Chasing Forever

by Lisa Cardiff

  “I’m glad my safety comes second to your visual comfort,” Regan commented with an amused look.

  “Never.” He grabbed her hand and helped her out of the car.

  She inhaled deeply. “I love the mountains in the summer. I don’t think anything smells better pine needles, clean air, and dirt.”

  Lucas laughed.

  “What?” she asked, her hands on her hips as she cocked her head to the side. “Are you laughing at me?”

  He put his hand on her back guiding her forward. “Of course not. I know better than to make fun of you. The comment about the smell of dirt reminds me of something you would have said in college.”

  “Is that an insult?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “No.” He leaned into her, brushing his shoulder against hers. “Actually, I think you might have said something similar on one of our hikes to Barton Creek in college.”

  “I love that place. I haven’t been back there in years.”

  “Remember when we hiked to the Mopac Bridge swimming hole and we took turns swinging from that rope?” He smiled at her.

  “Yeah and then you forced me to jump from the rope into the water.” She shivered. “The water was freezing, and I had to hike back to the car in wet clothes.”

  “Whatever. I jumped in too. We had fun swimming and getting warm afterward.” Actually, that was one of his favorite memories of spending time with Regan. He’d liked to say he hadn’t thought about that day in the last six years, but he had…many times. When they finished swimming, they stripped down to their underwear, hidden from view by a couple blankets he had strategically placed in the shade of a large pecan tree. They spent the better half of the afternoon behaving like two overeager teenagers, necking and kissing, completely unable to keep their hands off each other.

  “Getting warm?” she questioned musingly. “Is that what we were doing?”

  Chuckling silently, Lucas squeezed her upper arm. “Behave.”

  She glanced at him. “My memory is kind of foggy. It was over six years ago, but—”

  “I don’t like the idea of your memory being kind of foggy,” Lucas murmured, his voice husky. “Maybe when we’re done here, we can wander off into the woods, and I can spend some time refreshing your memory on exactly how warm we made each other that day.”

  Regan leaned toward him, almost involuntarily. “Do you think it will work?” she whispered. “I’m not so sure. You’ll have to prove it to me.”

  “I’m up to the challenge if you are.”

  “Lucas, Regan.”

  Lucas turned at the sound of Jack’s voice and lifted his hand in greeting.

  Jack stepped out his car. “Thanks for meeting me here. I hope you haven’t been waiting long. I had to call my wife and let her know I arrived safe and sound. Unfortunately, she had a long list of grievances, and I couldn’t get rid of her easily.”

  “No problem,” Lucas responded. “We just arrived a few minutes ago and we were looking around the area.” Lucas glanced at Regan and smiled playfully. “We were just discussing whether there are any good hiking trails around here.”

  “Oh, not many that I know of, but I’m not much of a wilderness guy. Golfing is about as close to roughing it as I like to get.”

  Once Jack caught up with them, he started talking about the mine, when he and his former partner purchased it, what they originally planned to do with it, business plans for his other investments, and the status of the case. Lucas took the lead in fielding Jack’s questions while Regan trailed behind them taking notes. Lucas mentioned the firm was investigating a social connection between Peterson and the principals at North Relief.

  “It’s possible,” Jack commented. “Peterson and I weren’t very friendly in the last couple years. When Peterson divorced, my wife didn’t like his new girlfriend, so we stopped doing things together socially.”

  As they neared the front of the mine again, Jack waved his hand in Regan’s direction. “It’s nice seeing you again. How are things going with Lucas?”

  Regan clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. “Good, thanks for asking.”

  “I wasn’t sure about you two working together when we went to lunch after the deposition, but when I pulled up today, you two seemed to be getting along well.”

  Regan adjusted the bottom of her suit jacket. “He taught me a lot so far this summer. Lucas is a great attorney.”

  “Hmm…” Jack said. “Is that it?”

  “What do you mean?” Lucas interrupted before Regan could respond. He didn’t like where things were going. One word to Richard about his suspicions and he and Regan would be out of a job the minute they stepped over the firm’s threshold on Monday morning.

  “I don’t know exactly, maybe you seem friendlier than I remember.” Jack chuckled and slapped Lucas on the shoulder.

  “Regan and I went to the same college for a little while, and we had a few mutual acquaintances. Maybe that’s what you’re sensing.”

  Jack looked between the two of them while Lucas searched his mind for a way to redirect the conversation to a different—preferably safer—topic.

  “It could be,” Jack said.

  “So is your wife meeting you here for the weekend?” Lucas asked. “My family spends a lot of time here. I could give you the name of some restaurants.”

  Jack shivered. “No. Thank God. She has plans for the weekend. I have a couple rounds of golf booked at Cordillera. If you’re staying for a couple days, you could join me. I think we have room for one more in our foursome.”

  “No. Regan and I have to get back to work.”

  “Are you sure? I can never pass up playing in high altitude.” Jack chuckled. “It inflates my ego to see how far I can hit the ball here.”

  “Maybe next time,” Lucas answered noncommittally.

  “All right. I’m going to take off unless you have any other questions,” Jack said as he walked toward his car.

  “I don’t,” Lucas responded, then he turned to Regan. “What about you?”

  “I can’t think of any right now, but I would like to take a couple pictures for our records,” Regan answered.

  “Good idea. I’ll see you tonight at Sweet Basil’s.” Jack got into his car and slowly maneuvered the car back down the gravel road.

  As he disappeared from sight, Lucas grabbed her hand, threading his fingers through hers. “Come on. Let’s take a walk around the side of the mine. There’s something I want to do.”

  “No. My feet are killing me. I still can’t believe you let me come out here with these shoes on.” She laughed. “Besides, we don’t have any blankets, so a reenactment is out of the question.”

  “I saw something I think we should check out. No reenactment required.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But I could be persuaded if you change your mind when we get there.”

  She pointed to her shoes. “This had better be good because I really can’t walk far.”

  As he watched the wind tease the front of her hair, tempting him to brush it away from her face, he realized how much he missed being with her, talking to her. He’d been crazy about this woman from the minute he met her, and he wished he never let her walk out of his life six years ago. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. “I’d be happy to carry you,” he said, grinning.

  “Not going to happen.”

  “I’ll let you brave it on your own.” Lucas led her around the side of the mine, down a slight hill. He liked that she didn’t object to letting him hold her hand. He hoped that meant she would stop resisting him, at least for now or until they returned to San Francisco.

  ***

  At the bottom of the hill, they stopped in front of a small stream that looked so perfect Regan could hardly believe it was real. Quickly moving clear water exposed a streambed lined with perfectly smooth orange, gray, and ivory colored stones. About ten feet away, a pine tree had fallen across the stream making a bridge of sorts to the other side.

  “Wow,” she
whispered reverently. “Did you know this was here?”

  He grinned at her for a moment letting his dimple come out to play in full force, and she felt herself falling a little more under Lucas Evanston’s spell. Strangely, she knew the realization called for an expletive or two or three, but she could only smile back and pray she didn’t regret the fall.

  “Maybe,” he answered.

  She pushed him against his chest. “Did you plan this?”

  “No, but in all fairness, I should confess that when Jack started talking about the mine, I realized I had been hiking in the area several times and I remembered this stream, and after our conversation about Mopac Bridge, I thought you’d like to see it.”

  Regan turned toward the stream again, soaking in the view, the smell of the pine trees, and the sound of the rushing water. “I love it. Thanks for taking me here.”

  She released his hand and sat down on a large gray boulder.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  Smiling, she bent to pull off one shoe and then the other. “What does it look like?”

  Lucas cocked his head to the side. “I hope you aren’t planning on going swimming because the water will be insanely cold and I don’t have blankets this time.”

  “Not swimming, but I am going to put my feet in the water.” She stood up and walked to the edge of the stream, cautiously placing each foot on a stable rock.

  She turned back to look at him. “Are you going to join me or are you going to sit there like some grumpy old man?”

  “Hey,” he said, kicking off his black loafers. “I’m not a grumpy old man just because I don’t want to stick my bare feet into some water that just melted from the snowpack a few minutes ago.”

  “Are you sure, because you are significantly older than me and you are complaining about the water freezing your fragile feet.” Regan dipped one of her feet into the water and pulled it back out. “Oh my God. It’s freezing.”

  Lucas rolled up his pants. “I told you.” Smiling, he walked toward the edge of the water. “Are you sure you still want to wade in the water?”

  Regan stepped back into the water and maneuvered over to a large rock, her hands out to the side to maintain her balance. Turning, she looked over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”

  He stepped one foot in and then the other. “Stop watching me and pay attention to what you’re doing. The rocks are slick, and you probably can’t feel your toes anymore. I know I can’t and you got in before me.”

  “Oh please. I think we should explore what’s on the other side. We do have all afternoon. Dinner’s not until seven-thirty.”

  “I think I had some better ideas for how we’d spend our free time this afternoon, but if you are enjoying yourself, who I am to object?” He shrugged.

  “You want to share your ideas?” The water was freezing, and as Lucas pointed out, her feet were kind of numb. Leaning forward to balance on a large boulder in the middle of the stream, she pulled one of her legs out of the water, attempting to crawl on top of the boulder.

  “My wholesome ideas or my less than pure ideas?”

  “Huh?” she questioned looking over her shoulder at him. “Did you actually say that or did I imagine it?”

  “Hey, you asked,” he responded, stopping near her.

  As her foot slid down the side of the rock, she realized the restraining nature of her pencil skirt prevented her from pulling her other leg on top boulder. Wearing a tight skirt this afternoon was definitely one of her dumber ideas. She looked around the stream. If she could place her standing leg on something higher, she might be able to propel herself on top. Looking around, she saw a large rock to balance her foot. She pushed up her skirt a few inches and moved her standing leg on to the rock. Just when she thought she got her balance, it tumbled sideways, jarring her right ankle hard to the side. “Ow,” she yelled as she fell backwards into the cold water right onto her butt.

  She felt Lucas’s arms wrap around her shoulders and under her legs, lifting her. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Embarrassed, she closed her eyes, wishing a giant hole would swallow her so she didn’t have to face him. She turned her face into his chest. “Maybe we should explore those other ideas now?”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Maybe you’re right.” Stepping onto the rocks lining the edge of the stream, he stopped. “Can you walk?”

  “Maybe, I think so . . . I don’t know.”

  “Okay. Maybe the better question is do you want to try to walk? If not, I’m happy to carry you.”

  “Put me down and I’ll try.”

  Gently, he released her legs letting his hand slowly roam up her legs to her waist while leaving her upper body pressed firmly against him. “Can I let go? Do you think you’re stable now?”

  Regan shifted her weight onto her right foot and pain shot up her leg. She stifled a cry, not wanting him to know how bad she hurt herself. Pressing her head to his chest, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I think I’ll take you up on your offer to carry me.”

  “Here,” he said, pointing to a rock behind them. “Sit there while I get our shoes.”

  Regan watched Lucas slip on his black loafers and pick up her nude colored heels. He handed them to her. “You hold these and I’ll hold you.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “I’m sorry I’m such a dork.”

  Lucas chuckled. “I’m not complaining. I don’t mind carrying you. It gives me the excuse to touch you, and I’m hoping you’ll feel indebted to me. It would play nicely into my plans for this evening.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You owe me many more gestures of kindness before I feel indebted to you.”

  “A man has to start somewhere.” She saw the edges of his mouth curl up in a smile as he ran his finger along her bottom lip, his eyes possessive and intense. “Let’s get out of here and pursue those other ideas.” He lifted her up again and started climbing up the hill in the direction of the mine and their car.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Regan knew exactly what Lucas hoped would happen when they returned to his house. His hooded amber gaze and his husky voice made it perfectly clear what he wanted.

  As they drove along the highway, hundreds of reasons raced through her head warning, no begging, her to say no to him, and only two reasons why she should say yes. Because she missed being with him and she really, really wanted him.

  She had spent the last six years doing everything right, and if she thought about the decision hanging over her right now, she would walk straight into her room when they returned to his house and lock her door. But she knew she wouldn’t do it because when it came to Lucas Evanston, she couldn’t resist his sinful smile, his charm or his wit, and it had been so long since she’d been with anyone—over six years to be exact, not that she’d ever share that fact with Lucas.

  She’d dated over the years, and a few times she wanted to take the relationship to the next level, but she never could. Lucas Evanston was like a specter hanging over her life, and maybe for that reason alone, she needed to pursue this. If nothing came of it, and tomorrow she hated him again, at least she would have some closure instead of the bomb that went off in her face the last time she dated him.

  Lucas pulled into the garage of his family’s vacation home and grabbed her hand as she reached for the door handle. “Let me carry you inside.”

  She started to shake her head, but he lifted her hand, brought it to his mouth and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “Please,” he said, looking at her through his dark fringed amber eyes that were even more heated than before. “Let me take care of you.”

  “Okay,” she whispered after taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. “I can do that.” For now, she added silently because it was distinctly possible she would start hyperventilating in the next five minutes if she didn’t get out of her head and into the moment.

  Lucas opened her car door, and he bent down, his eyes never leaving hers, not even for a moment. “Ready?�
�� he asked. Despite the mischievous grin on his face that highlighted the dimple she was beginning to adore even more now than six years ago, she felt happy. Six years ago, Lucas could make her heart skip a beat with a mere touch. Right now she wanted to feel that connection and breathtaking desire again. If that made her stupid, so be it. She’d deal with it tomorrow.

  Regan wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes,” she said, knowing she might very well be saying yes to a lot more than being carried into the house. The house was quiet as Lucas carried her inside.

  When he reached the entrance to her room, he stopped. “Do you need ice for your ankle?”

  “I’m not sure,” she answered. Truthfully, her ankle didn’t hurt much anymore and she was much more interested in the warm flush spreading through her body from being so close to him than any lingering pain.

  Lucas placed her tenderly in bed on her back. “Let me look at it,” he said, his voice gravelly and warm slithering over her senses.

  Without warning, he glided the hem of her pencil skirt up her legs, inch by slow inch, until his hands were positioned on the back of her upper thighs, pausing there to draw leisurely circles on her feverish skin.

  She sat up, bracing her upper body on her elbows. “Ankle, not leg. Remember?”

  “Are you sure it was just your ankle? I don’t want to miss anything serious. I think we need to check everything.” He moved his hands from her thighs, downward, stopping at her knee. “Like your knee. You could have twisted it when you fell.”

  She shivered. “No. My knee is fine.”

  Smiling, his moved his hands lower. “What about your shin? You could have hit your shin on a rock.”

  Her lips parted, and she nearly moaned from his touch. “No,” she whispered unable to say anything else.

  “Okay. Let’s check your ankles.” His hands moved again, feather-like touches that practically burned her skin. “Which one hurts?”

  “The right,” she answered.

  He moved her ankle in a slow circular pattern. “It doesn’t look swollen. Does it hurt when I move it?”