Let Me Be the One

by Christa Maurice

  “We’ll see if we can get Brian to convince her to come to Potterville. He’s always been very close to her.”

  “I know. Better to see her with him than with Cherney.”

  “Is Brett that bad?”

  “Yes. She probably picked up a disease from him.”

  “Logan, I doubt she ran right out and slept with the first man she found.”

  Logan frowned at his bag. Cassie had a permanent Pollyanna tattoo on her forehead. He could still remember chasing Cherney’s fucking car out of the parking lot. If he forgot, the video was online with millions of hits and thousands of comments. “I don’t care what she did while we were apart. I just want her to come home.”

  “Good. As long as you’re willing to fix the things that are a problem.”

  “I know we can. Dr. Kennedy says she knows a couple’s therapist she can send us to.”

  “Excellent. And you know, even if Suzi won’t come to see you, a few days on the mountain will be good for you. Some fresh air and good food. Brian will probably have some insights, too. She talked to him quite a bit about Bonnie.”

  “I know.” Logan zipped up his bag. “You guys will make good character witnesses, too. You can tell her I’m different.”

  “Of course. We’ll do everything we can to help you. When does your flight arrive?”

  “The middle of the night. The first flight I could get lands at four-forty.”

  “You’ll be there about an hour before we are. It’s easier on the kidzos to fly at night. You can either rent a car and drive yourself or wait for us. My dad is coming to get us in the Wegman’s B & B van since we haven’t been able to get in touch with Brian. Just don’t wait in the bar.”

  “I won’t. I need to be sober to deal with all this crap.”

  * * * *

  “What do you think?”

  “I think we should let the poor little buggers go.”

  Suzi rolled onto her side, teasing her fingers through his hair. The fireflies floated around in the jar, seeking escape. Hundreds of their relatives beckoned from around the valley. None of them cast enough light to see by, but the full harvest moon hanging overhead did the job better anyway. They’d been outside all evening and never even turned on any lights in the house or the cabin. “So Jason bought this valley for Cassie.”

  “He did.”

  “That was sweet.”

  “Not at first.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Brian propped his head on his hand. “He bought it out from under her as an excuse to stay close to her.”

  “So he kinda cheated her on a business deal.”

  “Kinda, but it worked out in the end. Even though she pulled a shotgun on him.”

  “Is that true?”

  Brian pulled her closer. “I don’t know the details, but there was a shotgun involved. She still has it. It’s hanging up over the fireplace in the living room.”

  “That is the shotgun?” Suzi snuggled close to him. She hadn’t been much farther than this all day. Or all last night. To think, yesterday afternoon she was lying in the hammock reading a book, and now she was all his. Keeping him outside after dark to catch fireflies in a jar. Sometimes she was such a little girl.

  “That is the shotgun.” He brushed his lips across hers. Such a little girl. On her last birthday she’d turned twenty-five. “Are we going to let these poor fireflies go before we get distracted and forget about them, only to come out in the morning to find we have their tiny souls on our heads?”

  Suzi giggled. “I guess we can let them go now.” She reached up and unscrewed the lid of the jar. “Happy?”

  “Yes. I was worried we’d be haunted by fireflies for the rest of our lives.” He traced her lower lip with his thumb. Was she going to be happy when she turned around and realized she was with an old man? “Does it bother you that I’m so much older than you?”

  “You are?”

  “Over fifteen years older.” In the dark it was hard to see her expression. Did the news surprise her? Or did she not care?

  “No.” She stretched, draping her leg over his. “I’m very mature for my age, and you’re immature, so I think we meet in the middle.”

  “Thanks.” He pushed her over on her back. “Little brat.”

  “You love it.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “As long as you don’t threaten me with a shotgun.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “You never wrote that story I told you to write.” Her skin tasted so soft and sweet, and she had a precious little catch to her breath that told him how much she wanted him.

  “What story?” She sounded disoriented. Good.

  “The one about us getting lost in the woods.” He worked his way down the collar of her shirt, licking under the fabric. “You need to wear more shirts with buttons. T-shirts are too hard to get into.”

  Suzi slid her hands under his shirt. His skin tightened under her light touch. “I wrote it. It was published, too. You didn’t read it?”

  “No.”

  “It was a romance.”

  He lifted his head. “That’s why I didn’t read it.” He pulled her shirt up.

  “Coward. The hero and heroine got lost in the woods, had sex, and came out a stronger couple.”

  “Mmmm, let’s go act it out.” He kissed her belly.

  She giggled and pushed him away. “You’re silly. Why don’t we just go inside and have sex before the mosquitoes drain all our blood?”

  He helped her up. “I’m serious about those shirts with buttons. And skirts. Those are easier to get into, too.”

  “Maybe I should just become a nudist.”

  He ran his fingers up her spine. She always arched like a cat when he did that. “Naw, people would stare when we went out to dinner. Look how much attention you get when you go out barefoot. Besides, you’re mine. I don’t want anybody but me getting peeksies.”

  “Peeksies? This is what I mean when I say you’re immature.” She slipped out of his arms. “Race you to the cabin.” Then she sprinted away.

  “I thought you were the mature one,” he yelled after her.

  Her laughter floated back to him, and in the moonlight he saw her strip off her shirt. By the time he got to the stairs, she was in the cabin, and her shirt hung from the railing. Brian scooped it up and pressed it to his face. She always smelled good, but he’d never been able to indulge in more than a whiff of shampoo when she was standing next to him. It was flowery, but a little musky, too. He’d never noticed another woman with the same scent.

  She’d left the cabin door open and the lights off. As he crossed the common room to her bedroom door, his feet caught something. Her jeans lay in the middle of the floor. He picked them up. So this was how she was playing it. “If you think I’m going to pick up after you all the time, you’re wrong.”

  By the time he got to the doorway, she was lying in the middle of the bed wearing only a smirk. “I bet if the reward was good enough, you’d pick up after me all the time.”

  Brian kicked the door closed and left her clothes on the chair. He crawled on the bed over to her. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured and kissed her throat.

  “Why, thank you.”

  “No, I mean just you. Everything about you.” Brian lifted his head to study her. She lay back on the pillows with her hair haloed around her head. “You’re beautiful. Your face, your body, your personality, your sense of humor. Being with you makes me feel so damn good.”

  Suzi blinked. “Why, Brian, that’s poetic.” Her mouth trembled. “I love being with you, too.”

  Brian kissed her, wishing he had more words to tell her what she meant to him. She slid his shirt off his shoulders and ran her fingers down his arms. He shivered. His member strained against his jeans. Ignoring it, he moved down her body, taking her left nipple into his mouth.

  Suzi gasped. “Oh, Brian. That feels wonderful.” She laced her fingers
through his hair. “Make love to me. Please. I want to have my legs wrapped around you while you thrust into me. Please. I love you.”

  Brian stood up and shoved his jeans down. Then he crawled back onto the bed and mounted her, plunging deep into her with one long stroke. She shuddered, clasping herself to him. Brian pressed his face into the curve of her neck. She tasted warm and sweet. The heat of his skin matched hers. Her body wrapped around him like a vine, clinging to him. Her soft cries filled the room. This was what he’d always wanted. This rich affection. She gave a strangled cry and tightened around him. He thrust into her twice more before his own climax rolled through him.

  She ran her fingers through his hair. “You are so sweet to me,” she murmured.

  “Sweet?”

  She kissed his cheek. “That’s the closest word I can come up with for how you make me feel. It’s like my whole body is filled with wind and sunshine.”

  “You make the earth move for me, too.” He shifted off her.

  “Don’t go,” she pleaded.

  “I’m staying right here.”

  Suzi curled against him. “I want to wake up where you are. I love you.”

  Brian leaned down, kissing her so he could taste the words on her lips. His whole body trembled, and so did hers. She tangled her leg through his, cinching herself to him. Her soft curves fitting to him. “I love you, too,” he told her.

  She drew in a jerky breath. “You’re so good to me. The way you make me feel. The way you hold me.” She nestled into him. “I want to wake up in your arms for the rest of my life.”

  Brian tightened his hold on her and closed his eyes, trying to get use to the feeling. Curling against her in the night. Waking up with her. He ran his fingers through her hair. “Go to sleep, my sweet. I’ll be here in the morning.”

  * * * *

  Cassie’s father parked the van in the garage. The first blush of dawn was already creeping over the mountain. Logan climbed out with his bag and collected his guitar from the back. “I’m gonna go get some sleep.” He gave Jason a salute. “See you around lunch.”

  “You’ll have to make the bed,” Cassie said, unbuckling Sonya. Andi already clung to her leg, rubbing her eyes.

  “She’s obsessed with bed-making,” Jason muttered. He pressed a key ring into Logan’s palm. “Take the keys in case it’s locked up.”

  Logan hoisted his bag over his shoulder and crossed the front lawn. Beside the pond, he kicked something. Squinting in the half-light, he found a glass jar lying in the grass. What the hell was Brian doing with a glass jar outside? Maybe he’d been trying to catch fireflies. Suzi liked to do that when she was here. Jason said he’d been talking to her. Maybe it was making him nostalgic, too. Logan shuffled down the steps and into the cabin. The door was unlocked. Brian must have opened it up for him. Of the three bedroom doors opening off the common room, one was closed. Not the one he and Suzi used when they were here. Maybe Brian had decided not to stay in the big house. With two little kids in there, it wouldn’t be a picnic. Logan dumped his bag on the floor. He’d intended to grab the blanket and curl up in the middle of the naked mattress, but staring at the bed where he’d slept, and not slept, so many nights with Suzi left him wired. He went to the bathroom.

  On the counter lay a green, plastic wide-tooth comb with long brown hairs trailing from it. Logan picked it up and laid the hair across his palm. Definitely brown. Odd since Brian was blond. Had he picked up a girl? That would explain why he wasn’t in the house. On the other side of the sink lay a familiar barrette.

  The cheap metal had started out gold, but had turned coppery pretty quick. It was a butterfly with purple and blue cloisonné on the wings. He’d bought it for Suzi in…Japan maybe, while he was on tour from one of those street vendors when he’d been missing her. He picked it up. It had a long brown hair caught in it, too. Could there be another woman on Earth with brown hair and that exact barrette staying in Jason and Cassie’s guest cabin? Maybe it wasn’t Brian down here. What if he’d convinced Suzi to come? She could have been the one catching fireflies. She might not have been able to sleep in their regular room, either.

  She could be in the cabin right now.

  In the room beside the bathroom, the room with the door closed.

  Logan pressed his ear to the door. Inside, he could hear the high, sweet sound of a woman’s voice. Suzi sometimes read aloud to herself when she was trying to figure out if a conversation worked, and she didn’t sleep well when she was stressed. If she knew he was coming in tonight, this morning, she might be up writing, trying to distract herself. She might be waiting for him. If he just opened the door and walked in, she might be happy to see him. The whole reconciliation could be over before the sun rose over the mountain. All except for the fun part. He planned on that taking a very long time.

  He could also get a dictionary thrown at his head if he walked in on her unexpected. For some reason, she always seemed to have a big, hardcover dictionary with her.

  He could knock. That would work. But what if she was just talking in her sleep? Then she’d be mad that he woke her up.

  So he could wait until morning. Just sit on the couch and wait for her to get up so they could talk, and he could tell her all the stuff he’d been rehearsing with Dr. Kennedy. Then she’d cry and climb into his arms and tell him she was coming home. And it would all be fixed again. This time he was going to put a ring on her. Make it all permanent. His hands itched to touch her again. The heat in his groin was unbearable. He needed to be wrapped in her arms, making love to her again.

  No way could he wait. If she was here, he needed to see her.

  Of course, he could have been right the first time, and it was Brian with some girl who happened to have long brown hair and a barrette just like the one Suzi had. Brian had been in Japan a couple of months ago. He could have bought the same barrette for his little friend. The whole divorce anniversary thing could have been a smoke screen so he could meet his chicklet here.

  Logan glanced around the room. He’d stayed in this cabin at least a dozen times. With the band and with Suzi. This room had a window that opened onto the porch. If the curtains weren’t closed all the way, he could just peek in and see.

  He left the bathroom and went out to the porch. It was starting to get warm with the sun shining in. The curtains hung most of the way open, allowing a shaft of sunrise across the room to bounce off the mirror on the dresser. The mirror then threw a spotlight onto the bed.

  And Suzi.

  Suzi knelt in the middle of the bed, straddled across a figure. The undulation of her hips was unmistakable. Strong male hands clasped her, guiding her. She clutched his wrists, throwing her head back. Her long hair bounced in time with her motion.

  Logan stood, frozen, watching his Suzi make love to another man. She was gorgeous. Her perfect curves and animal grace.

  Stumbling backward, he found a chair. He dropped into it, unable to breathe. That bitch. How could she flaunt her affair in his face? Bring another man here just to rub his nose in it? Did Jason and Cassie even know?

  Wait.

  Logan dragged himself into his own room. Jason and Cassie didn’t know she was here. Brian said he’d talked to her, not that he’d convinced her to come. Had she arrived with the new guy in tow? With Cherney? Had Cherney been the man in that bed? Or was it another man? Logan frowned. He’d been consumed with the sight of Suzi making love, but he must have seen who she was making love to. The man’s lean arms were wrapped around her body. His long fingers pressed into her flesh. Blond hair on the pillow.

  Brian Ellis.

  Suzi was fucking Brian.

  Logan went back into the common room. He turned a chair toward the closed bedroom door. Then he grabbed his acoustic guitar and sat down to wait.

  * * * *

  Suzi lay down on Brian’s chest, listening to his heart pound.

  “I love the way you wake me up.” Brian kissed the top of her head.


  “Things like that happen when I’m too excited to sleep.” She rubbed her cheek on his chest.

  “Too excited to sleep. I like the way that sounds, too.”

  “I’m liking the way it feels.”

  “Me too. Want to try again?”

  “I thought you weren’t twenty-two anymore.”

  “I’m inspired.”

  “You’re insane.”

  “I’m that, too.”

  “As much fun as this is, I have to use the loo.” Suzi started to sit up, but Brian dragged her down for a deep kiss. She indulged him for a minute before pulling away. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

  “I’ll let you go, but you have to promise to come back.”

  Suzi smiled. He was wrapping her up in him again. Cocooning her in passion and safety. “I’ll come back. I promise.” She drew herself out of his arms. “Chilly in here,” she commented, grabbing his shirt off the floor and pulling it on. She glanced back at Brian with her hand on the doorknob. He was propped up on his elbow watching her. Winking, she opened the door.

  Then she screamed.

  Logan set aside his guitar and stood up. Raw fury etched his eyes with acid. “Trading up?” he asked.

  Brian grabbed her from behind.

  “What do you mean?” Suzi demanded.

  “It looks like you went fishing for a bigger rock star.”

  “How dare you!” Suzi sobbed.

  “Logan,” Brian growled. His arms tightened around her.

  “Did she have you fooled, too?” Logan stalked toward her.

  Suzi shrank back. “What are you talking about?” What was Logan doing here? Was this a nightmare?

  Logan glared over her shoulder at Brian. “Did she make you think she’s not just the run-of-the-mill, gold-digging groupie?”

  “You bastard.” Brian lunged forward. The jolt of his wrath coursed through her. Suzi turned, wrapping her arms around his waist, holding him back. He was shaking.

  “Please, please don’t fight,” she begged. “Please, Brian.” She dug her fingers into his skin, reminding him she was there. It had to be a nightmare. Logan was in New York. They were alone on the mountain. In a second, Brian would wake her and tell her she’d been whimpering, and then he’d hold her until she fell back to sleep. It was not real.