Northern Rebel: Daring in the Dark

by Jennifer Labrecque

  13

  DIRK SERIOUSLY THOUGHT about bolting. But he and Lars had grown up together and Lars would just drag him back and make him finish this thing. Dirk should’ve kept his mouth shut, except he’d been in a damn panic ever since he got Natalie’s note. He’d thought she’d say no. And then he started thinking of all the ways she might find out just how dumb he was and those thoughts had all made him feel as if he was sinking in quicksand. Not that he’d ever been in quicksand, but he’d seen a couple of horror movies and he figured that was close to what it would feel like.

  Lars paused at the door and for a second Dirk thought his older cousin might give him a break.

  “Okay, I’m here for moral support, but this is your show to run.”

  No such luck. Dirk nodded, manned up and opened the door.

  Merrilee looked up from her desk. “Ah, two of my favorite nephews.”

  Yep. That was nice.

  “Hey, Merrilee, you think we could talk to you for a few minutes?” The words rushed out of Dirk’s mouth.

  “Of course.” She picked up a plate of muffins and held them out, offering them to him and Lars. Dirk passed since he sort of felt like puking, but Lars grabbed one. “What’s up, boys?”

  “Maybe it’d be a good idea to take a walk or something,” Dirk said, glancing over at Dwight and Jefferson. Dwight was half-deaf but Jefferson’s hearing was just fine.

  “Sure thing.” She put the plate of muffins back and picked up her coffee cup. “Hey, would you guys hold down the fort for a bit?” Jefferson nodded and she turned back to Lars and Dirk. “Picnic tables okay or do you want to go over to the house?”

  “Picnic tables,” Dirk said. Given a choice, he always liked it better outside. Maybe it was because he was so damn big, but he always felt hemmed in indoors.

  They dipped out the back door and crossed the landing strip clearing to a couple of picnic tables at the edge of the trees.

  Merrilee perched on the table top, her feet on the bench seat. Lars sat down on the other end of the bench, leaning his back against the table edge, his legs stretched out in front of him.

  Dirk paced. There was no way in hell he could sit down. The birds were chirping, over on the sandlot kids were playing ball, and there were background noises everywhere. But here, with just the three of them, it was quiet. Merrilee and Lars waited.

  Lars studied the sky as if there was a message in the clouds. He was probably just making sure the plane didn’t turn around and bring his mom back. Dirk had been nice when he’d said Aunt Janie was tough. She was a horrible woman. But he didn’t want to put Lars in the position of having to kick his ass defending his mom, even if Dirk’s words were true. Some things you just didn’t say about another guy’s mom.

  Shit. He was just standing here bullshitting in his own head to put off spilling his guts.

  Merrilee waited patiently. She looked as though she could wait until next week, if that’s how long it took.

  He felt the heat rising in his face. The longer he put this off, the harder it would be.

  Screwing up his courage, Dirk looked Merrilee in the eye. He might be a dummy, but he wasn’t a coward. “I have a little trouble with reading. Sometimes, a lot of times, the words get mixed up. I mean, I can read, but...” He trailed off. There was no sugarcoating it.

  Merrilee shrugged. “Okay.”

  He saw it in her eyes. There wasn’t even a flicker of surprise. “You knew?”

  “I guessed last night. You just beat me to the draw on bringing it up.”

  Dirk sat on the ground. He wasn’t sure his legs would hold him up. Merrilee hadn’t looked at him with impatience the way his teachers had, or pity like that one woman had when he’d had to ask for help. He only saw kindness.

  “Well,” Merrilee said, “then I’ll teach you. We’ll work together and you’ll get better at it.”

  She made it sound so simple. She’d teach him and he’d learn. Just like all the other kids. The teachers taught and they learned. He’d sat there with the rest of the kids in those classes, paying attention, but he’d never caught on. What made him think it would be any different this time? Maybe it would be the same—

  “Don’t even let your brain go there,” Merrilee said. “Everyone can learn. You’re everyone.”

  Dirk swiped at his eyes, at the tears he couldn’t hold back. “Damn bugs.”

  She’d said we—he wasn’t in this alone. He wasn’t hopeless. And maybe, just maybe, he really wasn’t stupid. There must be some hope.

  Lars thought there was and now if Merrilee said it, it must be so.

  * * *

  DELPHI PULLED ON a T-shirt and bike shorts, feeling pretty dumb. She’d finished her leisurely bath, spritzed on some perfume and scoped out the sexiest thing she’d brought with her. It had been slim pickings, considering she’d come here to work and hadn’t been in a sexy frame of mind when she was packing.

  She’d donned black lace panties and a matching push-up bra. She’d put on makeup, tidied the bed and turned back the covers invitingly.

  Her heart had started beating double-time when she’d heard the plane take off. She’d waited. And waited. And waited.

  She hadn’t asked Lars to come back. She’d thanked him and sort of left the offer open, figuring they’d see one another when they saw one another. He was the one who’d said something about coming back. She couldn’t recall his exact words but he’d clearly intimated he’d be back shortly. At least that’s the way she’d taken it when he said he just had to see his mother off.

  But that had been half an hour ago. Under normal circumstances, that wasn’t such a long time, but this was Good Riddance. There were no traffic jams. For goodness sake, Jane Reinhardt had taken off just out the door.

  Delphi would be damned if she was going to waste another minute sitting around waiting.

  Her instincts had been wrong again. At least there were no disastrous consequences like before. Now she just had a little wounded feminine pride. She’d also be damned if she’d let him know she’d sat up here waiting—and wanting. She tied her shoes and stood.

  And while she was on her little inner rant, obviously the sex hadn’t been as mind-blowing, hot, incredible for him as it had been for her or he’d want more of it, the same way she did. Uh, make that had, as she had wanted. Past tense. She didn’t anymore.

  Nope. Lars had done an adequate job scratching her itch. So, thank you, Marine. Now she’d simply go about her business. Much the way she’d been going about her business before he had bowled her over with that smile and charm and wound up sending her into orgasmic oblivion. So, there you go. It was a win-win situation. He’d gotten laid. She’d gotten laid. She’d had a good time yesterday, last night and this morning. Nothing more, nothing less.

  It was all about expectations and managing those expectations. And moving forward, she wouldn’t expect anything.

  So, now to get on with her day. She’d shipped her mountain bike out ahead of her. Merrilee had shown Delphi where it was but there’d been absolutely no time to pull it out. Now she had time in spades and it was a gorgeous day for a bike ride.

  Putting on her happy face, she left her room. Jefferson and Alberta’s husband, Dwight, turned to her as she came downstairs.

  She flashed them a friendly smile. “Good morning, gentlemen.”

  “Morning,” Jefferson said with a gentlemanly nod.

  “If you’re looking for him, your boyfriend’s out there,” Dwight said. Actually, it was more of a shout.

  Despite herself, she glanced in the direction he’d pointed. The window afforded a view of the landing strip. Merrilee, Dirk and Lars were hanging out at a picnic table on the other side of the runway.

  “He’s not my boyfriend.” Delphi felt obligated to correct what was obviously a wrong impression.

  Dwight winked at her and chortled. “Alberta calls me that, too—a boy toy.”

  Jefferson shook his head at his chess partner. “She didn’t call him her boy
toy.”

  Dwight crossed his arms over his bony chest, a belligerent frown beetling his unruly eyebrows. “She does too call me that,” he said to Jefferson, and then he looked back at Delphi with a toothless smile. “Calls me her studmuffin, too. He’s just jealous ’cause he’s sexually frustrated. He ain’t found a girlfriend yet.” He ended that bit of too-much-information with a sage nod.

  Jefferson rolled his eyes. “Don’t pay him any attention,” Jefferson said in a normal tone. “He’s deaf as a post,” he said much louder. Then louder still, “And he hears better than he plays chess.”

  “No worries.” Delphi laughed at the deliberate baiting. Laughing eased some of her tension. It made her feel a little stupid that she’d been waiting upstairs in an admittedly aroused state while he was out, going on with his day. He hadn’t even had to be present. Simply thinking about Lars and what they’d done and what she wanted to do again with him had been enough to leave her panties wet and her body aching. And he was just hanging out.

  “Don’t let me keep you from your game. I’m just going to get my bike put together over here.”

  She tuned out the two men’s good-natured bickering as she unpacked her bike. Merrilee had stowed it in the area by the front door where a couple of small bistro tables were set up.

  Delphi was adjusting her seat post when the back door opened and Lars walked in. She focused 100 percent on the bike.

  “Your girlfriend’s over there,” Dwight said in his megaphone voice.

  Determined to play it cool—she’d be damned if she let him know she’d been annoyed in the least—she looked up and shook her head at Dwight’s well-intentioned but misguided announcements.

  Lars nodded and strolled over to where she was.

  “Hey, you,” he said with that smile that kind of made her feel like a chocolate bar in the summertime, all gooey inside. Even when she was out of sorts with herself and him, he still had the effect on her. It must be an involuntary central nervous system response to him because in her current frame of mind she wouldn’t willingly feel this way. “I was afraid you’d given up on me.” He brushed his hand over his head. “I got tied up on something.”

  “No problem.” She smiled as sweetly as she could manage. She straightened.

  “Nice bike.”

  She leaned it against the wall. It was ready. “Thanks. Do you ride?”

  She packed away her tools.

  Lars shook his head, watching her, his eyes taking on a hot sexual gleam that sparked the same in her. “No, but I recognize first-class equipment when I see it.” His statement was chock-full of double entendre she would’ve appreciated some other time. Nonetheless, her body tightened and her nipples pebbled at the heat in his eyes. “Were you heading out for a ride now?”

  He looked down at her bike shorts and a knowing smile tilted the corners of his sexy mouth when he saw her stiff points outlined against her shirt.

  She tried to ignore the sexual energy bouncing all around them. “Yep. It’s a nice day so I’m going for a ride.”

  Lars glanced over his shoulder at the two old men and then back to her. Jefferson and Alberta’s husband weren’t even pretending to play their game. They openly watched her and Lars.

  “Could I have a private moment with you, upstairs, before you head out?”

  She didn’t owe him an audience and her first inclination was to smile sweetly and say she’d chat with him when she returned. Whatever she did—if she just walked out the door with her bike or if she went back upstairs with Lars—they were going to be gossip fodder. However, now that she’d cooled down, she wanted to hear just what he had to say.

  “Sure, I’ve got five minutes before I head out.”

  * * *

  LARS CLIMBED THE STAIRS behind her, enjoying the swish of her ass, which was enticingly right in front of him. She could smile all she wanted to, but Ms. Delphi Reynolds was pissed off.

  He didn’t owe her any further explanation outside of that he’d gotten tied up. But he’d wonder if he was in her place. And he’d seen the way her nipples pearled and decided then and there that she might ride her bike later, but she was going for an altogether different ride now.

  Besides, it had been a hell of a morning with his mom and then Dirk. He could use a little recreational relaxation.

  His room was before hers. He slipped ahead of her and opened the door. “Ladies first.”

  She stepped into the room and busied herself looking around as if she was checking out the furnishings. She stood with her arms wrapped around her waist. Lars closed the door behind them.

  Damn, it was as if they’d passed Go and then he’d been sent all the way back to the beginning. Her body language screamed the same message it had when he’d boarded the plane on Friday—Off Limits: No Trespassing.

  He leaned against the door, giving her space. “There was a family emergency.”

  “No problem. I understand.”

  No problem, his ass. And her I understand rang hollow. “Look, I can’t go into it, but I got back as soon as I could.”

  She nodded as she walked over to look more closely at the framed print on the wall. She spoke without turning around. “It’s fine, Lars. Really. Last night and this morning was fun, but you don’t owe me anything and I don’t owe you anything.”

  “You’re right we don’t owe each other anything. But you got part of that wrong, Blondie. This morning was incredible.”

  She tossed him a cool look. “It was good.”

  “Incredible.”

  “How was breakfast with your mother?” she said, changing the topic. Fine. He’d made his point.

  “It didn’t happen. It was pretty plain it was going to be another hour of her trying to get me back in line, so I left. I didn’t come back upstairs because she would’ve followed me to get the last word. So, I walked out the front door, ran into Dirk and the rest, as they say, is history.”

  “I see.” She clasped her hands primly in front of her.

  He hated to break it to her but her obviously erect nipples ruined the whole prim setup.

  “Do you? You were definitely the best part of my morning.” He took a step toward her. “I’d like for you to be the best part of my afternoon.”

  She sidestepped his advance. “That’s sweet, but I told you I’m going for a ride.”

  Regroup. Reload with fresh ammo and try a different assault tactic. “How was your morning? What’d you do?”

  She walked over to the antique desk on the wall opposite his bed. Running her fingers over the wood, she answered him. “I had a nice long soak in the tub, tidied my room and went downstairs. The rest, as you say, is history, since you saw me working on my bike when you came in.”

  “I see.” What he saw was unless she’d spent enough time in the tub to turn into a prune, that hadn’t filled all of her time. She’d been waiting on him. He bit back a satisfied smile.

  “Are you mocking me?”

  “Not even remotely.” He was simply glad to know why she was so pissed. He hadn’t gotten back when he thought he would...and she’d been waiting on him in bed. He knew it.

  He looked down at her sweet nipples teasing him through her shirt and then deliberately looked back up into her eyes. “Come here, Blondie.”

  “I’m going for a ride, Marine.”

  “That’s exactly what I’d like, too.” He just happened to have a different kind of ride in mind. “Great minds think alike.”

  “On my mountain bike.”

  “I was thinking of something a little more personal.”

  “Maybe later.”

  “Well, would you take pity on a poor soldier and tide me over with a kiss?”

  “That’s a bad idea.”

  “I’m striking out here. I can’t come up with anything that works for you. No rides. No kisses. Work with me, Blondie.”

  “You’re on your own, soldier.”

  “But I’m wounded. I had a really rough morning. A hug? Just a hug? I’m appealing t
o the caregiver professional here.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes full of reproving skepticism...and a glimmer of humor. She was beginning to crack. “So, I’m supposed to believe you went from wanting a ride to a kiss, then to a hug and only a hug? I’m a caregiver professional, but I’m not an idiot.”

  He pulled out his last bit of ammunition, which was the white flag of surrender. “You’re the squad leader, here, Blondie. I just wanted to talk to you—” She snorted and he shrugged sheepishly. “Okay, busted. I was hoping for more than talk, that’s true—but you gave me the five minutes I asked for, so now it’s up to you.”

  “I don’t trust you.”

  He held out his hands, palms up, a classic show of no weapons in hand. “I don’t have any hidden agenda here.” He dropped his hands and arms back to his sides. His shrug was a tad self-conscious. He had never worked so hard for a woman’s temporary affections. And crazily, he’d never wanted a woman’s temporary affections the way he wanted hers—the way he wanted her. “I want you. You turn me on. I’ve been up front with you from the beginning.” He bowed from the waist. “And the next move is yours, Blondie.”

  “So, I can walk out that door and go for my bike ride and there will be no hard feelings?”

  “None whatsoever. It’s not my feelings that are hard.”

  She nodded, still considering.

  Lars spoke again. “But can I make a request?”

  “Sure. It doesn’t mean it’ll be granted, but go ahead.”

  “Before I leave, the next time we’re together, would you wear that outfit?”

  That took her aback. “My biking gear?”

  Apparently she didn’t have a clue the way the tight shorts showcased her thighs and booty. “It’s hot.”

  “This?” The look on her face was priceless. She was so confounded he almost laughed. Except how much he wanted her was no laughing matter.

  “Walking up the stairs behind you...yeah. Trust me.”

  Famous last words....

  14

  SHE COULD WALK out the door, hop on her bike and get in a ten- or twenty-mile ride. And she could also stick a pin in her eye.