“You’re nothing but trouble.”
“From what I understand, you were a bit of the same back in the day.”
“I’ve grown up.”
“Who says I can’t?”
She studied him, literally looked him up and down. After a moment, she said, “Stay away from her.”
“I have every intention of staying away.”
“You moved into my apartment.”
“You and I are family. I have more right to it.”
“I sublet it to her.”
“That’s right, you rented an apartment and gave a fresh start to the woman who tried to take your son away.”
“I’m giving her a second chance.”
“Maybe I’d like one, too.”
“You betrayed Sam,” she said after a minute. “In the worst way possible. He doesn’t trust you.”
Scott nodded. “I know that. What I did was wrong and I can’t apologize any more than I have. That woman was bad news. The way I went about proving it to him was a mistake. But I don’t regret breaking them up. She would have hurt him more than I ever did.”
Julia’s delicate features went soft. “He’s a good man.”
“And I’m happy he’s found you. I’m glad you have each other.”
“You were mad he didn’t take the job with the Marshals because he wanted to stay in Brevia.”
Scott nodded. “I was frustrated. I thought working with him would give us a chance to put the past behind us. But after meeting you and Charlie, I understand why he made the choice he did. I’m not mad anymore.” Scott sighed. “I’d still like things to be better.”
“He told me you’re hosting a reception for us.”
“He said you’d be against it.”
“I’m not. I hated this town for a long time, but I’m happy here now. Why not celebrate that?” She offered a small smile. “Will you come to dinner this weekend? I’ll invite my mom and Joe, too. Vera is thrilled about the party. We can make plans then.”
“Sure,” Scott said, returning her smile. “I’m not so bad once you get to know me, Julia.”
“Maybe,” she answered, eyes skimming the bar. “This place looks a lot better.”
He followed her gaze to the newly polished floor and the fresh coat of paint on the main wall. He’d put in a lot of hours this week fixing things up where he could. He liked the hard work and couldn’t help but feel proud of how much he’d accomplished. “Thanks. We’re going to start serving food in a few days. Open for lunch, too.”
She nodded. “Anything that brings more people into downtown is good as far as I’m concerned.” With a last look around, she turned for the door. “I’ll see you later, Scott.”
“A pleasure talking to you, sis.”
She laughed and walked out into the late-morning sunlight.
Scott glanced at his watch. It was close to noon, which meant he didn’t actually have to be here for nearly five more hours. Suddenly, another day of being cooped up in the bar was too much for him.
He poked his head into the back hallway. “Jon?” he called out.
“Yeah, boss.” Jon came from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.
“Do you think you can take care of things here for a few hours?”
A smile broke across the man’s ruddy face. “I’d be happy to. I used to watch over the place for my dad.”
Scott nodded and grabbed his jacket from a hook on the wall. “I’ll be back before we open.”
Chapter Seven
Lexi tossed the book she was reading onto the coffee table. Freddy yawned and stretched next to her. She had a whole day in front of her before she needed to get to work, but couldn’t muster the energy to make decent plans.
She heard keys in the apartment’s door and turned as Scott walked in. She’d thought he’d already gone to the bar for the day or else she would have been holed up in her room.
“Let’s go,” he said, pointing a finger at her.
“Go where?” She reached again for her discarded book, ignoring the fact that her heart had picked up its pace. “I’m kind of busy.”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “Liar. Come on. We’re going to have some fun.”
“Can you clarify how you define fun?”
“Nope.” He leaned over the couch and took her hand to gently pull her to her feet. Freddy stood up, tail wagging. “We’ll see you later, buddy.”
“Do I need to change clothes?” Lexi asked, smoothing her hands across her T-shirt and jeans. “It would help if I knew what to prepare for.”
“We’re going on an adventure,” Scott replied, his eyes traveling up and down her body like a caress. “You look perfect.”
Lexi’s mouth went dry but she forced herself to smile. “Somehow that doesn’t reassure me.”
The truth was she was excited to go with him, wherever they ended up. She knew Scott was bad for her, or at least that was what he kept saying. But she trusted him to keep her safe no matter what. Lexi had never felt that with anyone in her life. It was an oddly freeing sensation.
“Grab a jacket and gym shoes. We don’t want to be late.”
After gathering her things, Lexi followed him out to his truck and climbed in, both excited and a little bit scared. She wondered if Little Red Riding Hood had felt the same way when she’d gone through the woods to Grandma’s house. Scott drove through town and turned onto the highway heading into the mountains.
As the truck climbed the curvy road, Lexi gazed out the window to the forest below. Brevia sat in a valley nestled at the base of the Smoky Mountains. Although mornings were crisp this time of year, by noon the sun was bright in the sky, bathing the tips of trees in a golden light that made the whole area look more alive. She’d grown up in the city, gone to college there, too, so she found herself transfixed by the beauty of nature surrounding them.
Scott didn’t say much as they drove, but the silence was companionable. Lexi was used to silence. Other than discussing current cases or other legal matters, her father didn’t talk much to her. She often lived in her head and now found her mind wandering along paths of memories that were better left untraveled. Her father’s harsh criticism and her fear that she’d never have the courage to truly live life out from under his thumb.
“Don’t go there.”
She jumped as Scott drew his fingers across her hand where it rested on the seat between them.
“Whatever you’re thinking about, let it go today. We’re going to have fun, leave the problems for later.”
“It’s hard not to think about things,” she admitted.
“Have you gone on your date yet?”
She was taken aback by his question. “I can’t talk about that with you.”
“One of the other waitresses mentioned that Mr. High School Science Teacher is considered quite the catch.”
Lexi shrugged. “We’re supposed to go to a movie next weekend.”
“You don’t sound too excited.”
She glanced at him from under her lashes, but his eyes were fixed on the road. “I’m very excited.”
“Do you have a long list of qualifications for a potential suitor?” he asked, and she heard the smile in his voice.
“Actually, being with someone my dad didn’t pick out for me is my top priority.” She sighed. “My last...current...whatever boyfriend is a fourth-year at the firm. He wants to make partner in the worst way.”
“He thinks making it with the boss’s daughter will help his chances?”
“I can’t imagine another reason he’d be so serious with me.”
“Then he’s an idiot.” Scott said the words with such conviction that a little ball of emotion began to unwind inside Lexi’s chest.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
/> “Nope. I don’t do relationships.” He glanced over at her and winked. “I’m a bad bet, remember?”
“What about your brother’s fiancée?” Lexi asked and saw his fingers tense around the steering wheel. “Did you fall in love with her?”
“I fell into bed with her,” Scott answered candidly. “Not the same thing.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t believe in love, Lexi. I’m not made that way.”
She shook her head. “Everyone is made for love.”
“For an attorney, you’re kind of an idealist.”
“It’s not an ideal. It’s true. There’s somebody for everyone.”
“Whatever you say.” Scott pulled into a long gravel driveway and slowed to avoid divots on the well-worn track. A sign that read Smoky Mountain Adventures greeted them from the side of the property. They pulled up to a small cabin with several picnic tables in front.
“What are we doing?” she asked again, eyeing the row of shiny Jeeps and ATVs sitting next to an oversize garage. A corral of horses was situated on the side of a long barn, with a few parents and children milling about outside.
“We’re going zip-lining.”
Lexi clenched the door handle. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Have you ever been?” Scott pulled into a parking spot and turned the key, looking at her as the truck went quiet.
“I’m afraid of heights,” she whispered.
He squeezed shut his eyes. “I didn’t know that.”
“If you’d told me our destination back at the apartment, I could have filled you in.”
“That’s okay,” he said after a moment. “Even better, actually.” He opened the driver’s side door and hopped out.
Lexi would have followed him, but she was paralyzed in her seat. Her stomach churned as a bead of sweat made a slow trail down her back. She concentrated on moving air in and out of her lungs at a normal rate. She might have understated her fear of heights. Petrified was more like it. She could barely walk up an open-air flight of steps.
The door to her side of the truck opened and Scott leaned in. “Ready?”
“No.”
“You can do this.”
“I’m going to puke,” she said, her voice a croak.
He smiled and raised his mirrored sunglasses onto the top of his head. His blue eyes looked into hers, total confidence in her radiating from their depths.
“You left your job, your home and moved to a tiny town hundreds of miles away where the only person you knew was a woman who hated you. You found a job, albeit one you’re no good at and totally overqualified for, but it’s a job. And for reasons unknown to me, everyone you meet loves you. Customers, the other staff, even the guy who delivers the beer asks about you.”
“He does?” Lexi shifted in her seat. “That’s so sweet.”
“Sweet as pie.” Scott reached across her waist and unbuckled the seat belt. “If you can manage all of that in a couple of weeks, sliding down a cable is going to be a cinch.”
Lexi dug her fingernails into the seat. “No way.”
Scott’s fingers found hers, easing them from their death grip on the leather. “You can do this. It’s part of the adventure. Once-in-a-lifetime, bucket-list adventure. That’s what you want, right?”
“I can’t,” she whispered miserably.
“Yes, you can.” He dropped a soft-as-a-feather kiss on her mouth. “I believe in you, Lexi Preston.”
She breathed him in, the crisp, male scent and the taste of mint on his lips. “I believe in you, too, Scott.”
He tensed for a moment, then eased back. “Prove it. Let’s take our mutual-admiration society to the zip line. I’ll make sure you’re safe the whole time.”
She met his gaze and saw both a challenge and promise there. Sometimes she felt as if she’d spent most of her years avoiding the parts of life that scared her the most, whether it was something physical such as her fear of heights or, more terrifying, feelings and worries. Suddenly, this step represented so much more, and she needed to take it. She wanted to prove that she was worthy of his faith in her.
“Okay,” she answered, her voice shaky with nerves.
She let him lead her to the front office, her knees stiff with fear as her insides churned. Scott filled out the paperwork and spoke to the tour operator, a tall man in his early forties with sandy-blond hair and a full beard. Lexi paced back and forth, reviewing legal briefs in her head to stop the panic from consuming her. She could overcome this. Look at how much she’d done in the past few weeks. This was just one more part of her adventure.
“Zach’s going to take us out personally,” Scott told her as the man disappeared into a room off the side of the main waiting area. “He’s the owner, so it will be fine.”
Lexi bit down on her lip.
“You can do this,” Scott said again and wrapped one arm around her, his fingers tracing circles on her biceps.
“I thought you didn’t want to hang out with me,” Lexi said softly, grasping on to anything that would distract her from the thought of careening through the forest tied to a metal cable. “Why the change of heart?”
“I never said I didn’t want to hang out with you,” Scott corrected. “I said having an affair with me was a bad idea.”
She looked up at him, searching his pale blue eyes. “So you want to be friends?”
“I don’t really have friends, Lexi.” He shrugged but kept his eyes on her. “I’m probably as bad at friendship as I am at dating.”
“I don’t have many friends, either. It would be new territory for both of us.” She couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips. “I think I’d be pretty good at it, though.”
He studied her for several moments. Once again, everything else disappeared as she lost herself in him. “I bet you will.” Taking a breath, he added, “We’re friends.”
Lexi’s stomach tightened as she swayed the tiniest bit closer to him. She felt more than friendship for Scott, but she’d been honest about not having many friends. Hearing him say they were seemed like a good step. “You know, friends don’t try to kill each other by making them do a zip line.”
He took her hand in his and led her toward the front door. “I’m broadening your horizons,” he said as they walked outside into the warming air.
Zach, the owner, was waiting in a four-person open-top Jeep. “Y’all ready?” he asked as they came down the steps.
“Sure are,” Scott answered.
At the same time Lexi whispered, “Heck, no.”
She climbed into the backseat and they headed up a dirt road behind the property. Lexi didn’t realize how much Scott’s touch had bolstered her confidence until it was gone. She wrapped her arms tight around her middle, trying to quell the panic that rose to the surface once more. Scott looked back several times and gave her a smile or wink. She wanted to climb up between the seats and bury herself in his lap.
After a few minutes, she began to see a web of cables attached to what looked like oversize telephone poles between the trees.
“Scott tells me you’re nervous,” Zach called back. “We’re going to start with one of the shorter lines so you get used to the feeling.”
Lexi nodded, but her fingernails dug into her back. When he said going to start, she got the distinct impression he expected her to do this more than once. She wondered briefly what would happen if she passed out or literally threw up. There were countless ways she could embarrass herself today, and she figured she had a good chance of hitting them all.
In another moment the Jeep stopped and Zach jumped out and began gathering harnesses and other equipment from the cargo hold. Scott offered her a hand to help her out of the backseat. She snatched hers back when he commented on how cold it was.
“It’s going t
o be fine,” he said softly, taking her hand again and warming it between his.
She was a ninny, no doubt about it. She bet the women he knew from his time in the military and the Marshals did stuff that would make this look like a walk in the park. She wanted him to know she was up for the challenge, even one that was so small in the grand scheme of things.
“Let’s do this,” she said and charged after Zach.
* * *
Scott couldn’t quite believe the woman careening down the cable, whooping with joy, was the same person he’d practically had to drag out of the car a few hours earlier.
Lexi came to a stop on the landing of the last line and pumped one fist in the air. “That was awesome,” she yelled and threw her arms around Zach. “Thank you so much for this,” she said, hugging him hard.
As Zach’s big hands moved a wee bit lower than was appropriate, Scott cleared his throat. “It was my idea, if you remember.”
She turned to look at him, her smile widening. “Did you see me? I was flying. It felt like I was literally flying.”
She came toward him and he grinned, thinking of her launching herself into his arms the same way. Instead, she punched him lightly on the shoulder, then danced in front of him, just out of reach. “I was so scared at the edge of the first zip line, but it was such a rush. That was the best day. Ever.”
Scott’s best day would actually include her pressed up against him, preferably naked. He inwardly shook his head. “I’m glad you liked it,” he told her. “But we should head back.”
They gathered the gear and walked toward the Jeep, Lexi and Zach taking the lead as the older man regaled her with stories of other adventures he’d had.
“Maybe I’ll try skydiving next,” Lexi said with a laugh.
Scott wondered if somehow he’d created an adrenaline junkie, and it made him crazy to think that Zach or any other guy would be with her on subsequent escapades.
His eyes dropped to Lexi’s jeans, specifically her hips swaying as she walked. He was a fool, he realized, to think that he could be her friend without his desire for her getting in the way. The more he told himself she wasn’t his type, the more drawn to her he became.
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