by Jen Gilroy
Ty didn’t let go of her hand. “He sent me to the fishing lodge, half a mile in the other direction.” He bent his head, and the scent of citrus soap captivated her. “But I wanted to see you. Yesterday, the fire, I was real worried you were caught in it.”
“You were?”
His lips played against his white teeth. The sun behind him dazzled her, and she blinked.
“I was.” He dipped his head. Then his lips grazed her jawline and inched toward her mouth. “When I found out you were safe, I wished everybody would disappear. All I wanted to do was this.” His mouth captured hers in the kind of kiss she’d dreamed of. A kiss that turned her insides to mush and set off a blaze of fireworks behind her eyes.
“Ty.” She breathed against his mouth and tasted minty toothpaste. When she opened her mouth, he slipped his tongue inside to touch hers.
Naomi swallowed a gasp and stumbled against him. Was she doing this right? Were her braces in the way? Could he tell she’d never been kissed before? At least not kissed like this. She rested her hands on his forearms and tried to follow his lead.
He drew back. “Relax,” he whispered.
She licked her lips. “Emma’s right over there, and if she sees us, she might tell my mom and…” She put her hands to her face to stop her babbling.
Ty ran a finger across her lips, slow and oh-so-gentle. “I have to stay in Kincaid for the next week. My mom’s taking my sisters and me back-to-school shopping, and we’re going to visit her family in Montpelier.” He made an apologetic face. “But we’re all going to Blueberry Jam a week from Friday. You think your mom would be okay with you meeting me there?”
“I’ll see.” Naomi’s voice wobbled like she was Emma’s age. “I’ll text you.” This time her voice came out loud, too loud.
“Crystal said if you need clothes, she can drop some by. You’re smaller than her, but some of her stuff might fit.”
Smaller, like two cup sizes smaller. Naomi crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Thanks. Either Mom’s getting our clothes from the cottage today or we’ll go shopping.”
“Eighty-five, seventy-eight, eighty,” Emma’s voice rang out.
“I better get back,” Ty said. “My dad and Uncle Trevor should be done arguing. I think that’s why Dad sent me over to the lodge. Lucky for me he did.” Ty’s smile made Naomi’s stomach lurch like she was at the top of a roller coaster, hurtling down.
“What were they arguing about?”
“I didn’t hear much,” Ty said. “They were in the office and those walls are pretty soundproof. They were talking about that developer buying your cottage and Uncle Trevor said Dad was making a mistake.”
“You didn’t happen to see my aunt this morning, did you?” Naomi picked at the nail polish on her thumb and chipped it.
“No.” Ty moved away. “Isn’t she at the inn with you?”
Naomi shrugged and her heart pounded. “Quick, before Emma turns around.” She stared at Ty’s lips, then took a deep breath and pulled him close.
“Naomi?” His eyes darkened as his arms went around her shoulders.
Her chest was light and excitement bubbled inside her. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him like girls did in movies. Girls with bouncy breasts who didn’t have braces.
Ty kissed her back, hot and urgent, before he pulled away, looked deep into her eyes for several endless seconds, then headed for the dock at a jog.
“One hundred. Ready or not, here I come,” Emma yelled.
Naomi sank onto one of the patio chairs. Ty had kissed her, really kissed her. Her first honest-to-goodness grown-up kiss. The kind of kiss his dad had given Auntie Charlotte. And she’d kissed Ty back, and she must have done okay because he hadn’t laughed or looked disgusted or said anything about her braces.
“Found you.” Emma ran in and hopped onto the chair beside Naomi. “But Ty left and you didn’t hide. What kind of game was that?”
“Ty’s at work. He couldn’t stay long.” Naomi gathered Emma’s hair and began to braid it. “Tell you what. I’ll play any game you want.”
“Barbie’s wedding?” Emma tipped her head back. “There’s a computer in the guest lounge.”
“Absolutely.” Naomi had played the game with Emma hundreds of times. “What do you think about going to the fair next week?”
“Would there be ice cream?” Emma handed Naomi the pink hair tie wrapped around her wrist.
“You bet. Cotton candy and farm animals too.”
Emma’s eyes sparkled. “Ponies?”
“Country fairs always have ponies.” Naomi hoped she was right. “Maybe you could even ride one.” She wound the tie around the end of Emma’s braid. “I bet if you ask her, Mom would take us.”
“You think?” Emma twisted her head around.
Naomi smoothed a stray strand of hair away from her sister’s face. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. Not anything Alyssa or her other friends back home wouldn’t do. Besides, her mom was stressed about the cottage and whatever was happening with her dad. Naomi couldn’t talk to her about Ty. She was actually doing her a favor by not telling her.
“When Mom gets back, you ask her. Tell her how much you want to see the cute animals.”
Charlie shielded her eyes against the midday sun and followed the rutted path from Sean’s house to the workshop, Shadow at her side. The fire had come close here. Too close. Fifteen feet away, the blackened trunk of a maple tree, its branches stripped and lifeless, listed toward the ground.
Although the nearby soil was churned up, roots exposed, with brush littering the path, the square log-and-stone workshop with big windows overlooking the lake was unscathed. The screen door was propped open, and inside, the whine of a saw rose above the rhythmic beat of a song about a small town.
She stopped and inhaled the scent of wood and varnish. By the time she’d woken, Sean was gone, like he’d never been in bed beside her, a scrawled note telling her he’d be in the workshop.
She cringed as she remembered how she’d asked him to stay with her, pretty much thrown herself at him. She glanced at her leg and the scar beneath Linnie’s denim capris. What did it matter? He’d seen her leg. She’d seen his face when he caught sight of it and heard his sharp intake of breath before his expression went blank, his features a polite mask.
“Charlie?” Sean came out the door. “You could have come in. You didn’t have to wait for me out here.” He pushed the door shut behind him, but not before she glimpsed Trevor, his blue eyes cold, his face unsmiling. “Were you chilling out with Blake?”
“Who?” Charlie looked around and tugged on Linnie’s green tank top to ease it away from her breasts.
“Blake Shelton, the guy singing ‘Small Town Big Time’ a minute ago.” He handed Charlie a bag with the Firefly Lake Market logo, then bent to pat Shadow. “You’ve never heard of him?”
She shook her head. “Country music doesn’t get much airplay where I come from. What’s this?” She swung the bag in one hand and kept it away from Shadow’s curious nose.
“Linnie sent you a swimsuit.”
“You called her?”
In navy board shorts and a MONTREAL CANADIENS T-shirt, his blond hair glinting in the sunlight, Sean didn’t look like he’d been up half the night.
“I sure did. Trevor brought it for you when he came to work.”
“We don’t have to go out today, if you have to work.” Charlie tightened her grip on the bag. Sean and Trevor had always been close. As twins they shared a bond she envied. It was the kind of bond she didn’t have with Mia.
“I’m my own boss. I can take time off.” Sean looked over his shoulder at the closed door. “Trevor can handle things this afternoon.”
He turned toward the house. “How’s your leg? Are you up to bike riding?”
“Biking’s fine. My leg’s a lot better today.”
It was her heart that was the problem. Waking up in Sean’s house, it was all too easy to imagine this could be her life. If she didn’t hav
e the job she did, if she didn’t need the money from the cottage sale, if Mia didn’t need her. And most of all, if she could let herself trust again.
Guilt wormed its way into her stomach and curled up her chest. The worry in Mia’s voice when she’d talked to her earlier echoed. She should be over at the cottage with her sister and Nick, not here. But she wanted to be with Sean, to snatch this little bit of time to savor when she was far away again, separated from Firefly Lake by much more than geography.
“Crystal keeps her bike in my garage. You can borrow it. There’s a place along the trail we can eat. Or we can get lunch in town first.”
“The trail is fine.” She wasn’t ready to face anyone in town and field questions about what she and Mia planned to do with the cottage. Or pretend to ignore the looks at her and Sean together.
Sean smiled. “You were sound asleep when I left. I figured you needed it. Besides, I left you in good hands. Or paws. Shadow wasn’t going anywhere without you.”
“She’s a great dog.”
At the sound of her name, Shadow darted in loopy circles between them.
“Yeah, she is. The animal rescue in town found her by the side of the highway, likely dumped by somebody who couldn’t be bothered with her anymore.” Sean whistled and Shadow came to heel. “She’s wary with a lot of folks, but she’s really taken to you.”
“She’s lucky to have you and Ty, and I’ll miss her when I leave.” And the clock was ticking on that departure, as Max kept reminding her. Her first day back at work was just over two weeks away. A story was waiting for her. She couldn’t let herself get too attached to a dog. Or to a place. Or, most of all, to a man.
“Yeah.” Sean’s voice was flat. “She’ll miss you too.”
He rounded the corner by the house and pulled open a door to the garage. “Crystal’s bike is the red one.” He flipped on a light and pointed to the far wall, beside a white pickup with Carmichael’s logo on the door. “There’s a water bottle and a backpack if you want them.” He wheeled out his bike, sleek, black, and top-of-the-line, designed for a serious rider.
Charlie put her camera and the swimsuit bag into the backpack he indicated. Somehow she had to explain about her humiliating outburst in the middle of the night. Her stomach churned. Not even in a war zone did she ever lose control. But around him, she had, not once but twice in the last twenty-four hours. She hadn’t cried, though, so at least she’d held on to some shreds of dignity. But what if she lost control at work the first time there was a loud noise or worse?
She also had to tell Sean about the email she’d gotten from her contact in Boston. Which had her churned up in a different way.
She grabbed Crystal’s bike and followed Sean to the driveway, wiggling her toes inside Linnie’s running shoes. Like every other part of her, Linnie’s feet were smaller than Charlie’s.
“No, Shadow, you can’t come with us.” Sean nudged the dog toward the house and into the mudroom. “She’ll be fine.” He answered Charlie’s unspoken question. “Trevor will take her to the workshop after we leave. She’ll find a sunny patch by a window and watch squirrels.”
He swung a leg over his bike. “You want to spend time with my dog or me?”
“What a question.” She manufactured a smile, her skin tight across her cheekbones. “Um…about last night, or rather, this morning, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me, getting all emotional.” Her voice was tinny, a stranger’s voice. She pulled the backpack onto her shoulders.
“Forget it.” His voice was neutral, and he slid on sunglasses that hid the expression in his eyes. “You had a rough day with the storm, the fire, and all. You’re allowed.”
“Allowed what?” She wheeled Crystal’s bike next to his.
“Allowed to be human, allowed to be scared.” He pulled on his bike helmet and adjusted the strap under his chin. “You’re allowed to need someone.”
“Yes, well.” Charlie cleared her throat. “Cool under fire, that’s me.” Despite what the doctors said, maybe she didn’t have PTSD. She was anxious about going back to work, that was all. She smiled until her jaw muscles hurt with the effort. “Max, my editor, is British, and he says I’m as tough as old boots.”
“Old boots, huh?” Sean’s voice was amused. “Max knows you well, does he?”
“We’ve worked together for more than ten years.” Charlie caught the helmet Sean tossed her. “He gave me a chance at the big stories because he said he knew I could do it. And I did.” She wedged the helmet onto her head.
“Working with someone doesn’t mean you know them.” He reached between the bikes, linked her hand with his, and traced the outline of her fingers. “The woman wrapped around me in bed last night didn’t feel anything like an old boot.” He grinned and took his hand away. “Come on, Gibbs, let’s hit the trail and see who the tough one is.”
Despite herself, Charlie laughed. “On that bike, you can rip up the trail. Not a fair competition.”
“We’ll take it nice and easy.” He pedaled down the driveway and Charlie followed. “Okay with you if we take the trail away from town and head toward the far end of the lake?”
“Sounds good, but first I need to find somewhere else to stay.”
“I checked again this morning. Every place is full through next weekend with the golf tournament and then Blueberry Jam.” The breeze ruffled the hair at his temples. “It looks like you’re stuck with me.”
“What about Ty?”
“He’s with Sarah and Matt until a week from Sunday. Every year Sarah takes him to see her family around this time.” Sean raised an eyebrow, and his smile held a hint of a challenge. “Besides, even if Ty was around, you’d be in the guest room, wouldn’t you?”
She yanked the helmet over her forehead. “If your guest room is free, I’ll take you up on your offer.”
“Sunshine, the room’s free, but I didn’t say what I offered.” His smile slid from teasing to wicked before he turned away and steered the bike along the path, which forked left, deeper into the forest.
The trail was rough and too narrow for them to ride side by side, so Charlie tried to focus on the scenery. The tall pine trees, the sliver of blue lake as they rounded a curve, the pattern of the sun and shade on the forest floor, and the distant cries of birds. She tried to focus on anything but Sean in front of her. How his blond hair waved above his shirt collar, how his long legs moved the bike forward, muscles rippling.
The path flattened out and widened. The big tree the locals called Queen of the Pines came into view at the head of the lake. She pedaled harder and sped up until she was beside him. “Sean?”
“Did I tire you out already?” He gave her a cheeky grin.
“Of course not.” She grinned back and matched his pace, caught up in the joy of riding a bike like she used to. The joy of being in this place again. Then she remembered the email. “I need to talk to you for a minute.”
He slowed and she bumped to a stop beside him. “What’s up?”
“I had an email from Jason, my contact in Boston.” She leaned on the bike’s handlebars and stared at the trees, where dragonflies swooped and darted among the leaves. “It looks like Tat Chee invests in real estate to get green cards for their kids. It’s legal under a federal government program.”
Charlie turned back to Sean, who eyed her in disbelief. “There are rumors, though, that Tat Chee hasn’t been transparent in some of its dealings. It sounds like they’ve brought in their people and not hired locals, like they’re supposed to. Jason also has a hunch they have a history of questionable environmental practices, and some of their projects aren’t in good shape. If he’s right, he’ll do a story.”
“Really?” Sean touched her hand, and her heart squeezed.
“All he needs is for you to put him in touch with people in town who’ve signed the petition, and members of the historical society and the Abenaki Tribe for the cultural angle.” Charlie studied his profile, his strong jaw and full, sensual lips. The nose
with the bump that to her teenage eyes made him look rugged, sexy, and even a bit dangerous.
“Of course. You went out on a limb for me and Firefly Lake.”
Charlie eased her hand away from Sean’s and tightened the strap on her helmet. “I keep thinking about what Mom would want. Firefly Lake was a big part of her life, as well as mine. Maybe I went out on that limb for me too.”
“What about Mia?” His blue gaze was steady and honest. “Family loyalty goes bone-deep for me. I wouldn’t expect any less of you.”
That loyalty was tearing her apart. “I talked to Mia earlier. She loves Mom as much as me. Deep down she knows Tat Chee isn’t the right buyer. Involving Jason is a risk, but it’s one we both agreed to take because the cottage and Firefly Lake were so special to Mom.”
Charlie’s heart gave a sickening thump. Although she’d convinced her sister Jason might be able to help them find another buyer, what if she was wrong? What if neither she nor Mia got the money they needed?
Except Sean was special too, and sometime in the last twenty-four hours she’d let herself want him again. Maybe even want him enough to risk her heart.
Chapter Fourteen
Sean might be headed for trouble but damn if it didn’t feel good. Today the lake was tinged silver-blue, and a fringe of pine trees cupped the half-moon-shaped beach only the locals knew about.
“Are you okay?” Charlie quirked a dark eyebrow.
“Fine.” He gave her a slow, sideways smile. “Enjoying a beautiful day and time with a beautiful woman.”
She blushed and busied herself with the lunch they’d picked up at the snack bar at the head of the lake. “I didn’t think you were listening to me.”
“Sure I was.” Sean snuck one of Charlie’s potato chips, and she batted his hand away. “I want to know what happened to the camel.”
“It disappeared in a cloud of dust.” Charlie gave him a saucy wink that matched the cheekiness in her voice. “Like how I won the race you challenged me to.” She dug in the paper lunch bag for apples and Twix bars, and the movement made her breasts strain against her tight shirt.