by Gina Conkle
She pulled away, her eyes tender. “You’d better get going. The sooner you leave means the sooner you’ll come back to me.”
I traced her hairline. “I’ll take you there someday, to Margaret River and a lot of other places.” It was crazy. I was the one with my feet rooted in place.
“You need to do this. I don’t know what’s ahead, but I’m certain of one thing—us.” Abbie paused, her eyes flaring as if struck by a new idea before giving me her megawatt smile. “You and I…we’re an us—”
I kissed her open-mouthed us. The word reverberated inside me, gentle as a whisper, deeper than the sea, healing her, healing me.
It took me thirty-five years and two days, but I finally found us.
Anything But Safe
By
Gina Conkle
CHAPTER ONE
“She’s mine.” AJ tipped his head at the slender woman pushing past the bar’s dented metal door. Her strappy high heels clicked on cement, a far cry from the scuffed work boots most patrons wore. She waved down Scully, the bartender, who pointed at a payphone in the corner. She side stepped mashed fries on her way to the relic on the wall and fished for coins in her wallet.
He smiled at her eyes darting around the smoky room —he wasn’t the only man giving her a predatory stare.
“That blonde? She’s outta your league, man.” Sean, a buddy through thick and thin, took aim on worn baize. Cue balls clattered. Two made a quiet snick into a side pocket. Sean scooted around the table, eyeing his next shot.
“Yeah, I know,” AJ drawled, tracking the flimsy summer dress molding to her body. Her ass was a lush upside down heart. Finely curved. Two perfect handfuls.
Tonight wasn’t the first time he’d seen the woman, but her surprise appearance in his favorite bar jarred him. She brought to mind gated communities and tailored lawns. Not his type. Too expensive. Yet, something about her lured him. They’d crossed paths around town. She was classy but never uptight like other upscale women with their pursed lips and Mercedes sedans. Those same women weren’t always so fussy. Plenty gave him a hungry stare when they came to his shop.
Blondie would warm up with the right touch. His wolfish grin spread with that image. Maybe a fantasy. Maybe not. Her gauzy, flesh-tone dress didn’t mesh with his worn out jeans, and he didn’t know her name. He’d spied Blondie three times in the last month, loading groceries into her car, buying flowers, exiting a Starbucks. She’d seen him too, staring at him behind the shield of her sunglasses, lips flirting in a half smile. Their game was an exciting version of hide and seek. Where would he see Blondie today? The sight of her always jolted him. It’d been a long time since he had this hot, electric feel for a woman.
Their game boiled down to one thing. He wanted her. Tonight.
He hooked a thumb in his front pocket, waiting. Men sauntered by clutching beer bottles. A lanky biker fed quarters into the juke box. Seconds passed and a lonely guitar plucked the opening notes of Stairway to Heaven. Blondie hung up the phone and fumbled with her purse.
Come on, turn all the way around. I want to see you.
Awareness hit her. He saw the exact moment. Her glossy red lips parted, breasts pointed higher, the involuntary responses a woman made to male interest. Blondie moved in a slow tight circle, searching the smoky bar. Her dark-eyed gaze touched him. A primal charge raked his skin. Black-fringed eyes widened with recognition, traveling the length of him leaning against the pool table.
“That’s it. Show me some spirit,” he said under his breath.
Her bravado didn’t last. The woman ducked her head, beating a path to the door. She’d have to walk by him. His quarry almost sprinted through the room, a flurry of blonde hair and fluttering dress.
“Hello.” His voice vibrated low.
She stopped in her tracks. “Hi.” French manicured nails dug into her purse straps. “I’m just on my way out. My car broke down and I’m waiting for a tow truck.”
His face creased with a friendlier smile. “Maybe I can take a look.”
She shifted her purse across her midsection like armor, giving him a quick once over. His blood warmed despite her skittish response. Shit. This could be a great beginning or a colossal crash and burn.
Brown eyes squared with his. “I guess it can’t hurt.”
He handed off his cue stick to Sean. “We’ll finish this game later.”
“Sure we will.” Sean balanced both sticks. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
AJ tossed a twenty on the table and headed for the door. Always the gentleman, he pushed it open for her. Summer air hugged them, the heat heightening smells of newly paved asphalt road.
“I was driving back from my sister’s, when all of a sudden I heard a loud clunk. The engine just died.” She took a quick breath. “So, I coasted into the parking lot here, and my cell phone’s not working because my nephew spilled glue all over it… ” She spoke in a rush, her animated hands punctuating every word as she picked her way through the graveled lot.
Her spindly heels slowed their progress. On the way, she launched into a run down on the car’s maintenance history, her rapid chatter a trail of breadcrumbs for him to follow as they walked through the maze of vehicles. Blondie hardly took a breath until they were alongside a blue Volvo.
“This is it. It’s unlocked.”
An old newspaper, running shoes, and empty tissue boxes littered the interior. The model was about four years old and judging by the dust and dried water spots outside, Blondie was no car snob. Popping the hood, he smiled at his quick assessment. Dentists checked teeth. He checked cars. Leaning over, he poked around the engine while she prattled from a safe distance.
He eyed her over his shoulder. “You always this talkative?”
Her lips froze. She blinked and exhaled slowly. “When I’m nervous, yes.” She cleared her throat. “Even when I’m not, actually. I just talk a lot.”
“I won’t bite.”
Five Harley riders sped by on the empty road. Sam’s Bar was on an isolated lot outside town. No other businesses or development. Late summer sun was a lazy orange ball dropping behind thick trees. He swatted a fly buzzing his ear and dipped lower over the engine. Gravel crunched behind. Instinct brushed his skin. She was coming in for a better look…at him.
“I’ve seen you around town.” Blondie’s hip rested against the car’s side panel.
His poking slowed. So, she’s admitting to us noticing each other. Good.
When it came to attractive women, he had a one-track mind. Right now it raced with ways to tease the feminine curves planted an arm’s length away. His pulse ticked too fast for his liking, and the sweat beading his nape wasn’t entirely from summer heat. He knew what was wrong with the vehicle but gave himself a moment, checking this and that to get his focus back.
“Timing belt’s snapped.” He stood tall, swiping both hands on his jeans. “Have the tow truck take your car to McMillan’s. It’ll be ready by five tomorrow.”
“McMillan’s? Thank you.” She tucked loose hair behind her ears. “I’ll take your recommendation, since I know zilch about Hidden Valley’s auto shops.” A beat of silence passed, measured by bright brown eyes searching him. “What’s your name?”
“AJ.” He grinned a crooked turn of the lips, usually a hit with the ladies.
“Nice to meet you, AJ.” She offered a stiff but graceful hand. “I’m Jennifer.”
He took her smooth hand in his, liking the slender fingers sliding into his grip. She was warm and soft to his hands coarse from abrasive cleaners.
“Yeah, we’ve seen each other around town.” He shut the hood as she took in his battered work boots and the barbed-wire tattoo peeking out from his sleeve.
“Yes, I’ve noticed you looking at me from time to time.”
“Small town. And you’re a fine-looking woman.”
; Jennifer messed with a ruffle on her dress. Maybe he was going too fast? She swallowed delicately the subtle tell chased by a gentle smile.
“Thank you, I guess. Hidden Valley’s not so large, is it?”
“I grew up here.”
“Oh, not me. I moved here about two years ago.”
She checked the road, her nails digging crescents in her purse straps. The bar’s blue and white neon signs snapped to life over the door. Night was coming. She was fidgety, standing with a virtual stranger outside a roadside bar, her car broken down. So they’d seen each other around town. That didn’t mean anything to a woman alone. She had good reason to be wary.
He made sure the timbre of his voice was soothing. “Hey. I like a pretty woman as well as the next man, but you’re safe with me.”
She drifted toward him, laughing and drawing out her words. “Welllll, the way you looked at me felt so predatory, so, ohhhhh, I don’t know—”
“Did you like it?” Every inch of him tensed.
Jennifer’s breathing ebbed and flowed faster. Her breasts safely hidden inside her wrap-around dress pushed up a fraction. Attraction was a funny thing. It defied boundaries like money and education, yet when wanting to be fed, nothing less than sheer will and total avoidance squashed the hunger. Jennifer stared at him. And he knew. She sized him up, deciding whether to stay a polite stranger or push past her comfort zone, giving this spark a chance.
“Yes.” She sighed, a warm slip of breath he could almost feel.
His senses went razor-sharp. The blunt edges of her hair slid over her shoulders, touching the front of her dress. Golden skin flushed, her face, her neck, the exposed vee of her chest. “It’s been awhile since a man looked at me that way.” Her voice was wispy.
“No boyfriend?”
A shadow crossed her face. “No, I’m a widow. More than a year now.”
“Want to talk about it?”
His butt was on the edge of the hood. He stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankle. Jennifer set her purse on the ground and planted her rear beside him. He waited stock-still, not wanting to spook her. They sat quietly, getting comfortable with silence when she crossed her feet at the ankle and braced her hands on the hood like him.
“I’m a mess.” She stared at distant pine trees, a long sigh chasing her words. “You could say I’m at a cross roads with all the intersections hitting at once.”
Her profile was pretty. Waning sun crowned her with gold, touching the line of her nose, her full lips parted with unsaid words. If he read her right, her exhale was an admission of defeat or disappointment. He wasn’t an expert at women, but his mom and a string of girlfriends taught him times like these a man needed to shut up and listen. Not fix things. Not solve problems. Just listen.
“So what about these cross roads of yours?”
Her head tilted one degree at him. “You really want to listen to me?”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re strangers and we both live in the same town.” She shuddered. “It’d be embarrassing. I couldn’t walk by you and pretend you didn’t know.”
He chuckled, kicking a rock across the graveled lot. “Didn’t stop you from pretending I didn’t exist before.”
She blushed. “That…well, yes.”
He grinned at her fluster. He was a mechanic, living in jeans, T-shirts, and steel toe work boots. Maybe he shaved twice a week and despite daily showers, grime clung to him. His mother raised him right. He had good manners, but his rough edges showed.
“I could’ve said hello too.” He chuckled again scrubbing a hand over his buzz cut. “Now I know why you were a scared rabbit when we crossed paths. Sounds like you’ve had a rough year.”
Jennifer’s face angled with gentle inspection. Her gaze touched his skin, lingering this time on his pecs under his white T-shirt. She was a doe coming in closer, getting a better lay of the land and he was a patient hunter.
Tucking loose hair behind an ear, she was calmer. “That’s nice of you. You’re a good man, AJ.”
A breeze played with the ruffle on her dress. Twilight turned the skies deeper shades of blue and purple. Crickets sawed their first notes, night was coming. Waiting on a tow truck, his butt planted on a Volvo hood was the last thing he expected to happen, but he’d cool his jets. Jennifer didn’t need a man hitting on her.
“My offer’s still good.” He paused to let that sink in. “What’s been hardest on you?”
“Hardest...” She let the word trail. “The loneliness You’re solo at parties. There’s no one to slow dance with at weddings…just you by yourself. And forget spontaneous dinners out, unless you eat alone.” Brown eyes slanted at him. “And no sex.”
His gut clenched.
She laughed self-consciously. “You probably don’t know what to say to that, but you did ask.”
“So I did,” he said, boot heels digging into gravel. There were a hundred things he wanted to say. Ninety-nine of them would get his face slapped.
“You know, even before my husband died, I felt restless. Everything was about his career. It was a sore point with me.” She smoothed her skirt. “I mean, I loved him, I really did. But now he’s gone and I feel lost.”
“Yeah.” A twinge made him uncross and cross his feet. He wanted a conquest, and Jennifer acted like a friend in need. Time to tamp down his inner cave man, be a nice guy, and listen.
“I have so much on my mind these days, trying to move on with my life…” Her fingernails drummed the hood. “Mmmm, but why go on about that? It’s just when a man looks like he wants you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—” She interrupted herself with a nervous laugh, her fingertips grazing her neckline. “—well, I forgot about that part of myself. Your stare was a wake-up call.”
“Did you like it?”
Her smile faltered.
Way too fast, AJ. Go easy. The summer breeze teased her skirt against his jeans. Energy hummed between them, a fascinating sensation, and they weren’t touching.
“Would you like to go back inside? We can keep talking.” He wanted more from her, not just to touch her. But, oh yeah, he wanted that too.
Jennifer twirled a strand of gold-blonde hair. Her voice was mellow and warm. “I should wait here for the tow truck, but I wouldn’t mind if you stayed with me.”
The summer night was balmy, a heat wave coming on, yet her nipples jabbed the fabric of her dress.
“Sure, I’ll wait with you.”
He was fucked. His brain kept looping her admission of missing sex, when she needed a gentleman. As much as he battled Neanderthal urges, he liked sitting with Jennifer. He wanted to hear her voice and listen to her troubles.
“So, AJ, you come here often?” Jennifer smiled coyly.
“Say what?”
Her smile was genuine and friendly. “Isn’t that what women say when they hit on you?”
Talking about women hitting on him was a danger zone.
Laughing, she batted his shoulder. “Come on. I had to lighten things up. You looked awfully uncomfortable when I confessed to missing sex.”
He pressed the heel of his hand harder on the hood. “I thought you wanted a listening ear.”
“Or maybe I need a break…to forget about those cross roads.” Her eyes lit up. “Come on play along. It’ll be practice for getting back in the dating game.”
“Alright.” His body quickened at Jennifer angling her body toward him. “I’m here every Wednesday night with my friend, Sean. We have a few beers and shoot some pool. Most of the time I’m in bed by ten.”
“Alone?”
One word from her lips and a current sparked across his chest, down his abdomen, rousing his dick. Her dark brown eyes sparkled. Mere inches separated her thigh from his.
“Careful,” he teased. “A guy might think your messing with his delicate sensibi
lities”
“There’s nothing delicate about you.” She eyed his bicep. “You’re hard as a rock.”
His nostrils flared, catching Jennifer’s light flowery scent. He wanted to get this right with her. Despite his baser needs, he’d planned to go slow, and at the right moment ask her out for a date, but Jennifer signaled she was hot and ready right now.
“Isn’t this when I tell you my sign and you tell me yours?” he asked, trying to keep things light.
“Skip that. I want to know about your Wednesday nights.” She bent close, her voice impish. “Is it your night to pick up bimbos and babes?”
“Oh no, Wednesday is strictly guy’s night.” He smiled, playing along. “Fridays and Saturdays are for picking up bimbos and babes.”
“I’m so glad.” She sighed in mock relief. “I was afraid my car troubles were messing with your love life.”
“Nah. You saved me from a spectacular loss at the pool table.” He glanced at the bar door. “Sean was running the table.”
“Your friend inside.”
“Yeah.” His body zeroed in on her warmth against him.
“So, I should feel pretty special. You made time for me on your guy’s only night.”
“Doing my part to help a lady in distress.” His shoulder bumped her arm. The tingle came back.
“Keeping me safe from the mayhem of Hidden Valley,” Jennifer said, waving a hand at the empty road.
Moonlight shined on car hoods, on the long asphalt road, on the bar’s metal roof, and most of all moonlight shined on Jennifer. It caressed her skin, her hair, her plump kissable lips. It was scary how easy this was…relaxed conversation, light flirtation. The day’s tension dissipated the longer he breathed the same air as her.
“And you’re not married,” she said abruptly.
“No.” He squinted at her. “How’d you know I wasn’t married?”
“No ring.” She pointed to his left hand resting close to her thigh. “But, I figured I’d ask. You know, to get to know you better.”
He stifled a wolfish grin…all in the name of getting to know her better. He didn’t want to get his wires crossed, but Jennifer was sending signals he wanted to answer.