by Lori Foster
Noel walked in to grab some dry towels. No one said a word, but Amber tracked his every step, making Garrett frown again. When Noel walked back out, whistling, Amber released a breath.
“So are you or are you not interested in her?”
Sneaky, jumping right back to the topic that way after she’d just ogled a fellow firefighter right in front of him. But how could he answer? He was far beyond interested. Bordering on obsessed. On the downhill slide to falling in love.
He knew it, but that didn’t mean he’d share with Amber.
“Never mind.” She patted his chest. “I know you well enough that I can see for myself.”
He caught her arm before she could leave. “What did Zoey tell you exactly?”
“That you guys were having fun in a no-strings-attached way that worked perfectly for her because—” Amber coughed “—the perks were awesome.”
Nice. “She didn’t go in to the perks?”
“She enthused until my face was so hot I had to leave.” After sticking her elbow in his ribs, she said, “A little brother should never be described as a stud. That’s not a direct quote, by the way. Zoey was far more descriptive than that.”
Garrett grinned.
Amber didn’t. “So now, instead of worrying about Zoey, I have to worry about you.” She shook her head. “A sister’s job is never done.”
“Why would you worry about me?”
“Oh, Garrett. You don’t know? The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
He wouldn’t fall alone, damn it. Zoey would come around. Right?
“If you’re rethinking that no-strings-attached nonsense, you ought to clue Zoey in real soon. Once her mom comes home and her responsibilities double, she just might have to prioritize her time.”
And Amber figured he wouldn’t make the list? Or was she trying to manipulate him again? He’d bet on the latter. “We’re taking it one day at a time.”
“I know.” She looked at him with pity. “And that means that tomorrow could be very different from today. You might want to keep that in mind.”
This time when she started away, Garrett let her. Damn it, he’d been in such a great mood, and now...
Now he felt the need to make himself more invaluable to Zoey. He’d start on that tonight. If by the fireman’s fund-raiser she hadn’t come around, well, then he’d state the obvious to her.
The obvious being that they were good together, and that he fit into her life, whatever her life might be.
But until then, he’d rather give her a chance to tell him how she felt. He’d encourage her at least once a day...and every night.
* * *
Leaving the bed unmade—why bother?—she and Garrett repeatedly bumped into each other while dressing. It wasn’t the limited space so much as she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. Fully dressed he was a visual treat. Naked...yeah. She wasn’t missing that for anything.
While trying to step into her shorts, she tripped herself up and would have fallen if Garrett hadn’t caught her.
“Let me.” Going to one knee, he eased up her shorts... while kissing her thighs, her belly, each breast.
She braced her hands on his hard, wide shoulders and sighed.
Though they’d just finished making love, he murmured, “I need another hour.”
Or a lifetime.
Her eyes popped open. Oh, no, where had that thought come from?
“Zoey?” He slowly stood, towering over her. “Everything okay?”
He’d spent the night again.
He stayed over almost every night.
And it was so wonderful that now she wondered how she’d ever be able to sleep again without him spooning her, holding her close. He worked with her, played with her, talked with her.... He’d invaded her life in so many ways that now he seemed very much a part of it.
“Zoey?”
She tried to nod yes, but the answer was no, and she ended up sort of waggling her head in a totally indecipherable way.
Garrett grinned. “You are so damned cute.” He kissed the end of her nose, then pulled her T-shirt over her head, smoothed her hair back and just held her face. “Are you worrying about your mom?”
“A little.” That wasn’t an outright lie. She worried about her mom all the time. “I want everything perfect for her when she comes here.”
Garrett sat on the end of her bed and pulled her down onto his knees. “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
“What does your uncle think about your mom moving here? She’s been living with him, right?”
“He’s okay with it.”
His big hand smoothed over her back. “Amber told me you weren’t welcome at your uncle’s.”
Ducking her head, Zoey wondered how to explain. “He’s still a little mad at me.” As soon as she said it, she felt Garrett’s anger. It was funny, but she could read him so easily. “He thinks I never should have left her. And he’s probably right.”
“Know what I think?”
She tucked her head under his chin and breathed in the warm, masculine scent of his big body. “Yeah, I do.”
He tipped up her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Why didn’t your mom or uncle back you up way back then?”
Seeing him like this, caring, concerned for her, well, she had to kiss him.
He didn’t disappoint her.
Kissing Garrett would never grow old. But when she came up for breath, he said, “Will you tell me?”
There was really no reason not to. “My uncle wanted me to stay and defend myself.”
That surprised him. “He didn’t blame you?”
She shook her head. “Everyone assumes that. But he’d dealt with Gus and knew about his temper. He said he tried to help him work it out in football, but...he wasn’t a very happy guy. It made my uncle furious that, as he put it, I was just going to turn tail and run. Especially since that’d leave my mom...alone.”
As if he knew she needed it, Garrett hugged her tighter.
“Mom is the quintessential free spirit, always has been. She loves me a lot. Back then, I was her whole world. After dad died when I was twelve, she never dated.”
“She just focused on you?”
“Pretty much.” Zoey didn’t want it to sound like her mother was weak, even if that was partially true. “She’d never worked outside the home, so she had a hard time holding down a job. That’s why we were always so poor.”
“Your uncle was counting on you to help her make ends meet?”
“And to be there for her.” She opened her hand on Garrett’s chest, toying with his chest hair, savoring the heat of his skin. “When I left, Mom just...gave up. That’s why my uncle had to take her in.”
“You were a kid, Zoey. Your uncle should have known you couldn’t be responsible for your mom.”
“That’s the thing, though. I had been, ever since Dad died.” She tipped back her head to see him. She needed him to understand. “Now I will be again.”
“Now you’re a grown woman and she’s hurt. Family helps family, always.”
“Yes.”
“Which is why she should have been helping you back then.”
The truth hurt, but she nodded. “Maybe, but she can barely help herself.” As soon as she said it, she winced. “I’m sorry. A daughter shouldn’t say something so awful about her—”
“Shh.” Garrett pressed his mouth to her temple. “It’s just me.”
Just him—the only person she could really share with. Not to another living soul had she ever criticized her mother. “I love her.”
“Of course you do.”
He kissed her again—her ear, her cheek, the corner of her mouth—and she accepted the truth. Damn it, afte
r all her assurances, she’d still fallen for him.
“So your uncle won’t be a problem?”
“No.” Loving Garrett...now that might be a problem. But not her uncle. “He’s annoyed still and holding a grudge. But he’ll come around because he’ll want to visit Mom, and he knows he has to behave when he’s here.”
Rough fingertips glided gently over her jaw. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“Yeah?” She smiled up at him. “Like what?”
He started to reply, but Ticket, as she’d named the dog given the number of ticks he’d had on him when she’d first found him, went into a barking fit.
The dog only barked like that when something scared him.
“You expecting someone?”
“No.”
Garrett set her on her feet and started through the house.
She hurried after him. “What are you doing?”
“Seeing who’s here.”
She trailed him to the front door, where Ticket kicked up a fuss, bouncing up and down and howling like hell had come to call. “You think he heard someone?”
“Ticket is smart.” As soon as he patted the dog, Ticket sat down and stopped barking. “See?”
“But I don’t get any visitors.” And maybe that’s why Garrett looked so protective.
He opened the door...and there stood his father with his fist raised to knock.
The two men stared at each other, and Zoey felt her face go bright red.
After all, it was the butt-crack of dawn, she was badly rumpled, and Garrett wore only jeans. No way could his father misinterpret.
Trying to brazen out the embarrassing situation, Zoey said, “Mr. Hudson, good morning!” She peered around Garrett’s bare shoulder. “How nice of you to visit.”
Garrett choked.
Morgan, big beast of a man that he was, gave a slow grin and clapped his son on the shoulder. “I’m not going away, so you might as well invite me in.”
Silent, Garrett stepped back, opened the door wider and gestured for him to enter.
Ticket, the little rat, was the only one thrilled for the company.
* * *
Garrett called the station to say he was running late, pulled on his shirt, socks and shoes and joined Zoey and his dad in the kitchen. He got there just as the coffee finished.
Giving one last pat to the dog, his dad gave him the once-over. “I was just telling Zoey how nice the place looks.”
Garrett glanced at her, saw the high color in her cheeks deepen and had to smile. “We’ve been working on it.”
“You don’t say.”
“Dad.” He accepted a mug of coffee from Zoey and handed another to his father. “You’re embarrassing her.”
They both looked at Zoey, and she froze.
“Oh, no,” she spluttered. In a too-high voice, she said, “I’m fine,” and froze again.
Garrett pulled out a chair for her, urged her into it and bent to kiss the top of her head. “You remember my dad, Zoey?”
She bobbed her head hard. Reacting to her uncertainty, Ticket sat next to her chair and kept a watchful eye on things.
Yeah, Morgan Hudson had that effect on a lot of people. He’d been sheriff for a long time, and if the stories Garrett had heard were true, a bad-ass longer than that. Few realized that overall, his dad was a big softie.
Not that anyone would believe him if he told them so. In his early sixties, his dad was still a brick wall of a man: tall, solid, unfaltering in his role as protector.
All in all, the best of dads.
“He used to be the sheriff back when we were kids,” Garrett told Zoey. “Now he’s the mayor.”
She bobbed her head again. “I know. Amber caught me up.”
“I knew you were a friend of Amber’s.” He nodded at Garrett. “Didn’t know about this, though.”
“Dad...” Garrett warned again—not that it would do him any good.
After sipping his coffee, Morgan asked, “You remember me as a fair man, Zoey?”
“Of course.”
“Good. That’ll make this easier.”
Garrett wondered if they’d dealt with each other back when Gus died. Likely. For as long as he could remember his dad had been a pillar of the community. Whenever something happened, Morgan Hudson was there taking control and working out problems.
Was it a problem that had brought him here today?
Muscles tensing, Garrett put a hand on Zoey’s shoulder. “Don’t let him make you nervous.”
“No, of course not.” Her smile was about as nervous as it could get.
His dad gave him that look, the one that said all kinds of shit a son didn’t want to hear, especially when he was full-grown and well past needing lectures.
“Did Amber send you here?”
Folding his arms on the table, his dad said, “No, why would she?”
“No reason.” Interesting, that Amber hadn’t told their dad about him seeing Zoey. Maybe she still had hopes of him backing off.
If so, she was doomed to disappointment.
Garrett straddled his own seat. “So then why the visit?”
Instead of answering, he told Zoey, “I’m here on unofficial business. Do you want Garrett here, or would you rather talk privately?”
Stiffening from his toes to his ears, Garrett scowled. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Not up to you,” Morgan told him.
Garrett turned to her...and saw her stricken expression. “Zoey?”
Eyes closed, she whispered, “Someone complained about me being here?”
“Complained—and made some accusations.”
“The Donahues,” Garrett growled. Damn it. What was wrong with those people?
Morgan ignored him. “I’m here as a courtesy, okay? To you, not them.”
She nodded, swallowed. “Thank you.”
“You’re going to open shop?”
The switch threw her. “Pet grooming.” Straightening her shoulders, she met Morgan’s gaze. “Everything is legal, all my permits in order, everything to code.”
He looked around again. “I assume you plan to live here, too?”
“With my mom.”
Garrett had no doubt Morgan already knew about her mother being hurt, but he briefly filled him in anyway. “She should be able to come home by the end of the month.”
“I’m glad she’s doing better.”
“Thank you.” Zoey shifted with impatience. “I don’t mean to be rude, but why are you here exactly?”
After turning his coffee cup, giving himself a moment to think, Morgan looked at each of them. “There was some trouble at the grocery?”
Dropping back in her seat, Zoey laughed.
Garrett didn’t. “I was there.”
“Really?” Raising his brows, Morgan said, “I must’ve missed that part.”
“I don’t want any trouble,” Zoey said. “Not with anyone. I’m just here to take care of my mom.”
Garrett felt a pang in his heart. Yeah, he knew that was why she’d returned. But hopefully she’d want to stay...for him.
Chapter Six
Insulted on her behalf, Garrett took Zoey’s hand. “I can tell you exactly what happened.” While explaining how well Zoey had handled the ugly confrontation, he felt incredible pride. “Because I knew it might be uncomfortable for Zoey, I was already leading her in the opposite direction. Carrie caused the confrontation, and she was damned nasty about it, too.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Morgan finished off his coffee. “The Donahues aren’t great at taking blame.”
Zoey didn’t understand. “Blame for what?”
Garrett shared a look with his dad. “Anything.” A
lot of people thought the Donahues needed to spend more time parenting and less time excusing bad behavior.
She shook her head. “If you didn’t buy in to the accusations, then why are you—”
“To give you a heads-up that they might cause more trouble. I thought you were out here all alone.” Now he looked at Garrett. “It’s an isolated piece of land. Not far by car, but the nearest neighbor is a good two miles away.”
“I have a phone,” she reminded him.
“Storms knock out reception all the time.”
Wearing an indulgent expression, Zoey asked, “Are you trying to scare me?”
“A little fear is a good thing.”
She laughed. “It’s not like the Donahues are psychos, or like Buckhorn is a hotbed of crime.”
“No,” Garrett agreed. “But we have had the occasional problem.”
“And putting the Donahues aside, any woman alone in an isolated place has to use extra care.” He looked at Garrett. “Until you get some security lights up and maybe an alarm system, it wouldn’t hurt to have some company.”
Meaning he should stick around and ensure her safety? Garrett had no problem with that. He wanted to be with Zoey, and no way would he let anyone hassle her.
But damn it, she’d spelled it out—her plate was full and she didn’t have time for anything more involved with him. He was already pushing his luck staying over so often. If he got too intrusive, it might spook her.
As Amber had said, he could be the first responsibility she shook off.
His dad, though, didn’t seem to have the same concern. “Should I take it you’ll be around some?”
“Some,” Garrett said through his teeth.
Which only made Morgan grin. “You know that youngest Donahue boy has a tendency to get in over his head.”
“Yeah.” He did know it. And in fact, he had some suspicions when it came to Cody Donahue.
“I personally think he’s looking for attention, but—”
“I know. Tough to get through to Mr. and Mrs. Donahue.”
“I can take care of myself,” Zoey suddenly interjected with emphasis.
Garrett hadn’t realized she was gathering steam until he looked at her. Then he saw the stubbornness, and the independence.