by Elks, Carrie
Maybe that’s why she’d skipped her own prom. The thought of having her photograph next to Ashleigh’s was too much to bear.
“I hear Gray was there.” Ashleigh turned to her. “Jessica told me she saw the two of you talking in the square. Said you looked mighty close.”
“Jessica has too much time on her hands.”
The ghost of a smile passed Ashleigh’s lips. “She does like to gossip.”
“Yeah, even when there’s nothing to gossip about.”
Ashleigh sat down in the chair next to Maddie’s, making sure to straighten out her skirt to avoid any wrinkles. “I worry about you. After everything that happened in New York…” she trailed off, reaching for Maddie’s hand. “There’s nothing going on with you and Gray, is there?” she asked. “I’m just fretting over nothing, right?”
New York. Those two words were like a bucket of ice water over Maddie’s head. Ashleigh was one of the few around town who knew what had happened, and in the years since she’d arrived to bring Maddie home, she hadn’t breathed a word to anybody. She might drive Maddie crazy sometimes, but Ashleigh had been there for her when she needed her the most. For that reason alone she loved her sister like crazy.
“There’s nothing going on that you need to worry about.” It was only a half-lie. And a lie told to protect somebody wasn’t really a lie at all, was it? “It’s a small town and I work in the diner. I’m bound to bump into him sometimes. But he’s only here for a few more weeks and then he’ll be gone again. Probably for another ten years.”
And wasn’t that thought like a kick to her gut? Or a reminder to guard her heart.
“You see him in the diner?” Ashleigh asked, her eyebrows raised. “I would’ve thought he could afford to eat somewhere nicer. There are some lovely restaurants in Stanhope.”
Maddie thought about pointing out that the diner was nice, but she’d already told enough lies. “He’s working on his dad’s house. He doesn’t have much time to drive somewhere nicer.”
“What?” Ashleigh laughed. “That’s not true. Why would he be working on his dad’s house? He must have enough money to buy it ten times over.”
Maddie shrugged. “It’s a family thing, I guess.”
Ashleigh pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, then released it, looking down at her skirt. “Has he asked about me?”
“I don’t know,” Maddie said. “Probably. I must have mentioned you and the children.”
“Does he know I live in Stanhope?” Ashleigh asked. “Did you tell him I married Michael? And that his parents own the First State Bank?”
“Um.” Maddie was trying not to grin, but it was a challenge. “I don’t know, but I’ll make sure I do if I see him again.”
“Oh no, don’t do that. He’ll find out from somebody.” Ashleigh shrugged. “I just want him to know that I’m doing well.” She straightened her back. “That he’s not the only one who managed to leave town and make something of themselves.”
Maddie wasn’t sure what to say. If it had been anybody else she would have rolled her eyes, but this was her sister. And she could hear a note of hurt in her voice. A reminder of how devastated she’d been when Gray left for L.A. and didn’t look back.
If Ashleigh ever found out about Maddie kissing her ex, she’d be apoplectic. The thought of it twisted Maddie’s stomach into knots. Another reminder of what a bad idea it was to flirt with Gray Hartson, as if she didn’t know that already.
You didn’t flirt with him, you kissed him, the little voice in her head reminded her.
Maddie sighed. Yes, it was a terrible idea to kiss Gray Hartson. But the thought of not kissing him felt even worse. And if it meant she had to lie to her sister, to her mom, to the whole damn town to feel his lips on hers again? Then, god forgive her, that’s what she’d do.
“Mom, I finished my picture,” Carter said excitedly as he pushed the door open. “Wanna see?”
“Sure.” Ashleigh flashed Maddie a wary smile.
“Here you go.” Carter shoved the piece of paper in his mom’s hands before he turned to Maddie with a hopeful expression. “Can we play the piano now or are you two still arguing?”
Maddie burst into laughter and took Carter’s proffered hand. “Sure, we can go play for a while.”
“Ten minutes,” Ashleigh told him. “And we weren’t arguing, we were talking.”
* * *
At exactly eight o’clock, Maddie pulled on her shoes and called out to her mom. “I’m heading out. I’ll be back before midnight. Call me if you need anything.”
“Who are you going out with again?” her mom asked from her bedroom.
“Just a few friends,” Maddie said hurriedly. “Good night.”
Before her mom could ask her anymore questions, she grabbed her sweater and purse and walked out onto the stoop, planning to sit on the porch swing until Gray arrived. But then she saw him walking up the path, wearing a pair of jeans, a dark grey hoodie, and a baseball cap, and she stopped at the top of the steps.
“Hey.” He looked up at her, pulling his hat off. “I was just about to knock.”
“I decided to wait out here. I didn’t want to disturb my mom.”
A slow smile curled his lips. “You look pretty,” he said, taking in her blue-and-white summer dress, fitted at the bodice before flaring at her hips. She was wearing her hair down, her dark waves cascading down her back. When she’d taken a look in the mirror, she’d breathed a sigh of relief that she’d managed to tame it.
He reached the bottom of the stairs and held his hand out to her. She slid hers inside his palm, feeling the warmth of it, the calluses from playing the guitar. And the strength in his fingers as they curled around hers.
“Where are we going?” she asked, as he led her to a truck parked across the driveway. It was shiny and new from the looks of it. Expensive, too. Not the kind of truck you usually saw around Hartson’s Creek.
“I thought we could go for a drive.” He opened the door and helped her inside. “I packed some food and drinks. Wasn’t sure if you’d eaten.”
“I can eat again.” She shrugged. “Especially if it’s Aunt Gina’s cooking.”
“How did you guess?” He grinned.
She winked. “Women’s intuition. But what I’m more interested in is what you told her you needed the food for.”
He climbed into the cab and pulled his seatbelt on, pressing the ignition so the engine roared to life. “She didn’t ask and I didn’t tell. But if she had, I would’ve told her I’m trying to woo a beautiful woman, and I need all the help I can get.”
“Woo?” Maddie laughed because it reminded her of her conversation with Carter the prior week. “That’s the second time I’ve heard that word in the past few weeks.”
Gray lifted an eyebrow. “Is somebody else wooing you?”
“Not unless you count my nephew.” She grinned. “I’m hoping you might do it a little better.”
“Maybe.” He pressed his foot on the gas. “Is it working?”
Was it? She turned to look at him, taking in his profile. Strong nose, soft lips, jaw shadowed with evening beard growth. He’d thrown his cap into the back seat and his hair was mussed, but that made him look even more good looking, if possible.
Even before he’d headed to LA and become famous, he’d been out of her league. Now he was a million miles up in the stratosphere. Yet here he was, talking about wooing her, and it made her feel funny inside.
“Can I ask you something?” she said as he took a left onto the main road out of town.
“Yeah. Shoot.”
“Why am I here?”
The corner of his lips quirked up. “I already told you. I’m wooing you.”
“But why me? Of all the people you could be sitting next to right now, why me?”
He pressed his foot to the brake, bringing the car to a stop in the deserted lane. “What people do you think I want to be sitting next to?” he asked, turning to face her. His brows were knitted together.
She had to fight the urge not to smooth out the lines in his frown. “It doesn’t matter,” she told him. “I’m just being stupid.”
“It clearly matters to you. So it matters to me, too. So let me tell you something right now. There’s nobody in the world I’d rather have sitting in that seat than you. When you agreed to let me pick you up I felt like I’d won a goddamned prize. Because I get the impression you don’t agree to this kind of thing very often.”
“No, I don’t,” she said softly.
He reached out to take her chin between his fingers, his grasp soft but sure. Slowly, he angled her head until she was staring right into his eyes. “So why did you agree to it today?”
Her breath caught at the intensity of his stare. It made her whole body heat up, like the sun was beating down on her. If he kept this going for too long she was going to get burned.
Any smart remarks she might have thought of melted on her tongue.
“Because I couldn’t not agree,” she said quietly. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since you arrived back in Hartson’s Creek. And the way you kissed me last night…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “I can’t get that out of my mind, either.”
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing beneath the taut skin of his throat. “Yeah,” he said, his voice scratchy. “I’m finding it hard not to think about it, too.” He released his hold on her jaw. “Let’s get out of here before you change your mind.” The engine sprang back to life as he put his foot on the gas.
“Where are we going?” she asked again, a smile curling at her lips.
“Wait and see.”
Chapter Seventeen
She was thinking about kissing him again? Well that made two of them. As he took a left onto the road that wound up to the hills, he couldn’t bite down his smile anymore. Couldn’t stop glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, either. Damn, she looked good. Like one of those cute, take-no-shit girls next door he always sung about but rarely met. When she’d asked him what she was doing sitting next to him in his cab he’d wanted to laugh; because he’d been asking himself exactly the same question about her.
The entrance to their destination was right where he remembered. A broken gate hung at a strange angle from a paint-peeled post, and he maneuvered his truck through the gap with just enough space not to scratch it. Pulling up on the left, he shut off the engine and looked out of the windshield to the view below. The dotted lights of Hartson’s Creek laid out before them.
“You brought us to Jackson’s Ridge?” Maddie asked, her voice lifting with surprise.
“Yeah. Figured we could eat up here without being disturbed.” He climbed out of the cab and walked around to open her door, offering his hand to help her down. When she jumped to the ground, he grabbed the blanket and cooler he’d stowed in the flatbed, still holding her hand as he led her over to the grassy ridge.
“I’ve never been up here before,” she told him. “I didn’t know it had such a beautiful view.”
“I used to come up here with my guitar after arguing with my dad. Once I camped out all night. I caught hell for it from Aunt Gina.” Gray reluctantly let go of Maddie and laid the blanket on the soft grass, placing the cooler on top. “Got grounded for a month I think.”
Maddie grinned. “You were always a rebel.”
Gray couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that what you thought? I actually was a pretty good kid. Didn’t cause too many problems.”
“Oh come on. Everybody used to talk about you and your brothers. How you all ran wild and crazy.” She pulled her lip between her teeth, her face illuminated by the moon. “Remember the time you put whiskey in the communion wine?”
“That wasn’t me. It was Tanner.” Gray raised an eyebrow and opened the cooler, pulling out a bottle. “And talking of drinks, would you like one?”
“Champagne?” Maddie knelt down next to him. “What are we celebrating?”
Gray shrugged. “I finished the plumbing today. Only the roof left to finish and I’ll be done. I figure it’s worth raising a glass to.” He winked. “And it’ll only be one glass for me. I’m driving.” He popped the cork and poured two glasses, handing one to Maddie and raising the other one up.
“To home improvements,” she said with a grin, clinking her glass against his.
“And not flooding my dad’s house.” He took a sip, his gaze catching hers. Everything about her felt fresh and new. Like a wind blowing through the house, clearing out the cobwebs.
“When was the last time you did this?” Maddie asked, running her finger around the rim of her glass.
“Came to Jackson’s Ridge?” he asked. “I don’t know. Ten years ago, maybe longer.”
She looked up at him. “I meant drank champagne. With a woman.”
There was something in her voice. A tone somebody else might have missed. The merest hint of uncertainty that made his chest fill up. “I don’t know. I don’t drink a lot. Not anymore. I did, for a while but…” He took a deep breath. “But it messed with my mind and my music.” It was his turn to feel awkward. He looked up at her, his eyes hooded. He didn’t talk about this. At least not to anybody who wasn’t paid to listen. And yet the need to spill his guts to her pulled at him.
She ran the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip. “You were drunk the other night.”
“Yeah. I was a little.”
“I kind of liked it,” she admitted, staring at him with hooded eyes.
He put his glass down and leaned forward. “You did?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you like?”
“The things you said to me. That you see me. And you always have.”
“I do,” he whispered, reaching out to trace her cheekbone. Her eyelids fluttered at his touch. “I see every single bit of you. And I like it more than I can say.”
Her breath hitched and it made him want to touch her more.
“I wish you could see yourself the way I do,” he whispered, leaning closer. “You’re beautiful, Maddie Clark. And you’re kind. Funny as hell, too. Every time I think of you trying to climb that wall I laugh.”
“Asshole.” She smiled, her cheeks plumping against his fingertips.
“And I have no idea what you’re still doing in Hartson’s Creek, but because I’m a selfish bastard I’m so glad you’re here. I would have gone crazy without you to talk to.”
Her eyes were glassy. She blinked and he could see the clouds forming inside them.
“I can see you’re overthinking this,” he told her as her gaze darkened. “Stop it.”
“I can’t help it. You’re right about one thing, I’m still a small town girl, and you’re not a small town boy.”
“I’m still me, Maddie. You of all people should know that. Just Gray Hartson who spikes the church wine.”
“I thought you said Tanner did it.”
He winked. “So I did.” He took the glass from her hand and set it down beside him, pulling her close until her face was a breath away from his. “Let me show you something,” he said softly, laying her down on the blanket, positioning himself beside her.
“What?” she breathed.
He brushed his thumb against her lips. “Can you feel that?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“What does it feel like?”
Her brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“Close your eyes. Describe the sensation.” He caressed her lips again.
“It feels soft and warm. But strong. Skin against skin with nothing in between.”
“It’s me,” he whispered. “Just me. I’m the same as any other guy. I eat, I sleep, I go to the bathroom.” He laughed. “And I think you’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”
She sighed, and he felt the warm air on his hand. God, he wanted to kiss her. Wanted to pull her body on top of his and feel every inch of her pressed against him.
He swallowed, trying to push down his insatiable desire. “Touch me,” he said
hoarsely, moving her hand to his face. She feathered her fingertips against his cheek, her thumb brushing his jaw, slowly moving down to his neck.
It was getting hot. Too hot. He pulled his hoodie over his head and threw it on the blanket, his skin immediately cooling as the evening air caressed it.
Maddie ran her finger around the sleeve of his t-shirt, then traced down his bicep, outlining the tattoo etched there.
“When did you get this one?” she asked him.
“That was my first tattoo. I got it on the anniversary of my mom’s death before I drank myself to oblivion.” He looked at her with a wry smile. “I’d only been in LA for a year then.”
“It’s pretty. A dove, right?”
“Yeah. My mom’s favorite bird.”
A smile played at her lips. “How many do you have?”
“Tattoos? I don’t know. A lot, I guess.”
“Can I see them?”
He tipped his head to the side. “Are you asking me to take my t-shirt off, Miss Clark?”
“I’m asking you to show me your tattoos, smart-ass.” She shook her head. “The rest is just gravy.”
He pulled his black t-shirt over his head, watching her expression change as she took him in. Her eyes roved over him, and he liked it too much. Couldn’t get enough of the darkness in her eyes. “Can I touch you?” she asked him.
He grinned wickedly. “God, yes.”
“Turn onto your back,” she whispered, and he did as directed. She leaned over him, her face close to his chest. He held his breath for a second until her fingers began to trace the tattoo on his left pectoral, long thick black lines depicting a growling wolf. “When did you get this?” she asked, her fingers perilously close to his nipple. He was already hard as iron.
“Sydney. About eight years ago.”
She slid her hand across his chest, and he held his breath as she leaned closer, her mouth inches from his skin. He was hanging on by a string. “And this one?” she asked, her fingers tracing down the ridges of his abdomen.