by Debby Conrad
He backed out onto the road, put it in Drive and off they went. Rusty leaned forward and gritted her teeth. She was a fast driver. She loved maneuvering her Jag around curves and turns. And she’d even taken a few spins around the track with Burke in his race car at speeds so high she could barely catch her breath. But she’d never been as nervous as she was right now.
“Try to keep it out of the ditch this time, sport,” Luke said with a wink.
He was teasing, of course. Wasn’t he?
Jeremy laughed and said, “I’ll try, Luke, but you know how hard it is for me to see at night.” He squinted as if he could barely see. “I swear I didn’t see that car, the last time you let me drive, until it was too late. And then it was crunch.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t a pretty sight.” Luke shook his head.
They were both teasing her. She gave them each an elbow to the ribs and laughed silently when they howled in protest. But even so, she didn’t think it would hurt having another pair of eyes watching the road.
“Did you bring the hockey sticks?” Jeremy asked sometime later.
“Yep,” Luke answered, jerking his head over his shoulder. “They’re in the back.”
“Good. What about the hot chocolate?”
“Got it.”
From the way they talked, it sounded to Rusty as if they’d done this before. They stuck to the back roads, and Jeremy appeared to know what he was doing behind the wheel. Luke was right. Jeremy was a careful driver. There was nothing to worry about, unless they were stopped by the police. Sighing in resignation, she finally decided to sit back and relax.
“I am not climbing that fence!” Rusty planted her hands on her hips and stared at the chain link fence surrounding the pond.
“Shhhh,” Luke whispered. “Keep your voice down.”
“Why?” Her eyes widened in alarm as she gazed around nervously. “Are we trespassing?”
“No,” Jeremy said.
“Not exactly,” Luke added. “Mr. Smith used to let us skate and fish on this pond all the time. In fact, he used to join us. But when he died three years ago, Mrs. Smith decided it was too dangerous and had this fence built to keep everyone out.”
“It sounds like Mrs. Smith is a wise woman.” She eyed Luke suspiciously then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Are you trying to get arrested? I would think one criminal record would be enough for you.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure? Don’t you trust me?” he asked.
“No, I don’t. I’m going back to the truck. Come on, Jeremy.” She started walking, but stopped and looked over her shoulder when she didn’t hear footsteps in her wake. Jeremy wasn’t following. Pivoting around, she trudged through the snow back to the fence. “Jeremy?”
Jeremy looked at Luke just as Luke took a step toward Rusty.
“Look,” Luke explained, “Mrs. Smith is about ninety years old.”
“Maybe a hundred by now,” Jeremy said, his eyes hopeful.
“And she’s as blind as a bat.”
“And as deaf as a doorknob.”
“It’s still trespassing,” she insisted, shivering from a gust of wind.
“I’ll take full responsibility.”
“And what if Jeremy drowns?”
“That pond is frozen solid. And besides, it’s no more than five feet deep. No one is going to drown.”
“I still think we should go home. Maybe we could think of something else fun to do.”
His expression grew serious, and he gave an impatient shrug. “Princess, why don’t you just admit that you don’t know how to have a good time? Your life is about going to stuffy, black tie events and shopping in posh boutiques for shoes in every color of the rainbow. You wouldn’t recognize fun if it jumped up and bit you in the ass.” He brushed past her and headed toward the truck.
Rusty’s mouth flew open. She ran after him. “Wait just a minute, Mr. Galloway.”
He spun around. “My name is Luke,” he replied in an icy tone. “Not Mr. Galloway.”
She confronted him, hands on hips. Lifting her chin, she met his icy gaze head on. She didn’t bother to disguise her annoyance in front of Jeremy who was watching them with interest. “And my name isn’t Princess.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine.”
Narrowing her eyes, she said, “Fine? That’s it?”
“What do you want me to say?” He threw up his arms and let them drop to his sides. “You’re right. I shouldn’t let a fifteen-year-old boy drive my truck. Nor should I be encouraging him to trespass, or ice skate on anything except an ice rink. Are you happy now? Let’s go. Get in the truck, Jeremy,” he yelled before stomping away.
Jeremy followed, his head hung low as he moved past Rusty. The smile he’d been wearing earlier had vanished. He stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. “Luke wouldn’t let me do anything he thought was dangerous. He’s been like a big brother to me.”
Rusty watched them until they reached the truck. Waited until she saw Luke reach for the door handle.
“Okay, okay!” she shouted. Only Jeremy turned to face her. “Well?” She looked at Jeremy, then slid her gaze to Luke’s back. “You guys aren’t chicken, are you?” She wasn’t quite sure she should challenge them, but what was done was done. Resting her back against the cold, steel fence, she waited for them to join her and prayed she hadn’t just made one of the biggest mistakes of her life.
“C’mon, Luke,” Jeremy said, yanking at Luke’s coat sleeve. “I told you she was cool.”
“Oh, she’s cool all right,” Luke answered sarcastically. He watched Rusty with interest as he and Jeremy headed back toward the fence. He knew how to make the ice princess melt. He knew all the places to touch on her body that made her tremble with pleasure. And he planned on touching every one of those places the next opportunity he got.
“She’s fond of you,” Jeremy said in a low voice.
“Fond? Where did you pick up an outdated word like that?”
“From Rusty. This afternoon, she told me she was fond of you. They probably use weird words like that in California.”
Luke shifted his eyes toward the boy. “Yeah, probably.”
Fond? That was interesting. He was going to see just how fond she was of him later tonight.
“Rusty, I got you. Just swing your leg up and over the fence.”
“I’m trying,” she hissed. “But it’s a little awkward with your hand on my butt.” When he’d first touched her backside, she’d almost fallen. Then she’d simply froze in place, fighting the quick little jolts of pleasure she’d experienced. Was still experiencing.
“Well, try not to think about it.”
She rolled her eyes. Fat chance. She placed one arm over the fence and followed with her leg.
“I got you,” Jeremy said from the other side of the fence. She felt his arms around her waist as he helped her to the ground.
Seconds later, one of Luke’s long legs came over the top. He looked like a pro, grinning as he hopped to the ground. “Let’s go.”
She followed the guys to the edge of the pond, watched as they dropped their duffel bags and followed suit when they sat on the cold, snowy covered ground. Luke laced up her skates, then helped her to her feet. “Here, put these on.” He handed her a pair of red mittens and a woolen scarf. Once she had those on, he settled a pair of black furry earmuffs over her head and ears and gently pushed her hair aside.
He stood back, admiring his handiwork. “You look cute, Princess.” The pet name rolled off his tongue easily, as if he’d obviously already forgotten the conversation they’d had just minutes ago. She tried to ignore the slip. Maybe he couldn’t help himself. Some people were put on earth just to annoy others, she decided.
Rusty glanced down at herself. She looked like one of the homeless people at the shelter in L. A. where she donated some of her time and lots of her money. A wave of guilt washed through her for snooting her nose at her attire when those poor people would give anything for a clea
n set of clothes.
“Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” She started to walk in her skates, but her ankle turned slightly and she lost her balance. Jeremy and Luke both grabbed for her at the same time, or she would have been lying face first on the ice.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked.
With all the dignity she could muster, she nodded. “I’m fine,” she said, but when their grips loosened, she panicked. “Just don’t let go of me, either of you.”
Luke threw his head back and laughed. “Okay, but you have to promise not to run,” he teased.
“I promise.” With Jeremy and Luke both grinning at her, she couldn’t help but finally laugh. “I must be crazy.” Of course, she’d been saying that a lot lately. Luke had a way of making her do things she wouldn’t do under normal circumstances. She wondered what else he could persuade her to do, then quickly erased the thought from her mind. Right now she needed to concentrate on staying upright.
Out on the ice, things were different. She wasn’t afraid, not with the two of them for protection. The cold night air rushed up to meet her face. But she wasn’t cold. In fact, she felt rather warm with all the layers she’d worn.
Jeremy and Luke had kept their promise. They didn’t let go of her. They were both extremely patient, giving her pointers on how to slow down and stop by using her toe picks. They’d circled around the pond several times with her in tow, but she knew they’d brought those hockey sticks for a reason. So, when she finally suggested that she’d had enough, they hadn’t argued. In fact, they’d looked secretly pleased.
She sat on a wool blanket, sipped at her hot chocolate Luke had insisted she drink, and watched them fly around the pond. Hockey sticks sliced through the air, driving the puck across the ice. Both males raced against each other, fighting for control of the puck, pushing, shoving and behaving like teenagers. Well, Jeremy was a teenager, but she was surprised to see Luke behaving so childishly. She’d never seen him so happy.
After twenty minutes or so, Luke skated over to her and joined her on the blanket. She poured some more hot chocolate into the cup and offered it to him.
“Thanks,” he said. His cheeks were ruddy, his breathing ragged. Leaning back against a tree trunk, he kept his eyes trained on Jeremy who was showing off on the ice. “He’s a great kid.”
“I think so, too.” Pulling her knees to her chest, she listened to the stillness of the night. Except for the sounds of Jeremy’s skates scraping against the ice, it was quiet. She tilted her head back and looked up at the dark sky. It was dotted with tiny twinkling stars. She couldn’t remember ever seeing so many. “It’s really pretty here. I mean, even with all this snow. It smells clean and fresh. Exhilarating.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled.
“Sam’s pretty lucky to be getting him for a son.” She glanced at him, gauging his reaction. He stared straight ahead into the night and sipped from the red plastic cup.
“He’s pretty lucky to have you for a daughter, too.”
“Thanks. Although you must have thought I was pretty foolish to fall for a story like the one you and Sam cooked up. I’m sure you laughed long and hard at my stupidity.”
He let out a huge sigh, turned, and leveled his gaze on her. “No, that’s not what I thought at all.”
She smiled softly and shrugged her shoulders. “What did you think?”
“I thought Sam was the one acting foolishly by not being honest with you in the first place. And I thought you must have loved him an awful lot to give up your fancy life and come back here to take care of him. A man you barely knew. A man who hadn’t had any contact with you since you were a little girl. I thought you were … admirable.”
Nodding, she studied him. “Admirable. That’s interesting,” she added, embarrassed by the compliment, and not knowing why. She was afraid to ask what he’d thought when she’d announced she planned to have a baby to please her dying father. She could only imagine the idiotic names he’d called her behind her back. Names she probably deserved for even thinking about doing something so ridiculous.
A baby. She felt like such a fool for once thinking she’d make a good mother. How in the world would she know anything about that? With all Natalie’s hobbies, being a good mother hadn’t been one of them.
But Rusty had imagined a child growing inside her. Dreamed of giving birth to a baby boy or girl. Dreamed of holding the tiny infant to her breast and feeding him or her. Now those thoughts all seemed like a huge fantasy. A fantasy that had vanished like a puff of smoke.
She shivered and hugged her knees more closely.
Luke stirred beside her, moving in until his body touched hers. Slipping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her toward him, he asked, “Are you cold?”
“Not anymore.” She could only guess what had made her say something so inviting. Shifting her gaze to his face, she caught his lazy smile.
They sat, nestled together, and watched Jeremy fly around the ice, holding the hockey stick high above his head as if in victory. She gasped, and Luke laughed, when the boy took a tumble. But he was back on his feet in seconds and skating again as if nothing had happened.
After a few moments of silence, Luke said slowly, “I’m glad you’re not seeing Richman anymore.”
She didn’t dare look at him. Didn’t trust herself to look at him. “I thought he was your friend.”
“If he would have touched you, laid one finger on you, he would have been a dead friend.”
Her voice shook and nearly broke. “Why is that?”
“I was the first man to make you come by touching you. And I want to be the first man to make you come while buried deep inside you.”
Rusty prayed he didn’t hear the lump she’d just swallowed. Her insides grew hot and liquidy. And she realized at the same time she wanted him inside her, couldn’t wait for him to be inside her. To feel what it would be like to climax with Luke, simultaneously.
But before she had a chance to tell him so, a porch light shined strong and bright from the back of the old farmhouse. An elderly woman stepped out onto the porch. “You’ve got ten seconds to git off my property or I’m going to sick my Dobermans on you,” she hollered. “Go on now, Git!”
“C’mon. You want to get eaten alive?” Luke pulled Rusty to her feet, grabbed the blanket, thermos and duffel bags and made a bee-line for the fence. Rusty held his hand tightly as she chased after him. She was barely able to run through the thick snow drifts that reached her calves. She didn’t hear any dogs barking, so they were still relatively safe. Another twenty yards or so to the fence.
Suddenly she pulled her hand free, stopped and turned to look behind her. “We have to wait for Jeremy,” she said breathlessly. “He still has his skates on.”
And he wasn’t running after them, either. “Jeremy!” she shouted, but he only waved them on, taking his time skating to the edge of the bank where he’d left his boots.
Luke tugged at her sleeve. “C’mon, run!”
She shrugged free. “We can’t leave him. What about the dogs?” She started back toward the pond. “Jeremy!” she called out again, shifting her eyes anxiously between the woman standing on the porch and her brother-to-be, sitting casually on the ground, unlacing his skates.
“You and Luke go ahead,” he shouted. “I’ll meet you at the truck as soon as I get my boots on.”
Why wasn’t he concerned about the dogs? she wondered. Did he want to get eaten alive? And why wasn’t Luke hurrying him along?
She spun around to see Luke coming her way. “Go get him, Luke Galloway!” She pointed her finger at his face. “If that boy gets attacked by those rabid, man-eating dogs, I’ll never forgive you!”
“There aren’t any dogs,” he said calmly with a hint of a smile curling at his lips.
Before she had a chance to argue with him, she heard the woman call out again. “Is that you, Luke? You and Jeremy?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” Luke waved at the woman.
Jeremy stood up,
waved his hands over his head. “Hi, Mrs. Smith.”
“You boys get in here out of the cold. And bring that young lady with you. I’ll make some hot chocolate.” With that said, she slipped inside the house and banged the door shut, leaving the porch light on in invitation.
Rusty stared first at Luke, then at Jeremy. They’d played her for a fool. Angling her head at Luke, she asked, “Does Mrs. Smith always invite you two inside for hot chocolate when you’re through skating?”
He shrugged, bit at his lip, probably to keep from laughing at her. “Most of the time.”
“You lied to me. You said she put that fence up to keep everyone out.”
“Everyone but us. She likes Jeremy and me. She’s the one who taught me to make hot chocolate. And she makes the best oatmeal raisin cookies I’ve ever had.”
Rusty’s breath came out on a noisy sigh. “If she doesn’t mind that you skate on her pond, then why in the heck did we have to climb that fence?”
Luke grinned, and moved to stand toe to toe with her. “We didn’t, but sneaking is part of the fun.” He winked at her, deliberately trying to throw her off balance, she figured.
She was going to kill him. As soon as she decided how, she was definitely going to kill him.
“You look cute when you’re mad, Princess.” He skimmed his thumbs over her cheeks, kissed the tip of her cold nose. His eyes burned with heated desire when he whispered, “When I get you home, I’m going to make love to you.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LUKE DIDN’T BOTHER TO KNOCK, just opened the back door and walked inside the Smith home as if he’d done so hundreds of times. Jeremy and Rusty followed.
“Don’t be tracking up my clean floor,” was Mrs. Smith’s gruff greeting. “Take off those boots and coats and leave them by the door.”
Rusty measured the woman. The sparkle in her blue gray eyes told her that had they messed up her shiny kitchen floor, she wouldn’t have minded at all.
She assessed the woman’s kitchen briefly. The table had already been set with cups and saucers in anticipation of their visit. A plate piled high with cookies-she assumed were oatmeal raisin-decorated the center. The room was warm and toasty and smelled of freshly, baked bread. Already Rusty’s toes were beginning to thaw. The cupboards were painted a gleaming white, and there wasn’t a crumb in sight, which said a lot about the proud owner of this home.