“Wouldn’t expect anything less.” She grinned. “I’ll be waiting for you out front.”
As she turned and strode back into the engine bay, Joey got the distinct impression Lucy was hurried for something. Anxious to start their date as if she wanted to get it over with and out of the way. He may not have dated girls like her very much—ones who were stubborn and independent and had devious intentions—but he knew when he was being baited for something.
And he planned on finding out what that was.
Chapter Three
Joey finished cleaning up the firehouse, darted upstairs to grab his backpack, and took the fire pole down. Throwing a wave to Chief Hammock, who was yammering on the phone about his sour date to his cousin Earl, Joey strode out the front door. The air was cool, but there was very little wind. Just the way he liked it. From the feel of the air on his bare arms, they wouldn’t be expecting rain for another day or two. The stars would be bright tonight, sparkling like diamond chips against the black curtain of night.
He used to love flying on nights like this. When the world was quiet and dark and the wings of the plane sliced through the air like a knife through butter. When he was so close to heaven he could nearly touch it.
But that was before.
He mindlessly touched the scar beneath his jaw—the one that marked where the shrapnel from the crash had gone in, nearly severing his vocal cords.
When he reached the street, he looked west, toward town. Then he scanned east, toward the lakes and rivers that Blue Lake was known for. The cobblestone streets and wood-planked sidewalks were empty.
No Lucy in sight.
The woman was independent. Was she flighty, too?
“Where the devil’d you go?” he mumbled aloud.
“Over here, handsome,” someone hollered from the street beside the station.
He hustled around the corner and chuckled at the sight in front of him. His ninety-seven midnight-blue Chevy pickup truck was parked at the curb, right where he’d left it. Except now, the tailgate was pulled down and Lucy was lying in back with her legs kicked over the edge.
She really was something else.
“Make yourself comfortable, why don’t you?” he joked, tossing his backpack into the backseat.
“Thanks.” She hopped out and slammed the tailgate closed. “I didn’t know how long you’d be, so I thought I might as well take a breather.”
“How’d you know this was my truck?” He opened the passenger door and motioned for her to step inside.
She smirked, stunning him, as she approached. “You’ve had it for years. I don’t remember you driving anything else.”
“I used to drive a Cherokee.”
“Now you’re talking,” she said, and hopped into the cab, using the oh-shit handle to swing herself in. The truck was lifted and most people had a hard time getting in. She acted as though she’d gotten into his truck a hundred times before. “I love my Jeep. Best car I’ve owned, hands down, especially in the summer when I can go topless and feel the wind in my hair.”
Great, now he was picturing her without her shirt. All that pale soft skin rounded into perfectly perky breasts. At the mental image, his skin pebbled and rods of heat shot to his groin.
Forcing his thoughts away from her body, Joey focused on the agenda for the night. He’d planned on taking Lucy for a late-night drink at Shots Saloon and playing a game of pool or two. But if she liked the feel of the wind through her hair, he knew just the place to take her.
“Mind if we stop by SawMill Market before our date?” he asked, changing his plan.
“I don’t care where we go.” She put on her seat belt, pulled down the visor, and stared into the mirror as she scrunched her curls in the palm of her hand. “I’m all yours.”
As Joey slammed the door shut, her words rang through his ears and echoed in his head.
I’m all yours.
What would that feel like if she’d meant it? he wondered. To have a woman like Lucy, all her fire and determination homed in on one man. He circled the hood of the truck and let himself in. The cab already smelled like her—that sweet and fresh scent still tingled his nose from when he’d embraced her.
Joey turned up Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as their raspy rock sound played over the radio. He drove into the heart of town, turning into SawMill Market when it appeared on the right. Although the place was open until two o’clock in the morning on weekends, the lot was nearly empty.
“Be right back,” he said.
And he was. A few minutes later with two paper bags under arm, Joey joined Lucy in the truck. Before he started it up, he paused, listening. Eighties music blared from the speakers, and a high-pitched voice sang about something crazy happening on Monday.
She’d changed the station.
She’d turned off Tom Petty. Who in their right mind would do that?
“What’s this?” he asked, starting up his truck.
“‘Manic Monday.’” She swiveled toward him. She must’ve seen his generic “don’t know” shrug, because she continued on. “The Bangles.”
“Aren’t those bracelets?”
She giggled, a sweet little laugh that rang through his ears long after she’d stopped laughing. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said. “I can tell you played dress-up with your sister when you were younger.”
He had, but he wasn’t about to admit it. That’s what big brothers did when their five-year-old sister put on a puffy blue gown and begged and pleaded for them to play the part of Prince Charming.
“How is Hannah, anyway?” she went on. “I haven’t seen her in ages.”
“Good.” He pulled out of the market and continued west, out of town. “She lives in Sunset and works at the gym in town. She’s been personal training for years.”
“Wow! She’s a trainer now? I bet no one calls her Hefty Hannah anymore.”
He belted out a laugh. “I haven’t heard that name in years. She never liked it.”
“I wonder why.” She shook her head as Bon Jovi’s voice oozed through the speakers and into the cab. “Kids can be so mean in school.” Rolling down the passenger window, Lucy stuck her arm out and waved her hand over the wind currents. “How’s your brother?”
“Which one?”
She didn’t answer. Had she not heard him?
“Both,” she said finally. Her voice sounded different than it had moments before. She stared out the window as the forest raced by in a big evergreen blur.
“Brody lives with my parents in Portland. He’s trying to get on to the police force there. And Dane still works at Brackett Outdoor Sports. Haven’t you seen him around town?”
“Not as much as I’d like.” She turned to him, dragging red ringlets out of her face and securing them behind her ear. “I stay busy at the winery, but when I do see him, he’s always a sight for sore eyes.”
Alarms went off in Joey’s head, but rather than asking something that might make her uncomfortable, he shut his trap and turned off the freeway one exit after her winery. The road was paved, but not maintained well enough. They shifted and slid in the cab as the truck dipped in potholes and skidded over loose gravel.
“I think you might’ve taken a wrong turn. This road doesn’t lead anywhere.” She smiled, holding on to the handle over her head. “Sometimes the trucks take a wrong turn when they’re trying to find the winery. They get stuck and can’t turn around back in here. The road narrows and takes a steep climb—”
“At the helipad,” he finished for her. “I know.”
As the road flattened out before the steep climb, Joey grinned and gripped the wheel tight. “Hold on.”
She gave a little squeal as he shifted the truck into a lower gear and lurched forward, propelling them up the mountain. The road turned to dirt and he picked up speed, finally leveling off at the top a few minutes later. Trees surrounded the helipad with two exceptions: one break in the trees allowed entrance and exit, and the other allowed a clear, unobstructed v
iew of StoneMill Winery below them. The helipad itself was concrete, providing a level place to land a helicopter in an emergency. Joey had seen the landing point countless times as he’d flown over Blue Lake.
He parked in the center of the helipad and hopped out, grabbing the grocery bags and a blanket from the back.
“Come on,” he said, dropping the tailgate.
“We’re really secluded. No one’s around for miles.” She slammed the door closed and joined him at the back of the truck. “Tell me you didn’t bring me out here to hack me to pieces. No one would hear me scream. Is that why you picked this place?”
Her sense of humor was dry—he’d always known that about Lucy. She was sarcastic and witty, reminding him that he had to be on his toes when he was with her. It was often difficult to tell when she was serious and when she was joking.
He spread the blanket in the bed of the truck and held out his hand to help her up. “We’re not far from your winery. I’m sure one of your staff would recognize the shrill sound of your voice if you screamed.”
“You’re probably right.” Still, she smacked him playfully in the shoulder as she stepped up. She settled near the edge, drawing her feet beneath her.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he offered to ease her mind. “You’re safe with me.”
“Believe me, I know that.” She kinked her head to the side. “Besides, I could totally take you.”
He chuckled and climbed into the back, setting the bag in front of them. Reaching inside, he pulled out two Sierra Nevada Pale Ales and handed her one.
“I’m surprised, Mr. Brackett,” she said, a sly smile curving at the corner of her lips. “You didn’t bring wine for the winery owner?”
He shrugged. “I figured you get enough wine at work.”
She held his gaze for a second, and he knew he’d been right. Lucy was the type of woman who wanted something exciting, to make life an adventure filled with unexpected turns and dips in the journey. He knew exactly what that felt like—he used to live it firsthand.
But that was before Alec died and Joey was left responsible for Alec’s daughter, Janice. She was about to turn sixteen and didn’t need as much support, but it’d been a long, tiring road since her parents’ deaths. Responsibility was a heavy burden to bear.
“Do you have a bottle opener?” Lucy asked softly.
He took her beer and, using his bottle-opener key chain, popped the top. He handed it over and she tipped it back, taking a hearty drink. He opened his own beer and drank, letting the silence stretch between them.
They sat for a while, staring at the vineyard beneath them, the stars overhead, the trees reaching toward the sky. Surprisingly, the quiet between them wasn’t awkward. Joey hadn’t expected that. Sitting beside Lucy in the middle of nowhere felt natural. Oddly so.
She cleared her throat. “Do you bring all your women out here?”
“You say that as if I’ve had hordes.”
She laughed so hard she spewed her drink. “Whores? I didn’t say any of them were whores!”
“Hordes, Lucy! I’ve had hordes!”
She crossed her arms over her belly and moaned when the laughter died out of her. “So you have had hordes. I was right. I knew it. Good-looking guy like you probably has women dripping all over him.”
He stopped listening after “good-looking.” If she really thought that, she’d certainly never let on.
“Did I just say the women were dripping all over you?” She smacked herself in the cheek. “That sounded gross, I’m sorry.” She held up her bottle and glared. “I think I’ve had one too many of you tonight.”
“Truth be told, I’ve never brought anyone out here.” He set his beer beside him and lay back, resting his hands behind his head. “It’s quiet and no one knows about it. I’d like to keep it that way.”
“I already knew about it,” she countered.
“That’s why there was no harm in bringing you.”
She settled beside him, though not a single part of her body touched his. She folded her hands over her stomach and stared at the sky. “When I do checks of the property lines, I come out this way. Well,” she corrected, looking over at him, “I don’t actually climb up here, but close. You’re right. It’s really peaceful.”
“Look, the Seven Sisters are out.” He pointed to a cluster of seven twinkling stars off to their right. “After the storms, they get really clear. You can see all seven tonight.”
A crazed impulse struck him: he wanted to take Lucy up into the skies and show her those stars up close. Strange, but he hadn’t had the urge to fly since the crash, let alone take anyone up with him.
“Oh, there they are! One, two, three, four, five…six and seven are really faint.” She sighed. “Having seven sisters would be a pain in the ass. I’m glad I was an only child.”
Her words said one thing, but the subtle dip in her tone whispered something different. She wished for a large family, or at least thought she did.
“Big families can be difficult to manage,” he said, “but for the most part everyone pulls together when they need to.”
When Alec died, Joey was thankful that his family was still around to help out. He might not have made it through that difficult time without them. His parents took care of the funeral expenses and Alec’s estate, and Joey took responsibility for Janice. Brody was too young to help out at the time, and Dane had offered to take Janice in for a while. In the end though, Janice went to live with her mother’s sister and Joey sent checks every month for support. He was thankful her aunt lived in Blue Lake, so he got to visit Janice whenever he liked.
“Are you and Dane close?” Lucy’s voice was faint, barely above a whisper.
“I’d say so. Twins are always close, whether or not they want to be at the time.”
When she remained silent, he shot a gaze her way. She worried her lip between her teeth and brushed her hands up and down her arms. Had something he said made her feel awkward? Was she cold?
He took off his jacket and rested it over her. She thanked him, pulled it up to her chin and huddled into it, but Joey was the one who seemed suddenly warm.
“Take my niece’s sixteenth birthday party, for example,” he said to distract himself from the tingly sensation crawling up his arms. “She really wanted something big for her Sweet Sixteen. I guess that’s a big deal for high school girls around here. It’s this Sunday—at your winery, actually—and if Dane were responsible for all the planning, Janice would be having hot dogs and lemonade. He’s never been one to plan anything. Always been one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants types.”
“Wait.” Lucy sat up, clutching his jacket against her. “Janice…Brackett? We have a birthday scheduled on Sunday afternoon, but it’s for Cara Smith. I would’ve remembered seeing Brackett on the reservation.”
“Cara is Janice’s legal guardian, her mother’s sister.” His voice went deep, out of his control. “It’s under her name.”
“Oh…it’ll be a great event. You’ll have the Legacy Room at your disposal and—”
He touched her arm, silencing her. “You don’t have to slip into work mode with me, Lucy.”
She stared, her gaze flickering from one of his eyes to the other, and then down to his lips. For a fraction of a second, he thought she might try to kiss him. Would he kiss her back? Would he want to? A spark burned in his gut and desire flamed across his skin.
“I want to ask you something, but I don’t know how this is going to come out,” she whispered, “and I don’t even know if I should be saying this, or what you’re going to think of me, but—”
Could she be feeling the same gravity pulling them together?
Before he overthought the moment, Joey planted his hands on her cheeks and dragged her face to his. Their lips met with force, and she made a shocked mewing sound as he tunneled his fingers through her hair. She stiffened against him. He slanted his head to deepen the kiss. Her lips softened on a moan, and she kissed him back, parting
her lips. His stomach tumbled, sparking with newfound desire.
Instead of taking what she offered, he pulled back.
Mouth hanging open in surprise, Lucy’s hands remained in midair as if she had been about to touch his face. His entire body went rigid beneath the heat of her stare.
“Does that sum it up?” he asked.
She shook her head and blinked quickly as if trying to drag herself out of some sort of haze. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Isn’t that what was difficult for you to say?”
“No.” She covered her mouth with her hand and rubbed her fingers over her lower lip. “That was…surprising…but definitely not what I was going to say.”
Embarrassment landed in Joey’s gut, decimating any buzzing feelings that’d been growing there.
“Then I’m sorry,” he said. “I crossed a line. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s fine,” she said, staring out over her vineyard. Harvesters moved between the rows, their lights guiding the way. “I probably shouldn’t have said what I was going to anyway.”
“Oh, no you don’t. You have to tell me now.” Reaching over the edge of the truck, he dumped his beer into the dirt and then tossed the bottle into the grocery bag. “You can’t leave me hanging, at least not after I embarrassed myself like that.”
“There’s no reason to be embarrassed.” She touched his shoulder. “Please, we’re two grown adults who’ve had too much to drink. I’d hate to quote the song, but you can blame it on the alcohol if you want.”
He could, but he hadn’t had that much. He didn’t feel anything close to a buzz.
“So what is it, then?” He turned to look at her. She looked pained. Sick to her stomach. She must’ve been feeling ill.
“Has Dane ever mentioned me?”
No, take that back. He was the one who was going to be ill. “You want to go out with my brother?”
She shrugged. “Not anything serious, but if he’s interested in having a good time, I might be interested in the same. Would you mind…”
Of course he didn’t mind! In fact, he’d gotten used to playing second fiddle to his brother. Women always chose Dane, and they’d only come to him after Dane broke their hearts. Joey didn’t think twice when Dane inherited the family business over him, either. No, he didn’t mind helping Dane score a date with Lucy. Joey had gotten damn good at lying to himself, too. Took away the sting.
Let Me Love You Page 3