by Liz Isaacson
Carole Anne pealed out a laugh, and Dylan chuckled too. “Well, good for you,” she said. “Sometimes Cami can be a bit prickly.”
“Really?” Dylan asked as he started up the steps. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Chapter Ten
Cami primped in the mirror, trying to get one curl to go in the right direction. Why it wouldn’t was making her frustrated, and she slicked her fingers through her pomade one more time.
The doorbell rang, and her hand jerked, making the curl even more ridiculous. And completely going the wrong direction now.
“Whatever,” she muttered to herself. She pressed her lips together, satisfied with the dark purple stain and the way it played with her skin.
She moved the few steps down the hall and through the living room to the door. A quick exhale and she pulled open the door to find the best looking, single man in town standing on her doorstep.
Hers.
Her lungs forgot how to breathe, especially when he smiled at her. “Hey, there,” he said, and Cami managed to grin back at him.
“Hey,” she said. “You want to come in for a minute? Get the grand tour?”
“Sure.” Dylan eased into her personal space, easily slipping his hand along her waist and moving past her without being too handsy.
But wow, she wanted him to be a little more handsy. He smelled like the woods and fresh air, and he wore a plain gray T-shirt with a pair of jeans that shouldn’t make a man look so good.
“This is nice,” he said, glancing around.
“The house is ninety-four-years-old,” she said, her nerves infusing into her voice. She gave an anxious laugh and pointed to the fireplace. “But I built that mantel just last year.”
“You did?” Dylan moved over to it and ran his fingers along it. “It’s nice. What kind of wood?”
“It was reclaimed from the barn out at the Lawrence’s place. Have you been out there?”
“Yeah, sod farm, right?” He turned back to her, so cool, so calm, so cute.
“Right.” She slicked her sweaty palms down her jeans. “So it’s kind of small, but it’s just me, so it’s not bad.” Her front room was only big enough for a couch, not a set, but she’d managed to cram in a recliner too. “Kitchen’s back here.”
She moved past the hall that led to the bathroom—the only bathroom—and the two bedrooms—and into the kitchen. “Dine-in eating,” she said. “I have a table on the deck out back too. Sometimes I eat out there.”
Cami went outside, because the galley kitchen was way too small for her and Dylan—at least if she didn’t want to “accidentally” trip into him and press her lips to his.
She sighed once outside, but her internal temperature was off the charts, and being outside at noon didn’t help. The shade would shift as the sun moved, but for now, the backyard was in full sun.
Dylan joined her, and he said, “Yeah, this is great.”
“You sound like you really like it.” She surveyed the backyard and wasn’t all that impressed. The garden in the corner hadn’t been planted in years, as she didn’t have time, but she did manage to keep the lawn and bushes the previous owner had planted alive.
“I do,” he said, slipping his hand into hers. “I don’t have a yard or a deck or a front porch.” He cut a glance at her out of the side of his eye, but she wasn’t sure if he was glad he didn’t have those things or not. “I’ve actually been thinking about getting a more permanent place.”
“Your apartment isn’t permanent?”
“I mean, yeah, sure it is. I guess.” He shrugged. “I just feel like maybe I should be a real adult.”
She squeezed his hand. “I think you’re a real adult. People live in apartments, Dylan.”
He met her eye, and a powerful moment bloomed between then. “I’d like to get a dog,” he said, his mouth barely moving and his eyes dropping to her painted lips. “And I can’t have them in the building.”
“Better move then.” She bumped him with her hip. “And I’m starving, so let’s go.” She led him back into the house and paused at the mouth of the hallway. “Bedrooms and bathroom down there. Nothing fancy.”
“And land,” he said. “For horses. I’d like that too. A big garden.”
Cami grinned at the wistful joy in his voice. “Do you actually have time to work in a garden?”
“Well, no, but I do like eating fresh peas. In fact, we used to invade Old Man Mission’s garden every spring. He finally started planting four extra rows of peas and labeling them ‘For the Thieves’.” He chuckled and moved to her side as they walked down the steps.
“I actually feel bad about that now.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” She giggled, and the sound felt strange coming out of her mouth. “Where are we going for lunch?”
“Where do you want to go for lunch?”
“Have fun, you two,” Carole Anne called, and Cami startled toward her.
“Oh, hey,” she said, heat shooting into her face. “You know Dylan.”
“Already talked to him on the way in.” Carole Anne twirled one of her perfect curls around her fingers, wearing a knowing look on her face. “He told me all about his plumbing emergency last night. Good thing you were there to help him.”
“Oh, uh, right,” she said. “And you win, okay?”
“I totally did.” Carole Anne beamed at her, and Dylan shifted beside her. “See you at kick-boxing on Monday morning. You’re buying the coffee after.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“It is now,” Carole Anne said, her smile as wide as the whole state.
Cami turned back to Dylan, his curiosity plain on his face. “I’ll tell you about it later. I really am starving.”
He led her to his truck and opened the door for her. Once he got behind the wheel, he asked, “So where to? You never said.”
Cami looked across the bench seat at him, wondering if she should’ve slid over and sat immediately beside him. That was what cowgirl girlfriends did, wasn’t it?
But she couldn’t do it now, and she gave him a quick smile, trying to remember the question. “Oh, lunch.” She took in a big breath. “There’s a new bistro over by the steakhouse. Have you been there?”
“I don’t even know what a bistro is.” He flipped the truck into reverse and backed out of her driveway. “What kind of food do they have?”
“Sandwiches, soups, salads, awesome desserts.”
“Well, that sounds great.” He glanced at her. “I like desserts.”
Cami kept her eyes on him, an internal war starting inside her brain. Back and forth she went for a block, and then she said, “After I moved out of my parents’ house, I ate dessert at every meal, and always first.”
“Is that so?” Dylan’s voice carried plenty of flirt. “What kind of dessert?”
“My favorite is chocolate cake,” she said. “With plenty of chocolate frosting.” Her mouth watered just thinking about it.
“And chocolate chips?” he asked.
She made a face. “Definitely not,” she said. “Cake should melt in your mouth, not be chewed.”
“No chocolate chips. Got it.” His phone rang, and he glanced at it on the seat beside him. “Oh, this is Bill Owens. I have to take it. Okay?” He looked at her for permission, and she waved her hand.
Instead of picking up the phone, he pressed a button on his steering wheel. “Hey, Bill. You’re on speaker in my truck. Cami Cruz is with me.” He smiled at her.
“Okay,” Bill said. “I’m calling about the Christmas parade.”
“Yeah,” Dylan said. “Yep.” He’d obviously been expecting the call.
“I know you won the bid up at Rivers Merge, but will you still have time to do the wiring for us?”
“Of course,” Dylan said. “Absolutely.”
“Great.” The relief in Bill’s voice wasn’t hard to find. “So I’m wondering how packed your day is….”
Dylan looked at Cami, and she really wanted to see how this
would play out. “I’m headed to lunch right now,” he said cautiously. “And then out to Three Rivers. But depending on what you need, I could stop by in between.”
“The sleigh is on Seventeenth Street, and it needs a jump. However, Tanya is afraid to do it, because the battery looks corroded. She wants you to check it out before they try to move it.”
Dylan glanced at Cami again and pressed another button. “Are you up for jump-starting a sleigh?”
“You wire the Christmas parade?”
“Every year.”
As if Cami didn’t have enough reasons to like him. “I’d love to jump-start a sleigh before we head out to the ranch.”
He pressed the button again, and said, “Bill? I can be there in about an hour. Sound good?”
“See you then.”
Dylan seemed to enjoy the roast beef panini at the bistro, though he claimed to have never eaten a pressed sandwich before.
Their conversation had been easy, with updates about his family as he prepared her to meet his family in a couple of weeks, and talk about the build and their jobs.
Cami really enjoyed herself, and as they pulled up to a giant sleigh on Seventeenth Street, she couldn’t wait to see him in action.
“Sorry about this,” he said as three people came out of the house where the sleigh was and came down the sidewalk toward them. “You want to sit in the sleigh?”
“Heck, yeah, I do.” Cami unbuckled her seat belt and got out, braving the heat to see the sleigh up close. One of her favorite things about Three Rivers was their Christmas traditions, and she’d loved the sleigh pulled by big Clydesdale horses, carrying Santa Claus and his giant sack of toys.
“Cami,” Dylan said, meeting her near the corner of the truck. “This is Bill Owens. He organizes the Christmas parade.”
“Nice to meet you.” She shook his hand. “And Patricia Raines. She and her husband maintain and store all the vehicles here on their property on Seventeenth Street.”
Cami nodded at her, smiling for all she was worth.
“And her daughter, Tanya.”
“Nice to meet you all,” she said.
“You work for Rogers Plumbing, don’t you?” Patricia asked, a kindness to her voice that told Cami she shouldn’t have holed herself up quite so much in Three Rivers. There were good people here.
“I do,” she said. “Yes.”
“Congrats on winning the bid up at Rivers Merge,” Bill said, glancing at Dylan, who also wore a smile.
“Okay.” Dylan clapped his hands. “Let’s look at this sleigh.” He moved around to the back of it, where a panel had been removed to reveal an engine.
“I thought the horses pulled the sleigh,” she said.
“They do,” Bill said. “But we can’t hook it up to horses all the time. So it can drive itself when necessary.”
“And the water in the runners require power,” Patricia said.
“Water?” Cami glanced at her.
“It rarely snows here,” she said. “So to make it easier for the horses to pull the sleigh down Main Street, we keep the runners wet so they slide easier.”
“Oh.” Cami had no idea so much went into the parade.
Dylan said, “Oh, yeah. This needs to be replaced.” He straightened. “We can run over to the Super Smith and get a new battery.” He met Cami’s eyes, a silent question in his.
She nodded, because he was sexy while he worked, and the horses could wait. After all, there was still plenty of time for whatever they wanted to do.
“You guys don’t need to wait for us,” Dylan said. “I’ll text you when I’m done.”
“Thanks, Dylan,” Bill said, and the three of them moved back toward the house, Bill and Patricia already talking about other aspects of the parade.
“How long does it take you to do all the wiring?” she asked as they started toward the hardware store.
“Depends on how crazy Bill gets with the floats. The city owns about two dozen of them. We only pull out about ten every year. Some of them are more complicated than others.”
“Ah, I see.” She had seen different floats each year, though there were some staples like the sleigh.
He bought a battery, saying, “Put this on the city tab for the parade,” as a way to pay, and twenty minutes later, everything with the sleigh was ready to go.
He brushed his hands together as if they were dirty, and Cami had never seen such a good-looking man. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and kiss him, but she wondered if that would be too forward.
And too soon, her mind screamed at her.
Then she reminded herself that she hadn’t dated in four years. And she had a handsome, single, interested-in-her man standing right in front of her.
“Good job,” she said, stepping up to him and running her fingers along the collar of his shirt.
He stilled, and their eyes met. She slowly, carefully, leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him.
“Oh, okay,” he said, grinning. “Are we still going horseback riding?”
“Definitely,” she said. “I just wanted to try something first.”
“You want to jump-start the sleigh?” His gaze dropped to her mouth, and she shook her head.
She tipped up, and he leaned down, and all of her nerves fled when his lips touched hers. She didn’t mind that they were standing in a very public place. Didn’t mind that she didn’t know everything about him. Didn’t mind that they had very little in common.
Her mouth moved in sync with his in a way it never had with anyone else. She trailed her hands up his biceps to his shoulders and then into his hair.
He kissed her and kissed her, until she realized they definitely had something else in common: They liked to kiss each other.
Chapter Eleven
Dylan held onto the curves of Cami’s hips, his pulse bouncing around in his chest like a ping pong ball. Up. Down. Left. Right. Diagonal.
The touch of the woman’s fingers along his scalp sent fire everywhere, and he finally pulled back enough to separate them. “Dang,” he whispered, his eyes opening slowly to see she still had hers closed. She pressed her lips together as if tasting him there, and he couldn’t help himself. He kissed her again.
And she’d started it. Dylan couldn’t believe it, though he had certainly been thinking about kissing Cami before this day ended.
He finally broke their connection, and he rested his forehead against hers. They breathed in tandem, and then she gave a light laugh.
She breathed out heavily, and said, “So horseback riding?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Yep, let’s go.” He helped her into his truck again and when he opened his door to get behind the wheel, she’d scooted across the bench seat so she could sit right next to him.
She linked her hand through his arm and rested her head on his bicep. “Tell me more about what you do at Courage Reins.”
“So I go out on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Pete—he’s the owner—lets me help the veterans get set-up on their horses. I talk to them, and just watch them work with the horses.” He chuckled, because he knew the veterans came out for therapy, and that the horses helped them physically, as well as emotionally and spiritually.
But they did the same for him.
“I sometimes ride, and sometimes I just hang out on the fences. Sometimes Pete has treats, and sometimes I get to stay and eat with his family.”
“Sounds nice,” she said. “I almost always go out to ride Valentine at Brynn’s stables on Friday nights.”
“Really?” Dylan looked at her as he turned right onto the road that led out to the ranch.
“Really.” She snuggled deeper into his side. “Just for a few hours. I love horses.”
“Did your family have horses growing up?” he asked.
“No, but my best friend did. They had a whole boarding stable, and we’d ride every day after school.” She sounded so happy, and Dylan wanted to know everything about her.
“My family had a few hor
ses,” he said. “My dad loves them, and he thought they’d teach us to work.”
“And did they?”
“Oh, yeah. Had to get up before school and do chores. Had to work in the hay fields. Horses required care.” He said the last words in a deeper voice to emulate his father and added a chuckle. “Even the girls had farm chores.”
“I just had my older brother,” she said. “And he’s several years older than me, so I was an only child for a while. I had to do everything.”
“I’m the only boy,” he said. “So I get that. My sisters—they’re great—but they knew how to get out of anything and everything.”
“I bet they did.” She laughed, and Dylan liked the way it filled his cab.
“So, I just want to clear up all the…rumors,” he said, glancing at her. She stiffened beside him, and he thought maybe he shouldn’t ruin their near-perfect day.
But he wanted her to know everything about him too. “So I’m a pretty easy-going guy, and I guess a lot of women like that. For a while there, I liked having a date all the time.”
“I really don’t need to know,” she said, straightening though she kept her arm linked through his. “You explained enough to me already.”
“Did I?”
“Yeah, when you told me about the teacher at the pizzeria.”
“I’m not a player,” he said, needing to say the words. “I like to watch baseball with Boone, and I like to eat good food, and I like my family. I’m hoping to take over the Electric Company when Asher retires. He’s teaching me.”
“That’s great, Dylan.”
“So I know my life is kind of simple, but—”
“I like simple,” she said, cutting him off. “You really don’t need to make yourself look better. You’re already great.”
“Yeah? Is that why you kissed me in broad daylight on Seventeenth Street?”
“Your big head isn’t your most attractive quality,” she said dryly.
He chuckled and turned onto the dirt road that led to the ranch. “So do you only ride Valentine?”
“When I come out here? Yeah, just Valentine. Brynn and I sort of have an agreement.”