“I know it does.”
“I don’t think you do, Jen.” Barb wheeled her stool closer to the table, stopping a few inches from Jen. “You promised your grandfather not to have sex with a man until the end of the semester. You didn’t promise him not to date, or get involved with someone.”
“Sex is easier.”
“And what about falling in love?”
Jen glanced down at her hands. “You know why I can’t allow love to happen.”
Her friend’s foot pushed her stool so hard, her knees banged into Jen’s. “Don’t you think forgiveness is in order here?”
“Forgiveness?”
“Yes,” Barb said, not moving away from her. “Six years have gone by since you caught your sister with your ex-fiancé. Have you even tried to talk to her, or see her, in all those years?”
“No,” Jen whispered. “But I have been sensing her lately.”
“I don’t believe you.” Barb pushed her chair from her. “You sensed her. You don’t see her or talk to her, yet you claim to sense her presence from hundreds of miles away. She’s your sister.”
“Only because we came from the body of the same woman,” Jen said, feeling her temper lashing out to pierce her. Why was Barb trying to reason with her now? Barb, of all people, knew how it’d been growing up with Kimberley. “I thought you understood my reason for staying away from her.”
“I thought so too.”
When she didn’t elaborate on her simple comment, Jen said, “Every time I come into Winter Creek lately, I’ve been thinking about her. I just know she’s nearby. I know it.”
“You’re paranoid.”
“Maybe,” Jen agreed. “But until I know for sure I’m staying away from Adam’s family.”
Barb snorted loud now. “Going to be hard when you promised to eat dinner at his parents’ tonight, isn’t it?”
Why did she tell him she would go with him? When every fiber of her was telling her Kimberley was in Helena right now. She may not have shown up yet, but Jen knew she was around. And Barb was wrong, Kimberley hadn’t changed.
How could a person who thought they were perfect ever feel the need to change?
“Are you staying at the RV tonight?” Barb gave up on the uncomfortable line of questioning. “I think you need an intervention from Rose and me.”
“I’m fine.”
“Get your coat,” Barb ordered. “Rose is making chicken and dumplings for dinner. You might as well come and keep us company while we eat.”
Both of the women moved silently around the shop, securing the room for the night before pulling on their coats and stepping out of the store. Barb locked the door and pocketed her keys.
“You know, I’ve never even seen a picture of your idyllic sister. Do you have one? I’d like to know what the ideal woman looks like this year.”
“Same as every other year since the beginning of creation, nothing ever changes. Blonde and thin, model-like tall with clear, smooth skin and a toned, perfectly portioned body,” Jen said softly. “Think of every man’s dream woman and you’ll have a good idea.”
“No one woman could ever possibly be every man’s dream, honey.”
“It was for every man I cared about.”
Barb stopped at the edge of the wooden sidewalk. “And you think Adam is going to be overwhelmed by her beauty in the same way? I think you’re wrong.”
Jen didn’t answer her. She just continued to walk down the side of the busy street. Strangers of every color and age, both males and females, crowded the middle of the dusty street, causing Jen to veer up to the wooden platform once again. College students and visitors for the cattle drive in the morning milled around, talking and laughing as they wandered among the opened shops of Winter Creek, and Jen’s lips formed upward into a smile. Her grandfather would be so proud to see all the people.
“It’s been busy all day,” Barb volunteered. “Every room in the town is rented out, and Carrie told me the campground toward the mountain is filling up with tents and small trailers. I think William and Jack had a good idea making the drive a regular part of Winter Creek’s activities.”
“I agree with you. But I’m still pissed—”
Fear slammed into her so suddenly it was like walking into a wall. She stumbled and froze in the midst of the excited group of tourists, stopping on the sidewalk directly in front of the sheriff’s office.
“Jen, why are you stopping?”
“Something’s wrong.”
Fear bit deep in her stomach, clamping it tight within its powerful grip. Never before had Jen experienced such a troubling emotion. She dragged air into her lungs and forced her gaze to move over the people standing near her, focusing on a man standing a few doors down. As Jen watched, he bent his head and spoke to a thin woman.
Kimberley, she knew.
“Are you having another vision?” Barb asked.
“No, I’m not seeing a vision this time.” Jen turned away from the couple and looked at her friend. “Do you really think Adam could say no to the perfect woman?”
“Yes.” Bewildered, Barb asked, “Why are you asking me? I think if you play your cards right with Adam, you’re going to be a happy woman come December. It may even extend into forever.”
“I wish I was as sure as you seem to be,” Jen said, glancing around to the couple. Her sister no longer stood with her newest conquest, looking into the storefront of the mercantile. Was it just her imagination? Was Barb right? How could she be so sure Kimberley would show up, after six years, to mess with her now?
And why did Jen believe Kimberley was still the same person?
Barb was right about one thing—Jen needed to find peace.
If she ever wanted to have a chance at happiness, she needed to forgive her sister.
Chapter 13
“Thank you, dear,” Adam’s mother said a few minutes after Jen had helped her wash the dinner dishes and clean up the kitchen. The wind blew in a rush outside, sending a nearby branch banging hard against the narrow window above the sink. Jen jumped. “Why don’t the two of you go and check out the attic now?”
“Sounds good to me, Mom.” Adam grabbed Jen’s hand and pulled her toward the wide staircase in the center of the large house. “It’ll be nice to finally find out if Jen’s ghost is Great-Great-Grandpa.”
“It would certainly solve an old Craine mystery,” his mother stated. “Now you two get.”
Jen grinned at the woman before following the lean man up the stairs and to the right of the ranch house. He opened up the wooden door. A squealing sound issued from it as it rubbed against the rough flooring of the attic’s interior. Her smile widened, and then turned into a slight frown when she entered the large dim room and looked around. A moment later a bright light coming from a bare bulb hanging halfway across the expansive room burned in her eyes, and she glanced down at her feet.
“Oh, sorry,” Adam said. “I forgot to warn you about the light. We need to have a brighter light up here, because it’s the only one. I have a lantern in the back where my great-great-grandparents’ stuff is stored.”
“Wow,” was all she could get out. “Does the attic go over the entire house?”
“Pretty much, yeah,” he answered. “Watch your step. This place is filled with junk.”
“I wouldn’t let your mother hear you call her keepsakes junk.”
Adam glanced at her with a startled look before relaxing his mouth into a soft smile. “No, my mother thinks this stuff is junk too. All of the things she kept from the four of us kids are on the left.”
Jen turned her head to the left and spied the stored pile of colorful plastic boxes. “I would love to look in those boxes someday. Is there a box for every one of you?”
“More than one,” he said. “And maybe someday, if you’re nice to me, I’ll let you look at all my horse show ribbons and track trophies.”
“You ran track?”
“Yeah.” He pulled her gently to him and led her to the musty o
ld boxes in the far corner of the attic, the darkest corner. “I ran track all through high school and college. I was pretty quick.”
“I bet you were…fast.” She giggled under her breath. “You still are quick about some things.”
He placed both hands on the side of her face and looked deep into her eyes. “I’m not as quick at those things, beautiful.”
“Neither am I,” Jen agreed. “I was thinking of asking my granddad if I could get out of my promise to him. It’s been a long time since I’ve…gotten lucky.”
Adam laughed at her comment. “Since you’ve won the lottery?”
“You know what I mean, cowboy.” She caressed one index finger up the row of buttons on his shirt to the thickest portion of his neck, playing over the edge of the area as he swallowed hard. “You know what I want to do right now.”
“I can make a good guess.” He didn’t move any closer to her, didn’t move his hands from the side of her face. “Want to tell me?”
“You’d like me to show you, wouldn’t you?”
“Damn right, lady.” Yet he stopped her traveling hand from moving over his chest. “But you made a promise to your grandfather, and I made a promise to myself.”
“You made a promise to yourself?”
“Yeah, I did.”
His look stunned her, telling her of a hint of love she didn’t want to see from him. And she froze. You can’t be falling in love with me, she thought while saying, “I don’t want that from you.”
Adam frowned. “What’s wrong, Jen? I thought all women wanted love and a family someday.”
“Please don’t voice it out loud, Adam.”
He stepped back from her. “What are you so afraid of? I’m not going to screw you over like your ex-fiancé. I’m not going to do whatever he did.”
Jen backed away from him. How did he find out about Sam? She didn’t remember telling him she’d been engaged. Or did she? She’d been more open with Adam than any other man. She may have told him about her engagement, about finding her fiancé naked and sweating in their bed with her sister.
No, Jen thought. “I don’t want you to fall in love with me.”
“You read that from my mind?”
She didn’t want to have this conversation. She didn’t want his love, all she wanted was his body. All she needed from him was hot, sweaty sex to take the edge off her desire.
“Jen, did you just read I was falling in love with you in my mind?”
She didn’t need this complication now, not now. “I just want sex. I don’t want anyone to love me. I want a man to make me come until I’m weak and breathless. I want to have to pry my fingers out of the ceiling.”
He stared at her. “I plan on being that man for you.”
“I want it to happen now.” He didn’t stop her hand from falling against his chest this time. “I want to scream out your name now.”
“You made a promise, remember?”
“Forget the damn promise.” Unbuttoning his shirt, she placed her chilled hands into it and pulled it off his shoulders. Fighting her fear, fighting the memories, she forced the threatening tears back. “He’ll never know we made love.”
Jen settled her hand on the buckle of his belt and loosened it, pulling his pants all the way to the floor. She slid her hands back up his trembling legs and knelt in front of him, looking up at his surprised expression. He didn’t pull away from her now. Placing her hands on his hips, she rubbed the edge of his still covered penis against her burning hot cheek before moving her head and snaking her tongue out to lick the hardened head of it. He groaned, speaking her name in a strangled whisper.
She shouldn’t be doing this, but fear of her sister raced through her. Kimberley would find out she was falling in love with him too. She would find out and come to steal him away, just like she’d taken Sam away from her six years ago. Just like she’d stolen every man Jen had been foolish enough to fall in love with over the years.
No, I’m not going to fall in love with this man. She’d have sex with him today, and tell him goodbye tomorrow. Kimberley is already here. In Winter Creek.
Was it already too late to protect her heart from her sister’s manipulation?
A single tear slid unchecked over her lowered cheek, dripping onto the cloth of Adam’s shorts.
Encircling the large penis with her hand, she pulled in a breath and licked her tongue all over the length of it through his shorts. His hands reached down to the back of her head, trapping her hard to him before he gently grabbed at her hair and pulled her up and over to a neat pile of old blankets and pillows at the back of the attic. A Coleman lantern beamed its soft glow over the made up area.
“Adam?”
No words were needed as he tore off her shirt and unhooked her bra, placing his tongue over her erect nipple. As he licked at first one then the other, she pulled his penis out of his shorts and caressed it, grasping it tighter. He groaned out her name again before unzipping her pants, pulling them down and off her feet, and spreading her legs out to give him access to her.
Jen ached, burned inside with a need so sharp, so hot. He played his thumb over the rigid nub before placing a finger deep inside her, then a second, moving gently in and out until she cried out his name. She jumped upward at the unexpected probing and pulled at his penis, wanting him to replace his finger with the larger, more fulfilling muscle.
Another tear slid down her face, running into the corner of her mouth. She ignored it. “Just touch me.”
“I am, beautiful.”
When his mouth replaced his probing fingers a minute later, she dragged in a long breath and dropped her head to the bundle of pillows behind her, closing her mind to all feelings except his touch. Concentrating on the stroke of his tongue on her hot skin, on the feel of his fingers heating up the chill of her bare bottom, she buried the thought of her promise to her grandfather deep in her mind and placed her hands atop Adam’s head. When Adam lifted his face, stopping the rough movement of his tongue over her, she groaned a harsh protest. She protested for a second longer before needing to drag another cleansing breath into her lungs as his penis rubbed against the skin of her inner thigh, settling rigid and firm between her spread legs. And he stopped all movement, to stare hard at her.
Aching, heart racing hard in her chest, breath rasping hot in her lungs, she moaned out her displeasure.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“Oh, yes.” Opening her legs wider, she wrapped her right one around his tensed outer thighs, jerking up her middle. “I want you now.”
He stared into her eyes for a steadying moment before tightening his grip on her bottom with one hand while pulling her left leg up to meet her right one with the other. A perfect fit. He entered her with a slow, hard stroke, spreading both hands under her bottom and lifting her up to meet his upward thrust. She closed her eyes tight and blocked out all thoughts, all images, all promises, allowing only the intense feeling of fulfillment building low in her stomach to fill her senses.
“Damn, but this feels good.”
His words echoed her one thought as she rose up to meet his ascending strokes, enveloping every inch of him until all she could do was throw her head back and cry out his name. With each of his pounding plunges deep into her, he brought her closer and closer to release, until a warm storm burst in her belly to spread wide through her entire body. She grabbed behind her at the soft pillow, clamping her teeth tight into her upper lip as the intensity of her orgasm raced hot and wild through her.
He pushed deep and hard once more before collapsing on top of her. “Wow!”
“Yes.” Her promise to her grandfather fought its way back to the front of her mind. She couldn’t force it away this time. “What have I done?”
“Jen, don’t…”
She kicked at him, but he refused to release her. Tears fell unchecked down her cheeks now, a torrent of unwavering, choking tears of disgust and denial.
“Your grandfather doesn’t need
to know, honey.”
She kicked into him again. “I’ve never broken a promise I made to my granddad before. I don’t understand why I did now except my—”
“Honey,” he said, lifting up from her. “I’m not regretting making love with you.”
“Is that what we did, Adam?” Leaning up to look over at him, she asked, “Or did we just use each other to satisfy a need?”
“It doesn’t matter, honey.”
“But it does matter.” What is wrong with me anyway? She’d come on to him here, in his parents’ attic. She was the one who wanted to have sex to prove it was all she needed from him. All because she’d spied a look of love deep in his eyes, and it’d scared her. Her sister’s presence in Winter Creek had caused her to go against another promise. “I shouldn’t have started this.”
“Honey,” he said, in a light way. “Answer me something, if I wasn’t hoping something would happen between us, why would I have set up this bedding and pillow up here? You’re not the only guilty party here.”
Jen glanced around her, seeing for the first time the cleaned up area of the attic.
“You did this?”
His lips flowed upwards into a grin. “Sex is a good thing.”
The guilt eased, but just a bit.
“But if you want to hold off on this happening again,” he said. “I’ll understand.”
“Would you really?”
His grin widened on his tempting mouth. “As long as I can steal a few kisses now and then, and sneak a couple bites and squeezes, I think I’ll be okay with it.”
“Like you’ve been doing until now,” she said. “I guess I can handle a few touches and kisses once in a while.”
She suddenly shivered as iciness inched across her skin. Her head jerked up, and she sighed at the sight.
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s here.” Ethereal, unreal, the blurred face of an elderly woman floated over his left shoulder, anger burning in her large eyes. “Oh, no.”
“Honey, what’s wrong?” He turned around and shivered before leaping to his feet. “I don’t see anyone, but I sense… I take it we have another visitor. Did you bring one of your ghosts with you from Winter Creek?”
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