Completely Smitten

by Susan Mallery

  Haley glanced at him, her blue-hazel eyes dark with sympathy. “I don’t understand that.”

  “Neither did she. A friend helped her out. That’s when we moved to Possum Landing. For a while, Mom created a fake dead father to help us deal with not having a man around. I guess it was easier for her than answering a lot of questions. When Nash and I were twelve, her folks got in touch with us. They said they wanted to see us. At that point, Mom told us everything that had happened and said it was our decision. She refused to speak with them, but if we wanted a relationship with them, she wasn’t going to stand in the way.”

  “Your mother sounds like a very special woman.”

  “She is. Nash and I talked it over and decided if they hadn’t cared about us before, we didn’t care about them now.”

  “You’ve never met them?”

  “Nope.”

  “Any regrets?”

  “Not about that.”

  “My father is an only child,” Haley said. “I have a few aunts and cousins on my mother’s side, but they all live in Washington state, so I’ve never had much to do with them. I always wanted a big family.” Her voice sounded wistful.

  “Then I guess you’ll have to grow your own. Have a couple dozen kids.”

  “I’d settle for two or three. What about you?”

  He shifted slightly and adjusted his seat belt. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “You must have thought about it.”

  “Why?”

  “Everyone does. It’s part of growing up.”

  Maybe. “A couple would be okay, if they weren’t like me.”

  “You told me some of the stuff you did when you were young and you weren’t that bad.”

  “Right. Like you would know bad if it came up and bit you on the butt.”

  She laughed. “I probably would recognize it then.”

  “I doubt it. Your idea of a walk on the wild side is being five minutes late for choir practice or having two scoops of ice cream instead of one.”

  “So what’s yours?”

  Seducing an innocent woman like you.

  “I did some things I’m not proud of,” he said. “Like what?”

  “I stole a car.”

  “Yeah?” She sounded more impressed than shocked. Figures.

  “It wasn’t smart. I was arrested and as far as my mom and stepfather were concerned, it was the last straw. They sent me away to military school.”

  “If you went from being a car thief to being a U.S. Marshal, you must have done something right.”

  “I didn’t like jail and I hated military school. For a couple of months I just felt sorry for myself, but eventually I figured out that I’d earned my place there and if I wanted another chance in the real world, I was going to have to earn that, too.”

  “Which you did.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. I’m only one mistake from being a screwup again.”

  She glanced at him. “Being bad sounds like fun.”

  “No way. Don’t go there. There are consequences.”

  “Everyone always says that.”

  “Because it’s true. Remember your haircut?”

  She shook her head. “You have a point there, but maybe it was worth it. Maybe I needed to cut my hair as a symbol of my new life. Besides, just once I would like to be able to do something without worrying about what would happen later.”

  “Life doesn’t work like that. Payback’s a bitch.”

  The clouds had been moving steadily east. The sun broke through and Kevin reached for his sunglasses. Haley put hers on, as well.

  “You say that so easily.”

  “Say what?”

  “The B-word.”

  He stared at her. “Bitch?”

  She gripped the steering wheel more tightly. “You just swear all the time. You don’t even think about it.”

  “Should I? Are you offended?”

  “No. Mostly just curious. I never swear.”

  “Like that’s a surprise.”

  “I’d like to learn.”

  He had an instant flash of her saying very bad words, right in his ear. That fact that they were both naked only heightened the appeal of the moment.

  “Swearing isn’t required,” he told her, forcing his mind to something safe like baseball.

  “I’d like the option of trying.” She glanced at the sky. “Do you mind if I put the top down?”

  “No.”

  She pulled over onto the side of highway and lowered the roof. Kevin pulled on his cap and breathed in the fresh late morning air. Traveling with Haley might take a little longer but he had to admit this was a whole lot better than holing up in some motel waiting until he was well enough to drive.

  “I’m thinking of practicing,” she said when they were back on the highway. “You know, swearing.”

  “Go for it.”

  She looked shocked. “Right now?”

  “Why not?”

  “What if I get struck by lightning.”

  “Well, I haven’t been struck yet. Although if you’re going to do it, I’d start now because the weather report said storms were expected this afternoon.”

  Her mouth turned up slightly. “Wow. Just like that.”

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s not a big deal.”

  “It is for me.” She sighed. “Why did you kiss me?”

  He’d expected a whispered “damn” or “hell.” Her question made him shift gears. “You kissed me.” Which wasn’t the point. He knew what she needed to know.

  “Because I wanted to,” he admitted.

  “But you didn’t that first night.”

  “We’ve been over this. You were drunk. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

  “And I did last night?”

  “At least you were sober. That gave you a fighting chance. You could have said no.”

  “Did you want to do anything else?” she asked.

  He held up both hands. “No way. We’re not having this conversation.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m not willing to be your first time. I’m not the right guy to have that responsibility.”

  She didn’t say anything. He stared out the front window, knowing that if he looked at her he would see that he’d hurt her feelings. Fine. Better for her to be hurt now than seriously wounded by making love with the wrong man. Haley needed her first time to be after a wedding. Not in some motel with a screwup who knew better.

  He leaned forward and flipped on the radio. After spinning the dial, he tuned in a country music station.

  “What’s it like?”

  He almost didn’t hear the question. When the words processed, he wished he hadn’t. There was no doubt as to what she meant by “it.”

  “It’s okay,” he said cautiously, unable to believe they were talking about this.

  “Can you be more specific? Is it as great as everyone says?”

  He didn’t want to be having this conversation. “Don’t you have a girlfriend who can explain all this to you?”

  “No, and I don’t have a mother, either.”

  Ouch. That one hit below the belt. If he was the best confidant she had, she was in deep trouble.

  “Kevin, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, I’m just looking for information. I’m too old to be this ignorant. I trust you to tell me the truth. Can we talk about it?”

  He sighed. “Fine. We’ll talk about it—on the condition that I get to refuse to answer anything that is too weird.”

  She shot him a grateful grin. “Perfect. So what is it like? Is it amazing?”

  “Most of the time. If you care about the person you’re with then sex becomes making love. Otherwise, it’s just biology—like a sneeze.”

  “I don’t understand. What’s the difference?”

  He wanted to change the subject. He wanted to get out of the car and start walking home, bum leg or not.

  “Sex is the act without fee
lings. Without caring. It’s just getting off. Think of a teenage boy desperate to do it with anybody. That’s sex. Making love involves more than just the orgasm. It’s about connecting.” He leaned his head back and groaned. “I sound like a guest on ‘Oprah.’”

  “No. This is great. I understand what you’re saying. But what about orgasms? I’ve read about them, but…well, you know.” She cleared her throat. “How will I know if I’m having one?”

  “If the guy you’re with is doing it right, you’ll know.”

  “That’s not very helpful.”

  “If you’re not sure, it didn’t happen. When it does, you won’t be wondering.”

  At least that was his personal experience with the women of his sexual acquaintance. Not that he was going to say that. Haley would have fifty more questions and he wouldn’t want to answer at least forty-nine of them.

  As it was, talking about the wild thing was making him think about it. Think about it with her—which he wasn’t going to do. He stared out at the horizon and tried to disconnect from the conversation. He almost accomplished it, too, right up until her next question.

  “What about being naked? Isn’t that embarrassing?”

  “No. It’s fun.”

  “Not for me. I don’t think I could ever be comfortable.”

  He was being punished. He got that now. His time with Haley was payback for all the stupid things he’d done when he was a kid.

  “If you’re caught up in the passion and with the right man, you won’t mind taking your clothes off. It will feel natural and right. There’s nothing more beautiful than a naked woman.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  He glanced at her and grinned. “That would be a gender difference. For a guy, seeing the woman he’s attracted to without her clothes is a peak experience. We want to touch her skin, see how she’s put together, explore curves, hollows.”

  He stopped talking when he realized Haley was gripping the steering wheel just a little too tightly. Speaking of tight, parts of him were getting that way, too. He swore silently.

  “Maybe we should talk about something else,” he muttered.

  Haley surprised him by agreeing.

  But after exploring sex—verbally at least—there didn’t seem to be much else to say. They drove in silence for nearly half an hour. As they headed toward the middle of Kansas, there were fewer and fewer cars on the road. While there were storm clouds in the distance, the sky overhead was a bright, clear blue.

  “Would you mind if I went above the speed limit?” Haley asked. “This car has a lot more power than my old one did. I’d like to see what it can do.”

  Kevin figured she would freak out at eighty. “Go for it,” he said, and pulled his hat down more securely.

  She put her foot on the gas. The big car sped up.

  She hit eighty and kept going. Eighty-five, ninety, ninety-five. The wind whipped past them. Haley laughed and he felt his own spirits lighten.

  “I didn’t think you had it in you,” he said loudly.

  “I want to go a hundred. I’ve never gone that fast.”

  He watched the speedometer hover just below a hundred, then the indicator crossed to one hundred and one, one hundred and two.

  “You there. In the yellow Caddy. Pull over right now.”

  The loud voice came from above. Haley screamed and instantly lifted her foot from the gas. Kevin glanced up and saw the small plane above them.

  “Don’t panic,” he said wryly. “It wasn’t the voice of God. You were caught by the aerial patrol.”

  Haley absolutely could not believe this was happening. It seemed so unfair. She’d never gone above the speed limit before in her life. She’d never had a ticket, been in an accident or driven in an unsafe manner. So the very first time she actually cut loose, she got caught.

  “Oh, this is bad,” she whispered as she pulled off to the side of the highway. “This is so bad.”

  “There are always consequences,” Kevin pointed out, which didn’t make her feel better at all. He should be saying things such as this wasn’t so bad.

  “A spotless record up in flames.”

  “You’re the one who wanted to walk on the wild side.”

  She glared at him, but he didn’t seem intimidated. In fact, she would think he was almost happy about her getting caught.

  “If I go to prison, you’d better come bail me out,” she said.

  He actually laughed. “I think the odds of you ending up in the slammer are pretty slim.”

  She noticed he hadn’t actually promised to come rescue her. She covered her face with her hands. What if she did go to prison? She would be forced to call her father and tell him what had happened. He would be so disappointed. Plus he would probably tell Allan and they would come get her together. All her hopes and dreams for a life of her own would end. She would have a record and be trapped back in her old life.

  Fifteen minutes later a state patrol car pulled up behind her. She had already dug out her driver’s license. She didn’t have any official registration for the car, just the paperwork from the car dealer where she’d purchased it.

  She watched in her side mirror as the officer got out of his car and walked toward her. She thrust the documents into his hands.

  “I’m a worm,” she said mournfully. “Really. I’m a horrible person and I know it. Being sorry doesn’t help, so I won’t even tell you I am. There’s no excuse. Not even a medical emergency. I went fast because I wanted to. I’ve never had a car with a big engine before and I’ve never been one who speeds. I mean it’s reckless and dangerous, and I’m never like that. I didn’t mean to be today, but there was something about the open road and being in a convertible.”

  She paused for breath. “That’s not an excuse. In fact it’s worse than an excuse. I was immature and selfish. I did make sure there weren’t other cars around because I’m not reckless enough to risk other people. I just love my new car so much. Not that it’s really new, but it’s new to me. But I was wrong. Really wrong. I deserve a ticket.” She swallowed as tears burned in her eyes. “You probably want to take me to prison.”

  She held up her hands, fingers curled into her palms, wrists next to each other.

  The officer slipped off his sunglasses and stared at her. “You don’t actually need me here for this conversation, do you?”

  Haley didn’t know what to say. She blinked to hold back the tears.

  “Wait right here,” the man said. “I’m going to run your driver’s license through the computer.”

  “Oh, I’m not wanted for anything.”

  “Uh-huh. You sit tight.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Haley slumped back in her seat. She was afraid to close her eyes because she might see her whole life flash by.

  Beside her, Kevin sighed. “A word of advice. Next time, wait to be charged with something before confessing.”

  “No. I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have been speeding.”

  “You sure seem anxious to try out prison food.”

  She sniffed. “I don’t shy away from my responsibilities. As a citizen of this country, I need to abide by the laws of the land.”

  The officer returned with her paperwork, her license and an ominous-looking pad.

  She tucked her license back into her wallet and handed the paperwork to Kevin to put in the glove box.

  “You know you were going over a hundred,” the man said.

  Haley nodded and hung her head. Would they let her make a phone call from jail? Would she have one of those horrible mug shots that made everyone look drawn and guilty?

  “What’s your story?” the man asked Kevin, pointing to the bandage on his leg.

  “Work-related injury,” Kevin said.

  “He was shot,” Haley offered, which earned her a disgusted look from Kevin.

  “What?” she asked, confused by his reaction. “It’s what happened.”

  “You have some ID?” the officer asked.

 
Kevin nodded and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it to an official-looking document and passed it to Haley who handed it out the open window.

  “U.S. Marshal?” the man asked.

  Kevin nodded. “I got caught up in the prison riot.”

  “He’d been delivering a prisoner,” Haley offered helpfully. “When there was trouble, they called him to come back. He was hit in the head and shot which is why I’m driving him home. He’s not allowed to fly.”

  “Your wife?” the man asked, pointing at Haley.

  Haley felt herself blushing.

  Kevin sighed heavily. “No. Just a friend.”

  “A friend with a lead foot.” The officer handed Kevin back his ID, then turned to Haley. “Keep it at the speed limit, miss.”

  She blinked at him. “What?”

  “I’m letting you off with a warning. If this happens again, I’m hauling you in for reckless driving. You understand?”

  He was letting her go? For real? She couldn’t believe it.

  “I—sure. Yes, I understand. The speed limit. I can do that.”

  “Have a nice day.”

  The man flipped his pad closed and returned to his patrol car. Haley sat there until he’d pulled out onto the highway. Then she leaned her head back, raised her arms and yelled out a big “Thank you” to the universe.

  “I didn’t get a ticket,” she told Kevin.

  He didn’t seem as excited. “I know.”

  “Isn’t it amazing.”

  “You were lucky. He felt bad because I was shot.” His gaze narrowed. “You deserved a ticket.”

  She refused to be anything but thrilled by the change in circumstances.

  “I’m not going to prison. I don’t have to call my father or—” She hesitated. “Or anyone else. No one is going to know. Isn’t this wonderful?”

  “No, it’s not. You need to learn a lesson in consequences.”

  As she started her engine, a delightful thought occurred to her. “Maybe there aren’t any. Maybe that’s just a line made up by worried parents.”

  Kevin groaned. “Why did I know you were going to say that?”

  She checked her mirror, then pulled back onto the highway. “Isn’t this the best day? Aren’t we having a wonderful time? Isn’t life terrific?”

  Kevin leaned back and closed his eyes. “You’re giving me a headache.”