanna come?”
“You bet.” Keely wanted to know everything. “Who does she have lined up for pictures?”
“I heard Logan and Lyle Tate are in, a new guy in town, Kyle something, Todd Harris, and Gavin and Jonah Clark, but Jonah’s been stalling. And a few others. The photo shoots have started.”
“Stalling, huh?”
“Yes. Your dream boy has been less than cooperative.” Lucy clasped her hands over her heart in a fake swoon.
“Stop it.”
“No way. You’ve been sweet on him forever. Have you seen him since you’ve been home? Talk about gorgeous. Holy hotness, Batman.” Lucy fanned herself. “He hasn’t said no, but he’s definitely avoiding her. At least as far as I know.”
“I’ve seen him.” She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. “My truck broke down on the way into town. He gave me a ride home.”
“Aww.” Lucy cocked her head to one side. “He rescued you again.”
“Stop.”
“Nope, it’s too much fun.” Lucy rose from the chair. “Go change. We’re meeting Charlie in an hour, so hurry.”
Friends like Lucy were rare. They hadn’t seen each other in months, but the ease with which they slipped into their old routine was seamless. It never occurred to Lucy to meet Charlotte without her. Lucy al
so wasn’t going to let Keely leave the house in a pair of threadbare yoga pants.
But there was another side, too. Lucy was going to tease her mercilessly about Jonah all the way to town. Even though there was nothing going on. Keely could avoid it by staying home, but along with wanting to spend time with her friend, she wanted to hear about this calendar from the person who was putting it together. She knew Jonah well enough to know he wasn’t going to want to take his clothes off for a photographer. Even for as good a cause as Harry’s House. He was modest, and didn’t like drawing attention to himself. The problem was he did that without any effort. The man filled the room.
Yes, he was fine, indeed. He’d sell the calendars all by himself—but add him to all the other men in town, and that thing would make a lot of money for the project. Fast.
“So,” her friend began as they trotted toward her car. “How is Captain Clark?”
That was the first time she’d heard anyone call him by his rank. She had dreams the past few nights about what he must look like in uniform. A brief glimpse of his biceps flexing when he was bringing her boxes a few days ago, was swoon-inducing. He’d always had it.
Jonah was more than just a hot body, he was also ridiculously handsome. From his deep blue eyes to his gold flecked brown hair, the package was damn near irresistible. Add wicked intelligence, and a sense of honor and duty, and it all worked.
Keely thought about it. Maybe he would strip down.
“Keely? How is he?”
“Oh, ah, fine, I guess.
“You guess?” Lucy teased.
“He’s serious. Still bossy.” He made her think dirty thoughts, is what he did.
Lucy laughed. “I bet you’d like him to be bossy. Hmmm?”
“Can you stop speaking in innuendo? Nothing is going to go on between me and Jonah. I’m home to do my research, and he’s no more interested in me now than he was ten years ago.”
Possibly less.
“Pffft. Ten years ago, you were a kid. Now you’re worldly and travelled and experienced.”
Keely rolled her eyes. “Well, two out of three ain’t bad…”
Lucy stopped and grabbed her arm. “Really? Still?”
“Still.” The ‘still’ was a real sore spot for Keely. She’d spent so much time on her studies, and her research, relationships kind of fell by the wayside. So, that whole virginity thing was still hanging around. “That being said, I can safely say Jonah will not be interested in me.”
Lucy wrapped her arm around Keely’s shoulder. “You poor thing. I don’t believe for one second a man wouldn’t be interested in you, but I get why you’re doubting it.”
“I got close a couple of times. But when I let the guy know, because I don’t think it’s fair not to, it’s like I’m radioactive. They lose interest.”
“You’d think they’d like that. You know, the whole ‘deflowering’ thing.”
“When they’re younger they don’t care, because it’s just about the sex. Older guys think it means I’m waiting for marriage. That I expect a commitment.” She exhaled. “All it means is that I was really, really busy.”
Lucy laughed. “You have been busy. But, jeez, we have to get you laid.”
“No kidding.”
*
Town was busy on a sunny weekday afternoon, especially since the temperature had spiked and they were looking at a warm stretch for the next week. Lucy parked her car near Saint James’ Church walking toward the courthouse. Keely couldn’t stop thinking about her old friend. Harry was such a nice guy, she still couldn’t think about him being gone. He’d studied to become an EMT and had his whole life ahead of him.
She was sure that most of the guys involved in the calendar hated the idea, but Harry was one of them, and they wanted Harry’s House to be there for the kids in Marietta.
On Court Street, she saw a pretty woman with short dark hair and wide eyes, sitting on a bench looking at the camera in her lap. Charlotte Foster.
“There’s your photographer,” said Keely.
Lucy nodded and moved in. “Charlotte?”
The woman turned and close-up, her beauty was striking and unusual. “Lucy?” the photographer extended her hand, greeting her with her clipped English accent. “It’s a pleasure.”
“This is my friend, Keely Andersen.”
Charlotte smiled, shaking Keely’s hand as well, before training her dark brown eyes on Lucy. “I could go for a coffee. How about it? We’ll chat and walk.”
Keely lived on coffee, she already like Charlotte. “The Java Café is a couple of blocks down.”
“I know it,” Charlotte said, smiling. “Let’s go and I’ll tell you about the calendar. Your help getting the word out will be just the push we need.”
*
It was a near perfect day in the mountains, so when the head of his unit needed someone to go into town to pick up their pizza order, Jonah was happy to volunteer.
Driving down the mountain roads with his windows open and some classic rock playing was exactly what he needed to clear his head. He was still thinking about seeing Keely for the first time in years. She was the same in so many ways, but damn, had she grown up pretty. He had a hard time not imagining what it would be like to run his hands over her lush curves. The woman was walking temptation.
The thing that got him was that she didn’t even realize it.
Normally with women, he’d go with his gut, with instinct… but this situation was anything but normal. He had to keep his distance. She was still Gabe’s little sister, which made her off limits. And though it was likely he would be seeing much more of Keely over the next year than he would Gabe, the relationship had to stay platonic.
Of course, that was assuming she was even interested in him. Which shouldn’t matter.
As he drove into town he spotted Charlotte Foster, and this time, instead of being alone and watching everything in town like a hawk, she was with two other women. The redhead was Lucy Hanaford. If his memory was working, Lucy was a reporter for one of the city papers. The other woman walking with Charlotte was Keely, and in seeing the three of them together set off all the alarms.
Keely and Harry had been in the same class at school and she would no doubt feel connected to the Harry’s House project. Which meant she’d get involved and he’d be done. He might as well strip naked right on Main Street.
Parking his truck next to the bank, he entered the pizza place with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He’d been putting off making a date for the photo shoot with Miss Foster because he hated the idea so much. When he heard about the chest waxing appointments, he’d really gone underground.
At this point, there wasn’t a big buzz about the calendar, it was just happening. But if Lucy printed a story? Their anonymity would go out the window.
Logan and Lyle Tate were at a small table with cold drinks and some slices. He wondered if they knew Charlotte had reached out to the press.
“Lucy Hanaford is in town.”
Both men would know exactly what that meant for them.
Smiling broadly, Lyle, the younger Tate, nodded. “That’s great!”
He was never down, and had pushed all of them to do the calendar the second it was mentioned. The guy must have been a Golden Retriever in a past life. If he had a tail, it would be wagging. He also laid on the guilt like it was nobody’s business.
“Fuck.” Logan scowled. “That’s all we need. She works for one of the biggest papers in the state capital.”
Yep. Their worst nightmare. Jonah legitimately cringed. His time as a conscientious objector was going to end. “I really don’t want to get waxed.”
Logan snarled. If Lyle was the Golden, Logan was the attack dog. “It’s a bitch. I don’t understand why women do that to themselves.”
Lyle leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “For fuck’s sake, grow some balls, would you? It’s not the end of the world.”
“It itches,” his brother said, rubbing his chest.
“Itches?” Jonah was more concerned with the whole process of ripping the hair out. What the hell did it matter if it itched after that?
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Logan was obviously torn. They all were. Just like Jonah, the deputy wanted Harry’s House to be able to open. He was a strong leader, and the project was important to him, but he was clearly uncomfortable with the calendar.
It seemed the only one who wasn’t bothered was Lyle. “People have given all they can,” he said. “The calendar will give us a whole new revenue stream.”
Logan agreed, reluctantly. “I don’t know that any of us really have a choice if we want the house to be fixed. This is the only way, barring everyone in town just anteing up the money. Charlie tries to make it easy.”
He was right, even though Jonah didn’t want to admit it, they needed to tap other resources. “So, the waxing. How bad does it hurt?”
Picking up his hat, Logan gave his brother and Jonah a look that would have frozen the ocean. “I think burning off the hair would have been easier. But get it done. You’re holding everything up.”
With that, the deputy left and Jonah rubbed his chest as he imagined the procedure.
“Time to suck it up.” Lyle rose and patted his shoulder.
“I know.”
Jonah was a former military officer. His training was telling him this was a bad idea, that it was too much exposure. That it was beneath the dignity of his office. But the part of him that lived in Marietta was telling him he had to help. These were friends and neighbors. You didn’t abandon them. Ever. Even if it meant taking your shirt off.
Duty. It was something Jonah had in spades. Ultimately, that sense of duty was going to be his undoing.
Picking up the pizzas he was taking back to Search and Rescue HQ, Jonah stepped back onto the sunny sidewalk and saw Lucy, Charlotte, and Keely chatting as they walked back along Main Street, coffee cups in hand. He stood there, staring a little too long when Keely spotted him, and after a moment’s hesitation, broke from the group. She said something to the other women over her shoulder as she walked toward him, and Lucy and Charlotte immediately trained their eyes in his direction.