by Rachel Hanna
Fishing is a silent activity, so the two of them sat together for the first few minutes, quietly baiting their hooks. When it became obvious that Kelly had no clue what she was doing, Quinn silently scooted closer to her and baited her hook with a worm before tossing her line into the water and handing the rod back to her.
“You’re not going to make fun of me?” she said softly as she bumped his shoulder.
“Nope.”
“Why not?” she asked, daring to take a glance at him. He met her glance.
“Because that wouldn’t make me a very nice guy, now would it?” Dang, his voice was gruff and manly. She didn’t answer, but instead turned away before he saw any hint of her longing for him to kiss her, and she was pretty sure her cheeks were red.
“You have a beautiful place here,” she said as quietly as possible so as not to scare away the fish.
“Thanks. I needed a place to start my life over, and this place just felt right.”
“Tell me about your wife, Quinn,” she found herself blurting out without thinking. It felt invasive, but she waited and allowed the silence to linger.
“We met in high school. I was the jock.”
“Of course,” she said laughing. He shot her a glance and continued.
“She was a cheerleader. Most popular girl in our tiny high school. Then we went off to college. I got a little too wild, and we broke up for a year while I figured out how to behave myself.”
“Bad boy…”
He laughed. “Yeah, I was definitely not acting at a high level of maturity back then. Anyway, we got back together in our senior year. She got a teaching degree, and I got a my business degree. We had big plans, but then her father got sick.”
“What was wrong?”
“He had ALS, and it was aggressive. She wanted to move back home to our little town in Tennessee and help take care of him, so we did a quickie wedding at the courthouse and moved back to take care of her Dad.”
“That was kind of you.”
“I loved him like a father. He was a good man,” he said, his voice cracking a bit as he stared out over the water. “Anyway, he lived thirteen months. Died at home one morning as peacefully as we could hope. Her mother was devastated. They’d been together since they were eleven years old.”
“Wow. That’s a long love story,” Kelly said, wishing that she had the same kind of story to tell.
“Yeah. It was something we wanted to emulate, but that’s not how things went, unfortunately.” He looked pained, and she could understand why. He’d lost his high school sweetheart. She wanted to ask how, but that felt way too intrusive in the moment, so she just let him talk.
“Things started off good, but we soon realized that the time apart had changed us. She was different. I was different. Our relationship was different. That one year had allowed me to grow up and into the man I wanted to become. She wanted to travel the world, but I wanted a quiet home life. Her father’s illness was a great distraction at the time, but once he was gone and her mother was settled into her new life, things started the crumble. We even spent a few months separated, but we kept trying to pull it back together, you know?”
“I can understand that. I mean, I’ve never been married myself, but a marriage is something worth saving.”
“Yeah, and we were trying when she…”
“When she died?”
“Yes. It was unexpected to say the least. There’s never enough time…” She could see the tears welling up in his eyes, but he continued. “We had discussed divorce for the first time the day before.”
She didn’t know what to say, but she could only imagine the guilt he was now living with. “I’m so sorry, Quinn.”
He took a deep breath. “Thanks. But I’m doing a lot better now. Moving on, enjoying my work again… meeting new friends,” he said with a smile. Her heart started beating faster, and she tried to will it to slow down. “Hey, I think you’ve got a bite!”
She turned to see her line being tugged into the water, and something pretty big was on the other end. He put his hands over hers and jerked it quickly and then started reeling it in. When they finally reeled it in, he told her it was the biggest bass he’d seen caught in the lake since he’d lived there.
“See? I told you I could fish!” she exclaimed as she held the fishing line up with her catch on the other end. When the fish wiggled, she screamed and dropped it as Quinn struggled to get it off the line and tossed it back into the water.
“Yeah, you’re a pro,” he said with a sarcastic laugh as they started gathering their supplies.
Chapter 11
Kelly stared out the window of Quinn’s cabin and looked at the mountains off in the distance. Whiskey Ridge was in the mountains, but they also surrounded it, each looking as though it had been painted in an array of blue shades.
“This view is gorgeous,” she said as Quinn handed her a glass of sweet tea.
“Yeah, it was the main reason I wanted the property. The Blue Ridge mountains are my favorite place on earth,” he said. “So, how’s it going with your mother?”
“Ugh. Did you have to ruin a perfectly nice moment?” she said as she sat down on a bar stool in the breakfast area.
“Sorry.”
“She seems happy, but I’m going nuts. And now my sister has started contacting me.”
“The one in France?”
“Yep.”
“That seems odd.”
“I think so too. I’m not sure yet what her angle is, but I know there is one.”
“Maybe she just misses you and your mother.”
“Doubtful. Vicki… I’m sorry… Vivienne always has an agenda. She’s a lot like our mother, which is why they didn’t always get along. Do you have siblings?”
“I have two brothers. One lives overseas in Japan. He’s a Marine. The other one lives in Texas with his wife and six kids.”
“Six kids?” she said, almost spitting out her tea.
“Yep. They have all names that start with the letter ‘I’,” he said laughing.
“Wow, that would be hard to do. What are there names?”
“Isaiah, Isaac, Illiana, Ida, Ignacious and Igor.” She could tell he was trying hard not to smile.
“You’re pulling my leg, Quinn Maverick!” she said as she stood up and slapped at him. But, as was typical for Kelly, her foot got caught on the corner of the breakfast bar and she found herself falling forward toward the oven.
Yep. This was it. Total slow motion moment where her face was going to collide with the handle of the oven any second now. There’d be a black eye, maybe a broken nose, and Quinn would have a story to tell for years to come. She would be horribly disfigured and on pain medication which she would become addicted to and need one of those interventions…
But there was no pain. Instead, she found herself in his arms, staring at him face to face, their noses almost touching.
He’d caught her somehow.
“You okay?” he said, his voice lower and gruffer than she’d heard before, and she could’ve sworn that his breathing was more ragged. His hands were on both of her sides, holding her just below her armpits.
“Yeah… I’m fine…” she managed to breathe out, yet neither of them moved. It should’ve been awkward but it wasn’t. They both stood there for what seemed like minutes, staring at each other and not speaking. Yet, it didn’t seem like enough time at all either. “You saved me again,” she finally said softly.
“Somebody has to take care of you.” For some reason, those words felt like to antidote to every bad thing that had ever happened to her. No one had ever taken care of her. Not her mother. Certainly not her father. And Rio? Yeah, that one was laughable.
But it was exactly what Quinn Maverick had done since she’d met him. Saved her from a frisky date. Saved her when she needed a ride to Atlanta. Saved her house from her hoarding mother. And now saved her from a face plant.
She cleared her through and stepped back. “Thanks,” she said, a
ll too aware what was in his mind. He wanted to be friends, and she wasn’t going to put herself out there to get rejected.
Kelly turned back toward the living room. “I can’t believe you had me going about your brother…” she started to say as she looked out toward the mountains, but she felt Quinn’s hand on her arm, turning her around to face him again.
She looked up into his green eyes and saw something she hadn’t seen before. They were tender and soft, and she didn’t know what to make of it. He said no words, but instead placed his hands first on her shoulders and then slid them up to her cheeks and just looked at her. And then slowly, amazingly, he leaned in, touching his lips against hers in what could only be described as the most sensuous kiss ever given on Earth.
For a moment, she stood there limp with her arms hanging by her sides like a puppet, but then she decided to make the most of the moment before he realized they were just friends. She slid her hands up his back, feeling the ripples of muscles under his shirt.
And then he pulled back.
“I’m sorry…” he said, stepping back a couple of feet. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s… okay….” she stammered, unsure of what to say. It would’ve been pretty impossible to pretend she didn’t enjoy it since she had been groping his muscular back just a few seconds before.
He ran his fingers through his hair and then she was sure she heard some kind of growl before he stepped forward and kissed her again. This time, there was more passion than sensuality and she almost lost her legs. Of course, she had no concerns that he wouldn’t catch her.
And then again, he pulled back and made the same growling noise before he completely stepped away and started pacing. It was like watching a caged animal at the zoo, and she didn’t know what to say or do. Finally, he spoke.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Okay…”
“She’s only been gone a year…” he said softly. And there it was. His late wife. He was feeling guilty for kissing another woman. That had to be it.
Kelly stepped toward him. He had a pained look on his face that she hadn’t seen before, and she wanted to take it away but there was nothing she could do.
“Quinn…”
“I didn’t want to like you. I mean, I wanted to be friends. I thought I could say we were friends and it would just be true, you know? But it’s not true.”
“It’s not?” she asked, the hopeful tone in her voice coming out whether she liked it or not. He looked at her and smiled.
“I just kissed you… twice.”
“Yeah, I remember,” she said with a smile.
“I just couldn’t stop myself anymore.”
“Anymore?”
“I’ve been struggling since the moment I met you, Kelly,” he said, walking toward her. He stopped and put his hand on her cheek. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Then don’t,” she said. And then she was late getting back to work.
* * *
Maggie sat on the edge of Kelly’s desk, her hand over her mouth in amazement, as Kelly leaned back in her chair with a look of sheer pleasure on her face.
“He kissed you? I can’t believe it!” If it was possible, Maggie was even more excited than Kelly. Well, maybe not. Every part of her body still felt like it was lit up with electricity, and she had no idea how she would possibly concentrate on work for the rest of the day.
“Shhh…. He’s going to hear you!” Kelly urged, smacking her friend on the knee. “But, yes, he kissed me. A lot. And it was heaven.”
“I thought you hated him?” Maggie said sarcastically.
“Shut up.”
“So, tell me every little detail. Did ya’ll…. You know…..”
“No! Of course not! We just kissed, and honestly that was plenty for me. I’ve never been kissed that way in my life.”
“That good, huh?”
“It made me want to write a sonnet. And I have no idea how to write a sonnet.”
“Yeah, I’ve only been kissed good enough to write a haiku maybe,” Maggie said dryly.
“I can’t believe I’ve been missing that kind of passion in my life. Who knew?” It was true. She had never felt that way in her life. It was an all-consuming passion like she wanted to literally climb inside of Quinn’s body and never leave. It was both exciting and terrifying at the same time, to be vulnerable and give up a part of herself.
“So do you think you’ll start dating?” Maggie asked, pulling a piece of gum from her purse.
“I don’t know. We didn’t really talk about it. I know he’s having a hard time moving on… after his wife…”
“Poor guy. It has to be hard.”
“I’m just going to play it cool and see where things go.”
“My, how life can change on a dime,” Maggie said as she walked out to greet a customer.
* * *
Several days had passed since their kissing scene, and Kelly hadn’t seen Quinn’s lips anywhere near hers. It was amazing how she already missed those lips, but maybe he’d made a decision not to pursue a relationship with her. Maybe the “friend thing” was all they would ever be.
Ugh. That thought made her sad and mad at herself for caring.
But the problem was that she did care. She cared a lot. How had she gone from thinking he was a jerk-face to wanting to kiss him for several hours a day?
“Hey!” she heard Quinn say as she was getting into her car to go home for her break.
“Hey yourself!” she said smiling. Please kiss me. Please kiss me.
Out of breath from running across the parking lot, Quinn stopped and caught his breath. Probably couldn’t kiss while he was panting like that. She had to get her mind on something else.
“What’s up?”
“Just haven’t seen you much lately. My students were in a testing cycle this week, so I’ve been really busy with that.”
“Sure. I understand,” she said.
“Heading home?”
“Yep. My mom called and said she needed me to come home. No idea what that’s about.”
“Maybe she got her insurance money and is moving out.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” she said, and then there it was again. Thoughts of his lips…
And how ironic it was that while she was thinking about his lips, he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on hers. Her legs started to go weak again, and she decided that adding a leg workout to her routine was something to look into for sure.
He pulled back and smiled at her. “Boy, I’ve missed that these last few days,” he said with a smile. She felt like she could literally climb into his big green eyes and get lost for days.
“You have?”
“You haven’t?”
“No comment,” she said with a giggle and then climbed into her car. “See you later?”
“You can bet on it.”
* * *
Kelly pulled into the driveway of her home and wondered what her mother was up to inside. Maybe she had damaged something and wanted Kelly to see it in person. Maybe she was going to ask to move in permanently. Who knew with her mother.
After keying the lock, she opened the door to find her mother sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed. Although she had few belongings other than what Kelly had bought her for clothing, she had everything shoved into a plastic bag beside her. She was leaving. Miracle of miracles.
“Mom, what’s going on?” Kelly asked, trying not to feel too excited that she was getting her house back.
“I’m leaving, Kelly.”
“And going where? You don’t have a home.”
“She’s coming to live with me,” a voice said from the kitchen. She knew that voice like her own, and when Vivienne appeared in the doorway, her suspicions were confirmed.
“Vicki?”
“Vivienne,” she and her mother corrected at the same time.
Kelly didn’t acknowledge the correction and continued. “What are you doing he
re?”
“I came to get Mom. We’re getting a place together in Atlanta.”
“What?” Kelly said. Her sister was definitely up to no good. Why else would she leave Paris and her husband to come take care of their mother in Atlanta?
“I wanted to help, so I decided to come home, get mom and get her back on her feet again,” she said, walking up behind their mother and rubbing her shoulder. Edie looked up and smiled adoringly. The whole thing made Kelly sick to her stomach.
“Okay, sis, what’s the angle?” Kelly heard herself blurt out. But it was true. She knew there was an angle to be had somewhere, and Vivienne would always find it. If there was a loophole to be exploited, she’d uncover it and ride it until the wheels fell off.
“I resent that, Kelly. Why would I need an angle to come take care of my mother?”
“Well, you haven’t been home in years, so…”
“I contacted her,” Edie admitted.
“What? Why?”
Vivienne sat down next to her mother on the sofa and held her hand. Ick.
“Because I know you don’t want me here, Kelly. We both know that. We’re not the same kind of person, and that’s okay. I know you love me in your own way, and I love you in my own way, but we can’t live together.”
Kelly knew what she was saying was true, but it still hurt to be basically abandoned and criticized by her own mother all over again. It wasn’t anything new, but pain is pain.
“So you called the person who abandoned you?” Vivienne looked at her with a snarl.
“I didn’t abandon our mother. I just made a better life for myself, and I think mother appreciates the courage that took for me.”
“Oh please. Courage? You were a stripper and found a sugar daddy, simple as that!” Kelly shouted. It was the first time she’d ever stood up to her sister and spoke her mind.
“Kelly!” Edie yelled as she stood up.
A part of her wondered why she was fighting so hard about this because it was exactly what she wanted - for her mother to move and leave her in peace. Or was it?