Upstream, a tall man squatted on tired cowboy boots staring out over the water. He was in his early twenties with dark hair falling over his forehead. A pair of sunglasses hid his eyes but seemed to accentuate a crooked nose and strong jaw. His blue flannel work shirt was unbuttoned just enough to offer a peak of his tanned sculpted chest. As if he sensed her staring at him, he turned his head toward her and raised his sunglasses. Her breath caught and her blood warmed as she saw his full face.
He was ruggedly handsome with clear blue eyes that seemed to glow in the afternoon light. The corner of his mouth tugged up to a quasi-smile as he looked at her.
“I’m sorry,” he drawled, “I didn’t know anyone else was here.”
“It – it’s okay,” she said nervously. Her heart was beating so hard she was sure he could hear it even at this distance.
“I was workin’ on a house nearby, and just came down here to take a break. You live ‘round here?” he asked.
“I live at the house where you’re working,” she stammered trying to calm herself.
“Oh, yeah,” he said as if remembering something, “my boss told me Mr. McGuire had a daughter.” He added with a laugh, “Right before he warned me to stay away from you.”
“Why would he tell you to stay away from me?” she asked defensively, rising to her feet.
“Whoa, slow down,” he stood to his full height and started toward her. “He was just messin’ with me. You know… stay away from the boss’s daughter… that kinda thing.” He was only inches away from her and she subconsciously took a step back.
“Oh, I get it,” she replied as casually as she could. “I have a boyfriend anyway so it doesn’t matter,” she said straight-forward. Why did you just say that?
A sly grin came over his face. “Well, then, that’s settled, ain’t it?” He paused looking at her as if they shared some kind of secret. “I’m Brett. Brett Williams.” He held out his hand to her.
“Sarah McGuire,” she answered nervously as she took his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Miss McGuire,” he said formally and raised her hand to his mouth. His lips felt soft and warm on the back of her hand and sent heat running up the length of her arm. Abruptly, she pulled her hand away and said, “I really should be getting back.”
Another cocky grin preceded his response, “Yeah, me too. Break time’s ‘bout over.”
He turned slowly and looked back at her before waving his arm toward the trees as if to say “after you.” She brushed off her backside and anxiously headed toward the trees. Get a grip, Sarah! She reprimanded herself silently.
“So, Miss McGuire,” he said behind her, “What’s a girl doing out here all by herself on a day like this? Where’s that boyfriend of yours?”
“He, uh, he’s out with his friends. I wanted to be alone for a little while.” She could feel his gaze on the back of her head. “He’ll be over later,” she said stiffly, though she had no plan to see Chad that evening.
“Oh, I see. Well, sorry for interruptin’ your private time,” he said and though she couldn’t see him behind her, she knew that cocky grin was back.
“Really, it’s fine,” she protested and glanced back over her shoulder. She felt her foot hit something solid and tripped over the fallen log she’d so carefully avoided earlier. She tumbled toward the earth and felt pain shoot through her ankle as she landed in the leaves and brush.
****
Sarah caught her breath and rolled over. She found Brett looking down on her, his face a mask of concern.
“Oh God,” he exclaimed. “You okay, darlin’?” he reached for her hand.
“I’m fine,” she said firmly, completely embarrassed to be flat on her ass in the middle of the woods. She started to stand and felt pain shoot up from her ankle. She quickly shifted her weight to the other leg and grimaced. Great, Sarah! Now he thinks you’re a clumsy idiot!
“Your ankle might be sprained. You probably shouldn’t put any weight on it,” he advised, effortlessly sweeping her up into his arms before she could protest.
Shocked and embarrassed, she couldn’t bring herself to speak. She allowed him to carry her to the edge of the trees and into their perfectly manicured backyard.
“I think I’m okay,” she mumbled, silently pleading with him to end this torture. She could feel the muscles of his arms under her legs and shoulders and could make out the faint beating of his heart as the bare skin of his chest pushed against the sheer fabric of her blouse. The mixture of embarrassment and excitement surged and her pulse pounded against the skin of her neck like it was trying to escape. She had no doubt he could see the pulsating from his vantage point.
“I’ll just get you to the house and we’ll have a look,” he answered with a tone that said there was no point in arguing. Feeling like a child, she blinked back the moisture that formed in her eyes, not from any physical pain, just the sheer humiliation of needing to be carried across the lawn. Several other construction workers had stopped what they were doing to look inquisitively in her direction. A car door closed in the distance and she turned her head to see her father stepping out of his Mercedes.
“Sarah?” he exclaimed moving quickly toward them. “Are you okay? What happened?” He walked up beside them just as Brett was lowering her into one of the chaise lounges situated by the still covered swimming pool.
“I’m fine, daddy,” she groaned, feeling even more mortified now that everyone was beginning to gather around her. Her mother was moving in quickly behind her father. “I just tripped and twisted my ankle and Brett, well, I met him down by the river and he thought I better not walk on it.”
“Brett?” Her father eyed her rescuer suspiciously, “Well, thanks Brett, but I think we can take it from here.” Brett stepped back quickly.
“No problem, sir. I best be getting back to work.” He turned slowly to look at Sarah. “It was nice to meet you, Miss McGuire. Hope that ankle is okay.” With that he turned around, slipped his sunglasses back over his eyes, and walked toward his gawking co-workers.
Sarah watched him walk away only a moment, noticed the way his dirty Levi’s hugged his backside. When she remembered her parents standing over her, she quickly averted her stare.
“I’m fine, daddy, really,” she sat up in the chair a little farther. “I just twisted it a little. It’s fine.”
“Well,” her mother interjected, “you can’t be too careful. It’s a good thing that boy happened along and found you. We better get some ice on that ankle before it swells. I’ll go get some.” Her mother turned and walked into the house, her father following close behind. Sarah sighed deeply and closed her eyes trying to erase the images of Brett’s muscular form and piercing blue eyes that seemed burned into her eyelids.
-2-
In the week that had passed since their chance meeting, Sarah hadn’t stopped thinking about Brett. She’d seen him several times working around the house and he’d politely asked her how her ankle was feeling before getting back to work. Chad had gone back to Seattle and she found herself bored. Her ankle was still too sore to play tennis or even to walk around the mall. She’d spent the last week hobbling around school and then coming home to hole up in her bedroom studying for her rapidly approaching final exams. Lying on her bed, she glanced up to where her prom dress hung in a plastic bag on the back of her closet door. She was thinking about the coming festivities when Amber appeared in the doorway.
“What’s up?” Amber asked as she plopped down on the bed.
“Nothing much, I was just going over some old Chemistry notes and got to thinking about prom,” she replied with little enthusiasm.
“Isn’t it going to be great?” Amber said with the excitement of a five year old gearing up for his birthday party.
Remembering why her best friend was so keyed up, Sarah looked over and smiled with happiness for her. “I can’t imagine why you’re so excited about prom this year,” she teased. “Could it be your date?”
After months of subtle
hints and flirtations, Shane had finally agreed to accompany Amber to the dance.
“It’s not just that I’m going with Shane,” Amber explained. “It’s that the four of us are going together.”
“That’s true,” Sarah agreed. “Chad will have more fun now that Shane is going. I think he was kind of dreading it since he’s been out of high school for three years and none of his friends were going to be there. Shane being there is definitely a bonus for Chad.”
“See what I mean? Shane was the perfect date for me,” Amber added before changing the subject. “Look, it’s gorgeous outside, nearly 90 degrees for the first time in months. I was thinking we should put on our bathing suits and go get some sun so we have a little color for prom.”
“Sounds like just what I need,” Sarah answered quickly, rising from her bed. She’d spent too much time lately curled up on this bed cramming. She grabbed her bikini from the dresser drawer and headed into the bathroom to change. When she emerged, Amber was gazing out the window, already clad in a black string bikini, towel wrapped securely around her waist.
“I had it on under my clothes,” Amber explained when she saw Sarah’s surprise. “You know me… always prepared,” she held up her fingers like a boy scout and brushed past Sarah out the door. They grabbed bottles of water from the refrigerator on their way outside where they stretched in a pair of chaise lounges positioned to face the bright sun.
“So, when is Chad coming back?” Amber asked.
“Well, he has classes on Friday so he’s flying out Saturday morning. His flight gets in at 1:00, I think. Then he has to fly back out Sunday for his finals that start on Monday. He’s probably going to be complaining about all that travel time just for a few hours at a high school dance.”
“It’s not just a dance,” Amber whined, “It’s your senior prom. He has to come.”
“Don’t worry,” Sarah grinned. “He and Shane will both be here.” Sarah settled a pair of sunglasses just right and effectively changed the subject. “Man, I’ve really missed the sun!”
“You better soak it up while you can,” Amber laughed. “You won’t get much of it when you move to Seattle. I hear it rains there almost every day.”
“Hmmm, maybe,” she mumbled.
“What do you mean ‘maybe’?” Amber looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate.
“I’m not so sure about Seattle anymore. Shane really likes St. Louis U and it is a lot closer to home.”
“But, Chad’s in Seattle,” Amber observed.
“So that means I’m required to go, too?” Sarah asked defensively. Seeing Amber’s surprise at her tone, she softened. “I’m sorry, it’s just that everyone keeps acting like my going to college in Seattle is set in stone. I’ve never even actually said I wanted to go there.”
“You never said you didn’t either,” Amber offered in rebuttal. “We all just assumed…”
“I know,” she interrupted. “The truth is I just don’t know what I want to do anymore. Look, let’s just drop it until I figure it out, okay?”
“Okay,” Amber conceded as Sarah reached for a bottle of tanning lotion. She was spreading it on her legs when she sensed his gaze. She turned quickly to see Brett standing by the half built pool house staring at her.
“Who is THAT?” Amber asked seductively.
Sarah looked away nonchalantly, “Just one of the guys working on the pool house.”
“He’s hot!” Amber exclaimed.
“I guess,” Sarah replied without looking back at Brett in his shirtless glory.
“Wait a second,” Amber hummed with realization. “He’s not the guy who carried you to back from the river is he?”
Sarah’s head jerked up with questions in her eyes.
“Oh, sorry,” Amber answered her silent question, “Shane told me about it the other day.”
Sarah’s silence was the only confirmation Amber needed.
Oh, my God,” she added knowingly, “it IS him! Why in the world didn’t you tell me about it? He’s so hot!”
“It was nothing,” Sarah tried to play down her feelings for Brett. “I fell and he carried me back to the house. It really was nothing.” She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Amber or herself.
“Whatever you say,” Amber grinned, slipped her own sunglasses firmly in place and laid back in her lounge chair. Sarah finished applying her lotion and lost the battle with herself to not look over at Brett. He had gone back to his task and was busy nailing plywood to visible studs. His arms were over his head, hammer swinging. Sweat ran down the center of his Adonis-like back and disappeared into the waistband of his ever-present faded Levi’s. For a split second, Sarah imagined what it would be like to unbutton that fly. Feeling the heat rise in her cheeks, she shifted her eyes away.
“Nothing, huh?” Amber smiled. “Is that why you can’t seem to tear your eyes away from him?”
Sarah turned to look at her friend, forced herself to appear innocent.
“And the Oscar goes to…” Amber squealed and leaned closer to Sarah. “Spill it. Who is he?”
Sarah plastered on her best nonchalant voice and raced through what she knew. “His name is Brett Williams. I happened to bump into him down by the river. I twisted my ankle and he carried me back to the house. It really was nothing.”
Amber stared at Sarah in silence. “It better be.” She finally ordered.
“What?” Sarah asked.
“Didn’t your father ever warn you about strange men?” Amber mocked. “Seriously, Sarah, he’s been in town what? 10 minutes? I’m sure he’ll be outta here just as fast when he realizes what a shithole this place really is.”
Amber plucked the bottle of lotion from the bag where Sarah left it and began to apply it to her own legs.
Sarah’s face fell at her friend’s sudden reversal. Only a moment ago, Amber seemed as interested in Brett’s story as Sarah had.
“Do you know him?” Sarah wondered.
“What? No. Why in the world would you think that?”
“You said he was new in town,” Sarah explained as Amber broke out in laughter.
“Sarah, we live in Farmington, MO. Population: twenty,” Amber said sarcastically. “Seriously, if we’ve never seen him before, he has to be new in town.”
Sarah stared at her friend as Amber replaced her Juicy Couture sunglasses and laid back on the lounge chair. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Brett looking at her again. Realizing Amber was right, she laid back in her own chair and ignored him.
****
Brett felt her eyes on his back. He grinned momentarily before catching himself. What are you thinking? She’s the boss’s daughter and jailbait at that! He couldn’t help thinking about that day by the river when he turned and saw her for the first time. She looked like pure heaven as she sat back on that rock, the shocked expression on her face when she found him invading her little sanctuary. He remembered the spirit in her eyes and the sound of her voice as she informed him, matter-of-factly, that she had a boyfriend.
Yeah, Romeo, a boyfriend. Now stop thinking about her and get back to work.
That was easier said than done. He couldn’t stop himself from picturing her lying on the ground looking up at him and seeing the embarrassment turn to stubbornness as she insisted she wasn’t hurt. And now, now, she was lying there in the skimpy bathing suit, rubbing oil all over herself and he couldn’t help fantasizing about being the one rubbing the lotion over her smooth, tanned skin. The hammer striking his thumb painfully brought him back to reality.
He needed to be thinking about work, not the boss’s daughter. It had taken him a couple of months to find a job in this po-dunk town. Even now it was only temporary. For once, RW Construction had more work than men since Mr. McGuire really wanted this pool house built in time for his daughter’s graduation party.
-3-
Sarah hurried through the institutional double doors of the high school and reached down into her bag to fish out her car keys. She
felt her school books slipping from her precarious hold and cringed as she heard them hit the rough pavement. She moaned aloud as she squatted to pile them back up.
Today had already seemed too long as it was. She couldn’t concentrate in any of her classes and twice got caught daydreaming when called upon. For some crazy reason, she just couldn’t get Brett out of her head. After collecting all of her school paraphernalia, she straightened and headed to her car parked in the far end of the lot.
A few people waved and greeted her as she passed, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. She just wanted to get home and veg-out in front of the television for a while. Everyone was exuberant about prom this weekend and she really wasn’t looking forward to it anymore. She had gone to prom her junior year, and while it had been fun, it wasn’t really something she thought needed to be repeated. The complete turn her thoughts had taken these previous couple of weeks surprised her. Not so long ago, she was one of those excited girls going from store to store looking for the perfect dress. For some reason, it just didn’t hold the same appeal for her now. Subconsciously, she knew it was because she was going with Chad and she dreamed of it being Brett, instead, with her on the dance floor. Get a grip!
She hit the unlock button on her key chain as she neared the red Volvo her father had insisted she drive for its safety rating. She had argued that Shane’s first car had been a Mustang GT, but her father had held firm on what Sarah considered a family sedan. She flopped into the driver’s seat and started the engine, slowly reversing out of the slot. She drove cautiously down Main Street and pulled onto the winding road that led to her house, just outside of town. The sky was darkening a little too quickly and raindrops started to sprinkle her windshield.
She flipped on the wipers and turned up the volume on her radio so she could hear it over the water pelting her roof. She was only a couple of miles from home when she heard a “boom” like she’d never heard before. Her car swerved to the right like it had a mind of its own. She slammed her foot on the brake pedal and gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. The car finally ground to halt just a few feet from the drop off on the outer side of the shoulder. She tried for several minutes to catch her breath, listening to the thunder boom and the rain pound above her head.
Killer Desires Page 2