by Jill Sanders
Smiling, she quickly got up off the stool and cleared the bar area so Lane wouldn’t see the blush come to her face. When his hands took her hips, she closed her eyes and leaned back against him.
“How much of this do you have to get unpacked tonight?” His rich voice caused her skin to vibrate with desire.
“Just a few more boxes,” she answered.
He sighed along with her, the motion causing her head to move with his chest. Which only reminded her that he had one of the most impressive chests she’d ever had the pleasure of running her hands and mouth over.
“Don’t you work tomorrow?” she asked, turning around to face him.
He nodded. “I have the early shift.”
“What’s early?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
He groaned and glanced at the clock. “Five.”
She shook her head. “That sucks.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Not so bad. If there isn’t a call, I’ll hit the on-site gym.”
Hearing the word “gym” only reminded her that she’d just plowed through one of the largest meals she’d had all month. Not to mention a huge bowl of ice cream. After eating all that, she’d have to hit the gym herself.
“What?” he asked, pulling her closer.
“Speaking of gyms, are there any in town?”
He shook his head. “No, but we have the Boys and Girls Club, which has an excellent gym, swimming pool, and courts.” He smiled. “If you play basketball that is.”
She smiled. “Jenna forced me to join the team in sixth grade.”
He smiled. “I knew I liked your cousin.”
She chuckled. “I didn’t say I was any good at it.”
He looked at her and then smiled. “Something tells me you are.”
A smile broke out on her face. “State champs.”
Lane whistled. “That good, huh?” She nodded. “You might have to join the town’s ladies’ team. With you on board, the women might just have a chance at scoring this year against the men.”
She chuckled. “With me on board, we might just win.”
He chuckled. “Not with Iian and Aaron on the team. Come on.” He dropped his hands. “I’d better help you unpack some more before I head out.”
Instantly, her heart fell a little. Nodding, because she didn’t trust her voice, she dropped her arms from around him and stepped back.
“What I want to do is carry you back into your bed and strip those clothes off you slowly.” His eyes danced over her body when he spoke.
“I’d like that.” It came out as a whisper.
“What about unpacking?” he asked, taking a step closer to her.
“There’s always tomorrow,” she said, closing the rest of the space between them quickly.
Chapter Nine
The first day of any job was always nerve-racking. You were introduced to people and had no hope of ever remembering their names until you had asked them more than a dozen times. If the building was large, you most likely would get lost at least once a day for the first month. Not to mention, you were always concerned you’d do or say something that would get you instantly fired.
But, as far as first days go, the first day at Jordan Shipping had gone smoothly. The people were friendly enough. The building was smaller than most places she’d worked at in Portland, and her boss seemed like a pretty laid-back kind of guy.
Todd Jordan’s wife, Megan, had shown up at the office around lunchtime with their three kids. The children chased each other around the office while Todd and Megan sat in the conference room, talking quietly as they held each other’s hands.
When the oldest boy, Matthew, spilled his juice on the carpet, Todd leaned down and cleaned it up himself. He didn’t raise his voice at the boy, just told him he’d better sit if he wanted to be allowed to finish the juice.
The kid had quickly sat down to drink the rest without another word. Honestly, she hadn’t seen such well-behaved kids in a long time.
Megan had chatted with her for a while when Todd had taken Matthew to the restroom. They talked about Iian and Allison’s new twins, and she even showed her pictures of the boy and girl on her phone. The woman couldn’t seem to get enough of her new nephew and niece.
When they finally left, Todd jumped back in to business mode. It was strange to have her actual boss train her for the job. He had told her that he’d been the only financial adviser for the business since he’d taken over after his father had died.
“Somehow I just never got around to hiring someone else to do the job.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I’ve never found anyone I trusted before.” He smiled at her. “But, now that the kids are getting bigger, we’re wanting to start traveling a little more. My wife runs a bed and breakfast, and she’s hired on a few helpers to take over, so I thought it was only fitting I do the same.” He sighed and looked her right in the eyes. “Honestly, I’m just wanting to slow down a little.”
She smiled. “I can imagine it’s been a challenge doing everything yourself.”
He nodded. “It’ll be nice to have someone to help out.”
By the end of the day, she was wondering how one man could have done the job by himself for so long and kept the books in such great order. Since the building was only four blocks away from her new apartment, she had decided to walk. It had seemed like a perfect idea that morning when the sun was out and there hadn’t been a cloud in the sky. But now as she started to leave the building, she frowned when she saw the downpour that was taking place outside.
Pausing at the doors, she sighed and reached for the handle.
“Here,” someone said from behind her. “Use this.” It was a shorter woman in her late twenties. The woman handed her an umbrella from a can sitting just inside the doors. “Just bring it back.” She nodded to the sign. “Use and Return.”
“Thanks.” She took the umbrella. “You’re Ka… Kat…” She tried to remember if it was Kathy or Katie.
“Katie.” She smiled. “HR.”
She nodded. “Right.
“I hope Todd didn’t overwhelm you today.”
“No, not at all.” She smiled. “Actually, the day went a lot smoother than I could have hoped for.” She glanced towards the doors. “Up until this.” She nodded and smiled.
“Happens a lot around here.” Katie smiled. “That’s why everything’s so green.
“Oh, I know. I’m from Portland, originally.”
Katie nodded. “Well, enjoy.” She nodded to the umbrella.
“Thanks again,” she said as she walked out into the rain. By the time she made it under the large awning at the market, the bottom of her slacks were soaked and her hair was totally frizzed.
One thing about having red curly hair and living in Oregon—when you knew it was going to rain, you always put up your hair.
Turning towards the windows, she groaned as she saw her reflection. She was a mess. Her makeup was even starting to run down her face.
“You’re Ally, aren’t you?” someone said from beside her.
Jumping a little, she glanced over and saw a woman around her age leaning against the glass, smoking. The woman was shorter than her and, in her opinion, prettier.
“Abby. I just moved upstairs.” She nodded to her new apartment.
The woman nodded. “Right,” she said after blowing a long puff of smoke towards her. Abby recoiled a little. She hated the smell of smoke. It always caused her eyes to turn bright red and her skin to itch. Of course a lot of things did that to her.
“Do you work here?” She glanced down at her name tag, which said Kelly on it.
The woman shrugged her shoulders. “For now.”
The woman blew smoke towards her again. Abby took a step towards the stairs. She had planned to go in and do some shopping, but now she was thinking about waiting until Patty was there instead.
“Are you coming in or what?” The woman dumped her half-smoked cigarette on the ground and held open the doors. He
r eyes challenged her enough that Abby didn’t want to back down. Instead, she held her head up high and walked into the store.
Grabbing a shopping cart, she glanced around and headed down the first aisle. She felt Kelly’s eyes follow her until she reached the end of the row.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to settle her heart rate. When she started down the next aisle, she noticed that Kelly was still watching her. Deciding to not let it affect her, she took her time and made sure to get everything on her mental list. She even took the extra time to decide on some new shampoo and conditioner.
When she finally walked up to the checkout area, there were three other people in the store and she felt a little more at ease. There was an older woman before her at the checkout and she watched how Kelly interacted with her.
She wasn’t rude to the woman, just short and to the point. She packed her items quickly and Abby noticed that she threw a loaf of bread in the bag and then tossed a can of beans on top of it. She started wondering if her tomatoes would make it upstairs or if she’d have a bag of sauce instead.
“You ready?” Kelly asked. Abby could hear the lack of patience in her voice.
“Yes.” She moved forward and started emptying her cart.
When she was done, she watched the woman scan each item and put them into bags. She was thankful when she kept all her vegetables in a separate bag.
When she handed over her credit card, Kelly looked her directly in the eyes and took the card from her.
“He’s mine,” she said, unsmiling.
“I’m sorry?” Abby blinked.
“Lane Austin.” She scanned her card quickly as she stared at her, her blue eyes watching Abby’s reaction.
“I…” She didn’t know what to say. Guilt flooded her quickly. “I didn’t know.” Something shot through her and she felt her body begin to shake.
“Well, now you do.” She handed her card back to her and handed her the receipt.
Abby nodded and signed for her groceries, the entire time praying that the first tears wouldn’t slip down her cheek until she was outside.
She grabbed the two bags with her groceries and rushed up the outside stairs, not minding as the rain soaked her.
When she shut her door, she dropped her bags, sat down on the floor, and cried until she couldn’t cry anymore.
***
Lane was feeling every muscle in his body. Training a rookie was like jumping into a freezing river, ass naked. Especially when you had to make sure they were physically up to the challenge. Which meant they had to keep up with the fastest, strongest, and longest-enduring firemen in the county. Which just happened to be Lane himself.
“Well?” his chief asked as he walked in and sat down in the soft leather chair in the corner of his office.
“He’ll do.” He felt like pouring himself into a hot bath and letting every muscle soak until he couldn’t feel any of them.
“That’s good,” Walter said, glancing up at him. “Looks like he gave you a run for his money.” He chuckled.
Lane smiled and nodded. “Might have something to do with staying up late with Abby.”
“Riiiggght.” Walter set his pen down and leaned a little closer. “Legs.” Lane frowned and looked at him in question. “Sexy redhead who was wearing those short shorts.”
He groaned and nodded. “Abby.”
Walter smiled and nodded. “So,” He leaned forward a little more. “Wanna kiss and tell? Or do we need to head to the locker room first? I could call the other guys in, make some coffee, go get some donuts.”
Lane laughed, knowing he was making fun of him. “Shut up.”
Walter shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever.” He glanced back down at his paperwork and then glanced up at him again. “Anything else?”
Lane shook his head and stood up, deciding that maybe he felt good enough to stop by Abby’s on the way home. But by the time he’d made it to his truck, he knew he was too beat to climb the stairs outside her apartment.
He went home and climbed into the tub and after a few minutes of letting the hot water do its work, he picked up his phone and texted her.
– So, how was your first day?
He waited for a while, staring at the screen, and then set it down and rested his head back against the tub. Maybe she was asleep. It was after eight. Maybe her day had been a busy one, too. He hoped that she liked her job. If she didn’t, would she move back to Portland?
So many thoughts ran through his mind. He woke up some time later, and the water in his tub was freezing. When he pulled himself out, everything felt relaxed. Pulling on some sweats, he climbed into bed and glanced at his phone one more time.
She still hadn’t messaged. Feeling a little down, he tried to shut off his mind again for the night.
The next day his body had already bounced back, so he decided to go for a jog. If he happened to run by her apartment just as she was leaving for work, who could blame him.
“Morning.” He smiled as she stepped down the last stair. Her head snapped up and for a moment, he thought he saw a spark of happiness cross those eyes. But it was quickly replaced by disdain and he wondered what he’d done to deserve it.
“Morning.” She nodded her head and started to walk in the direction of Jordan Shipping. He liked the black skirt and silver top she was wearing, but he especially liked the sexy heels.
He followed her, jogging slowly beside her.
“Did you get my text last night?”
She nodded, not even glancing at him.
“So?”
She stopped at the corner and glanced both ways twice and then started walking across the empty street. He chuckled a little; at six in the morning, there wasn’t much traffic in Pride.
“So?” She kept her pace brisk and he could tell she was growing more upset.
“Hey.” He took her shoulders to stop her in the middle of the street. When her eyes flew to his, he knew he’d done something wrong. “Whatever I’ve done to deserve this, I’d like to know so I can make it right.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and he tried his hardest not to notice that the movement pushed those lovely breasts closer and higher. Focus Lane, focus.
“For starters, you could not sleep around.”
He stopped short. He was actually speechless. He must have blinked a few times and dropped his hand from her shoulder. By the time he was coherent, she was halfway up the block.
Jogging, he quickly caught up with her. When he stopped her this time, she spun around, anger fully visible in her eyes.
“Why? Why would you cheat? What makes a man think that it’s okay—”
“Abby, stop.” He waited until she closed her mouth. “First off, I haven’t cheated on you.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her by pulling her closer.
“I don’t know who’s told you what, but it’s untrue. I like this.” He motioned between them and smiled. “I have no plans of changing it anytime soon.”
She glared at him. “You didn’t cheat on me. You cheated with me.”
He blinked a few times and tilted his head. “What?”
She replied and rolled her eyes. “Does the name Kelly mean anything to you?”
He looked at her, seriously looked at her, for a full ten seconds. Then he started laughing. Hard.
“What?” She took a step back. “What’s so funny?”
“She got to you. Damn, I should have seen that move coming.” He glanced around and noticed that there were several people watching them now. Pulling her into the doorway of a closed shop, he moved her closer to him.
“I stopped dating Kelly six months ago. Six long months of having her stalk me. At one point she even planned our wedding and invited the entire town.” He sighed and closed his eyes, remembering the whole ordeal. “She’s kind of off.” He tapped his head lightly. “It took weeks to convince everyone in town I wasn’t marrying her. Now”—he shrugged—“everyone knows she’s k
ind of nuts.”
Abby just looked up at him. “Oh.” Her chin dropped a little. “That’s so dangerous. I mean…” He felt her shiver in his arms. “She’s scary.”
“Did she do something to you?” His fingers tightened a little on her shoulders.
She blinked and looked up at him. “N–No.” She shook her head. “It’s just that…”
“What?” He tried to relax his fingers on her shoulders. Fear had jumped in him quickly, thinking that Kelly had scared Abby. It was all his fault. He should have warned her about his crazy ex-girlfriend the other night after he’d bumped into her.
He watched Abby shake her head. “It’s nothing. Now that I know, I’ll be better prepared.” He saw her shoulders relax a little.
“I should have told you.” He sighed and pulled her closer. This time, she willingly went into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. “No harm done.”
“I know you have to get to work, so how about dinner? My place tonight.”
She glanced up at him and smiled, then nodded. “Sounds wonderful.”
“Great, I’ll pick you up at six?”
She nodded again. Then he leaned down and gave her a kiss that would hold him over until he could see her again.
“Now, what would you say to me walking you to work?”
She smiled. “I’d like that. Very much.”
Chapter Ten
The rest of the day, she felt like she was walking on a cloud. Halfway through work, she was sitting in her own office, which had a beautiful view of the small harbor, entering receipts into the computer. She had been happy when, during the interview, Mr. Jordan had informed her that they used the same online program she’d been using for the past two years at her old job.
She’d just finished entering the last receipt when Katie walked in.
“How’s it going?” she asked as she leaned against the door.
“Wonderful.” She smiled up at her and then waved her into the office.
“Great.” She walked over and set a folder on her desk. “Here’s the last of the documents.” She sighed. “It gets old having to fill out so much paperwork all of the time.”