“It’s not long in the grand scheme of things and could make a real difference. That would make everything worth it. A kid deserves to grow up feeling safe. Your sister is lucky to have you to step in and help her. You’re giving both of them another chance.”
He blew out a breath. “How did you know exactly what I needed to hear this morning?”
Color rose to her cheeks. “It’s the truth.”
It wasn’t just the words she spoke that made him feel better. It was the fact that she’d come to check on him. Okay, maybe she’d come to check on Rhett, but David still reaped the benefit. She was exactly what he needed. “Thank you.”
They stared at each other for several long moments, and the spark of awareness that connected them seemed to shimmer and thrum in the air. It made him want to pull her in and kiss her again, but then he thought of Tracie and the kid who’d reported him Friday night. Normally, David didn’t care who saw him doing what, but Erin was different. She was too good to be dragged through any sort of gossip mill, especially when she was starting her new program at the community center.
He crossed his arms over his chest to resist the urge to touch her. “Rhett won’t be long.” He made his tone purposefully chilly.
Disappointment flashed in her brown eyes before she cocked her head and studied him, as if she was trying to riddle out secrets. “This place is different during the day,” she said, moving away from him and trailing her long fingers over the polished mahogany of the bar. He could imagine a lot of other places those fingers should be traveling. Namely all over his damn body.
“The architecture is beautiful.” She pointed to the vaulted ceiling, where rough-hewn beams stretched across the open space.
“Logan helped me design it,” David said, following her as she moved through the high tables. Following her like a puppy on a leash. Never had he felt so under a woman’s spell as he did with Erin. The crazy part was she had no idea the power she had over him.
“Did he do the renovations, too? When I was growing up, this place was a grocery store, then it stood vacant for a number of years.”
He’d forgotten that she was a Crimson native. The town was a tight-knit community and everyone seemed to know their neighbors and their neighbors’ business. But before Rhett started school, David had never heard of Erin MacDonald. “The building was bank-owned when I bought it. I got a great deal.”
She smiled at him over her shoulder. “You must have had a clear vision.”
“I went to college on a baseball scholarship, but only lasted a couple of years. It sounds crazy now, but I took a brewing lab sciences class freshman year and got hooked on the process. I was good at it, but baseball came first. When I got drafted, the beer brewing moved to the back burner for a few years. I stopped playing ball, but then Jenna needed me out here. I needed a job and had enough money to make the business work.”
“Why did you give up baseball?”
He gave a harsh laugh. “Not exactly my choice. I screwed things up pretty good. Not worth rehashing the details, but suffice it to say it was totally my fault.”
“You do that too much,” she said, moving toward him until she was directly in front of him. “You take the blame for anything that goes bad.”
David felt his eyes narrow. “Only when I deserve it.”
She poked him in the chest. “It seems like you’re of the opinion that you always deserve it.”
He clamped his mouth shut and stared down at her. There was no right way to respond to that. He didn’t always do the wrong thing, but the times he’d messed up in his life had resulted in grim consequences for the people around him.
“You can’t control everything. Sometimes bad stuff happens no matter what you do to prevent it.”
He wrapped his hand around her finger and lowered it. “Other times it can be prevented, and I’ve often failed at that.”
He expected her to wrench out of his grasp, but she surprised him by gently squeezing his hand. “I wish you saw yourself the way I see you.”
David felt her words like a vise clamping around his heart. The ways this woman could wreck him boggled his mind. Pulling away from her, he took several long steps toward the back hallway. “Rhett, you almost ready?” he called up the stairs.
“Coming,” the boy shouted as his small feet pounded down the steps. He bounded into the hallway, the ever-present blue dog tucked against his side.
“Shoes, buddy,” David said softly. His nephew had a habit of putting his shoes on the wrong feet.
With a sigh, Rhett dropped to the floor and undid the Velcro straps of his superhero sneakers and switched them to the correct feet. David’s heart squeezed even harder as Rhett’s tongue darted out the corner of his mouth. It meant he was concentrating hard and was the same quirk Jenna’d had as a girl.
David ruffled Rhett’s hair as he stood. “Listen to Ms. MacDonald and do what she says,” he told the boy. “No trouble.”
“Okay.”
He turned and looked at Erin, but her attention was focused on Rhett. “I’m glad you’re coming with me this morning,” she said.
Rhett gave a sharp nod and inched forward.
“I need another hour or so to get things settled here,” David told her. “I’ll pick him up after that.”
“No rush,” she answered, but still didn’t look at him. “We’ll stay busy.”
He’d been the one to pull away a few minutes ago, but now the distance separating them seemed wider than simply physical space. It felt like he was losing something that had never belonged to him in the first place. The sensation made him want to throw a tantrum, like a baby whose favorite toy was taken away.
Erin held out her hand to Rhett, and the boy placed his smaller one in it. They walked out the open door and disappeared into the cool autumn morning.
David stood in his empty bar, staring at the dust motes that floated through the rays of sun shining in from the bar’s front windows. He’d never minded being alone before. Why did it feel so damn uncomfortable now?
Chapter Five
“I owe you for this morning.”
Erin almost stumbled off the end of the fishing dock at the sound of David’s voice directly behind her.
He reached out a hand to steady her, but as much as she wanted to lean into his touch, she shrugged it off. Not going there, she reminded herself.
“You don’t owe me. I told you I wanted to help with Rhett.”
One side of his mouth quirked as he stared at her from behind dark sunglasses. “You also told me—”
“Don’t say it.” She held up a hand. “We’ve agreed that request was a moment of sleep-deprived stupidity on my part.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything.” His deep voice once again set off tremors inside her.
“I thought you and Rhett were going to look for rocks to skip.”
David gestured to where the boy was busily digging in the sand and gravel that made up the shoreline of Crimson Reservoir. “He got distracted.”
She smiled as she watched Rhett, crouched low and with his too-long hair hanging over one eye, his attention completely focused on his task. “This is good for him, David. He needs some time to just be a kid in nature.”
“This place can make anyone feel better.”
She lifted her gaze to take in the awe-inspiring scenery around them. They were standing on the east side of the seven-mile-wide reservoir situated about thirty minutes outside of town. Rhett had insisted she accompany them on their planned fishing trip when David came to pick him up at the community center.
She should have said no. It had been a spontaneous decision to make the boy part of her morning on her way to the bakery earlier. A good decision, she thought, because both Rhett and David had looked grateful and relieved at her offer. But spending too
much time with David was dangerous for her emotional health.
She’d spent far too much time since Friday replaying their kiss in her head. Instead of satisfying her, it had made her want more, even though she knew she shouldn’t.
This afternoon only heightened her need. Having a crush on David was one thing, but watching his patience with Rhett and how hard he was trying to connect with the boy made Erin like him on an entirely different level. Once Rhett got tired of fishing, he’d gone to play on the shore, leaving David and Erin together on the dock.
Sunlight sparkled on the water, and a breeze made the changing aspen leaves flutter and sing around them. The breathtaking view of Crimson Mountain on the far side of the water made the reservoir one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen. It seemed funny now that she’d never come out here before.
Her mom hadn’t been much for outdoor activities. Erin knew kids came to the lake to hang out in high school, big groups or on dates. She was pretty sure the scenic overlook they’d passed on the way to the parking lot was still a popular make-out spot for teens in town. But she’d never been part of that crowd.
Now she wished she had been.
“I’d give way more than a penny to read your thoughts right now.” David bent and picked up the fishing pole that he’d left next to her on the dock.
“I was thinking about what I still need to do to be ready for tomorrow,” she lied.
“That makes you blush?”
She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I’m not blushing.”
He chuckled. “Want to throw in a line yourself? All you’ve gotten to do so far is watch me teach Rhett to fish.”
“He likes it out here. Outside. Sitting in a classroom all day is tough for boys, and a lot of them go home and spend the rest of the day playing video games or watching TV.”
“Like my nephew?”
She shrugged. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to criticize your sister.”
“It’s fine,” David answered, his voice tight. “Just because I moved to Crimson to help doesn’t mean I knew how to or that Jenna wanted me involved. I should have been paying more attention. She was hiding things from me. Turns out Rhett was alone a lot more than I realized. He’s pretty addicted to his screen time.”
“Then today is even more of a treat for him.”
David stepped closer, and she could see the shadow across his jaw that meant he hadn’t shaved that morning. He wore faded jeans and an olive-colored T-shirt with the Elevation Brewery logo across the front. Everything about him fascinated her.
“So you gonna do some fishing?”
“I don’t know how,” she answered, but took the thin pole he held out to her. “I mean, I was listening when you showed Rhett but...”
“I’ll give you a lesson, too.” He grasped her shoulders and turned her so she was facing the water. Then he moved to stand behind her, his body touching hers from chest to thigh. A crazy buzzing started in her head, and she swallowed back the little whimper that rose in her throat.
“Hold the pole so your two middle fingers are on either side of the reel,” he said, his breath warm against her neck.
She tightened her grasp on the fishing pole and heard him chuckle. “Not in a death grip. Firm but not too tight.”
She choked back a laugh because it sounded a lot like he was instructing her on something other than fishing. “Okay,” she whispered.
“Hold the line against the rod with your index finger and flip the bail with your other hand.” He guided her hand to the narrow piece of metal. “Give the line some slack and we’re going to bring the rod back and cast.”
Her mind was reeling, but she tried to follow his directions. With a shaking finger, she flipped the bail, drew the pole over her head and cast. The line spun, then the bobber dropped with a plop into the water only a foot in front of the dock.
“I can’t do this,” she whispered, trying to hand the pole back to David and move away.
“You can,” he said, and tightened his hold on her. He took the rod from her, his arms reaching around her, and reeled in the line. “The motion comes from your wrist and hand, not your shoulder. Now take a breath.”
She did and was immediately overwhelmed by the scent of soap and mint gum with the irresistible essence of David thrown in for good measure. It was different from kissing him, of course, but no less intimate. Erin struggled to keep her reaction to him hidden. “I’ve lived my whole life without learning to fish,” she told him. “I can probably manage without the skill.”
“Not on my watch,” he said, and wrapped her hand around the pole once again. “You’re going to catch a fish today.”
Erin forced another breath and concentrated on not freaking out any more than she already was. Her goal for the year had been stepping out of her comfort zone, and today definitely counted. She glanced over her shoulder to see Rhett still focused on his rock and stone collection on the bank. “I don’t know about a fish,” she murmured. “I’ll be satisfied if I throw this thing in the water without embarrassing myself.”
“It’s called casting a line,” David said against her ear. His lips brushed the sensitive skin just below her earlobe.
A shiver ran through her in response, and she gripped the fishing pole more tightly. “I can’t focus when you do that.”
“Then you should stop being so sexy.”
She grunted out a laugh at that. Erin was a lot of things, but sexy had never been one of them. The reminder was enough to help her rein in her foolish desire for this man. She couldn’t help but think this was another part of his thank-you to her for helping with Rhett. Have a little flirtatious pity on the boring schoolteacher.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and tried to compose herself. He was a man. She was a woman. They were fishing while his nephew—her student—played nearby. A casual afternoon. No need to read more into it than that.
“Tell me what to do again,” she told him when she’d pulled herself together.
He repeated the instructions and she followed them, letting out a small cry of delight when the fishing line sailed through the air to land a respectable fifty feet out in the lake.
“I did it,” she whispered.
“Now reel it in again,” David said.
She did and the zip of the spinning reel was the best thing she’d heard in a long time. She cast twice more, the feel of the rod in her hand more natural with every moment.
“I think you’ve got it.”
She realized David was still standing directly behind her only when he moved away. Her body wanted to protest, but she was too excited about her newfound skill at casting.
“I like it,” she told him.
“We’ll move to fly-fishing next,” he answered with a slow smile. “I’d like to see you in a pair of waders.”
Before she could react, the orange bobber floating on top of the water disappeared and she felt a hard tug on the line.
“A fish!” Rhett yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran toward them.
“Reel it in,” David shouted as the line made a fast whirring sound.
With a squeak, Erin grabbed the spinning handle of the reel and began to turn it counterclockwise toward her body.
David was behind her again a moment later, his hand steadying her arm.
“Pull the rod against your body,” he commanded. “You’ll get more leverage.”
“Take it,” she said in a rush of breath. “I can’t—”
“Yes, you can.”
“You’re doing it, Ms. MacDonald,” Rhett said excitedly when he got to her side. He tugged on the hem of her shirt. “Don’t let it get away.”
“Keep going,” David told her, his voice gentler. “You’ve got this.”
Erin felt a grin split her face as she conti
nued to bring the fish closer to the dock. David disappeared for a moment, then reappeared a minute later with a net in one hand.
“Bring him in, sweetheart,” he said as he knelt at the edge of the dock.
The fish surfaced and struggled in the water, fighting hard against the hook that tethered him to her line. The sound of splashing broke the quiet of the lake as the water rippled and churned around the fish.
“He’s so cute.” Rhett crouched down next to David. “He’s a boy, right?”
“Hard to tell right now.” David grabbed the line, then scooped the net into the water. When it emerged again, the fish was in it, its gills opening and closing in the unfamiliar air.
“I don’t want to kill him,” Erin said, suddenly having a rush of sympathy for the little creature.
“It’ll be fine,” David assured her. “Hold the net, Rhett.”
“Got it.” The boy grabbed the handle with two hands while David removed the fish from the net. He pulled a tool out of his pocket and stuck it into the fish’s mouth, extracting the hook.
Then he turned and presented the creature to Erin. “Here you go.”
She placed the rod onto the dock and stepped forward. “It’s so pretty.” She traced one finger over the fish’s pink-tinged side.
“It’s a rainbow trout,” David told her. “Hand Rhett your phone and take the fish. We’ll get a photo before we throw him back.”
“Or her,” Erin said. “He could be a she.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think you want to cut her open and look for an egg sack.”
“No.” Erin made a face at the same time Rhett shouted, “Yes!”
She took her phone from her pocket, flipped it to camera mode and handed it to Rhett.
“Hold on tight,” David advised as he passed the fish to her.
She didn’t have time to think about whether she actually wanted her hands on the slimy, slippery creature before it was in them.
Despite the fact that she was slightly grossed out by holding a fish, she smiled when David took the phone from the boy and snapped her photo.
Romancing the Wallflower Page 5