Chapter 3
Harper
The landscape at the back of my sister's small house was breathtaking as I sat on the porch the next morning with a cup of coffee in my hands. I tried like hell to concentrate on the bright green trees and grass against the blue sky but found my gaze moving back toward Luke's big white mansion.
I wanted to see him walk out on the porch in his undies or even a pair of shorts. He was exquisite, his voice the thing that got me most. So deep and smooth, like well-aged bourbon.
"Hey. You want to go with me to the county fair here in an hour or so? My clinic in town is closed down for the four-day weekend because of the celebration."
I glanced over my shoulder at my sister. Her long hair was down, the golden strands blowing in the wind. She was gorgeous, breath-taking. But she had locked herself up emotionally. Nothing would get through to her, not even me.
"Yeah, sure. I'm just here to rest and hang out with you. Where you go, I go." I smiled and patted the seat beside me. "Come take a load off."
"No, I have too much to get done before I need to be at the fairgrounds." She reached up and tied her hair up. "Come on, lazy bones. Let's go. The sunshine will do you some good."
I let the conversation die as my eyes moved back over toward Luke's place. Would he be at the fair as well? Why the idea of seeing him left me feeling like a teenage girl with a crush was beyond me. It was silly, but the part of my heart that still yearned for affection let me have a little bit of fun.
Not that I deserved it. I didn't deserve shit after the decisions I'd made. Taking my ex-husband, Peter for granted was the first of many wrong moves I'd made over the last three years. Cheating on him was the second.
Tears blurred my gaze as I let the horror of the last few years wash over me. Who the fuck had I become? Where was the strong, pure, good woman my mother had raised me to be? Was she still inside of me?
"Hey... let's go. Move it." My sister squeezed my shoulder softly.
"Okay," I whispered and got up as a few tears spilled onto my cheeks.
Her expression softened as she reached for me. "What's going on? You want to stay here and talk instead? I can get one of my nurses to cover for me for a little while."
"No." I hugged her before moving past her into the house. "I just need to figure out how to release some of my demons."
"Need a preacher?" She chuckled behind me.
"Yeah. You know a good one?" I glanced over my shoulder and forced a smile. My father had been a pastor and given everything to the church. Somehow, he and my mother raised one good girl, which wasn't me. Never had been, and from the looks of things... I never would.
***
"Well, well. Look who's here." My sister lifted her arm and pointed across the busy fairgrounds. People milled about, and kids ran around the adults, the laughter lifting my spirits a little. I tried to figure out where Nora was pointing to and finally landed on Luke.
"Oh." I reached up and brushed my hands through my hair, turning to face her. "Do I look okay? Anything in my teeth?" I gave a big-toothed grin.
Her smile lifted. "Why do you care? You falling for the billionaire next door?"
"Someone call my name?" A handsome guy in slacks and a button-down shirt moved up in front of us. He turned toward me and extended his hand. He looked a little like Luke, but not enough to determine if they were full-blooded brothers. "Tanner Daniels. You must be Harper."
"Yeah. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand and glanced over at my sister, who's cheeks were stained pink, and the vein at the side of her neck was beating wildly. Either she was angry or intensely turned on. I smirked, figuring it was a little bit of both.
"Did you tell Tanner I was coming into town?"
"No. I don't talk with him much." She shook her head and moved back as an elderly lady walked up and pulled her attention away from us.
"I'm right here. Jeez, Nora." He gave me a funny look and slipped his hands into his slacks. He was the hottest guy I'd seen at the fair so far, but I knew one that beat him by leaps and bounds. I wanted to push past Tanner and make my way over to his brother, but seeming like I needed attention from anyone was out.
"She's a little hard to deal with at times." I forced a smile. "So you're Luke's little brother?"
"Little as in how?" His eyebrow lifted.
"Not sure what your question is getting at, but let's go with age?" I laughed and slipped my hand around his arm as he offered it.
"Yeah, but only by five years or so. Come on. My brother's the best chili cooker in the state. He's in the cookoff today, but we all know he's going to win." He glanced over at me. "He always does."
"How did you know I was visiting?" I turned and walked through the crowd, trying to dodge little kids and random animals that seemed to be given the right to roam freely.
"My brother mentioned you a few times last night." He shrugged and stopped by a cotton candy bin. "I think he might be interested in having you and Nora over for dinner."
I stiffened and turned to face him. "Why?"
"Um, because people eat and you guys are our neighbors?" He pulled out his wallet. "Pink or blue?"
"Blue." I didn't miss a beat. "Do you guys have my sister over all the time?"
My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I pulled it out and glanced down. Peter. Even after all we'd been through, he was still trying to get back into my life. There was no way in hell I was going back down that same well-worn path. He wasn't the man I needed in my life, and I would continue to hurt him each time he came back until one of us finally called it quits. He wanted security, and I craved adventure.
"No. I wish." Tanner glanced back toward the crowd. "I've been trying to get your sister to go out for a drink with me since she bought the property beside us."
"Three years and no luck? You need a dating coach, obviously." I smiled as he gave me a look. Where Nora didn't like the handsome bastard, I could quickly see us becoming friends. Nothing more, but he had something about him that called to the adventurer in me.
Now his older brother was a different story. I turned and let my eyes run up his body, taking in the thick swell of his shoulders and upper arm muscles. His white t-shirt was stained with what looked like chili powder and sweat. Where I normally would have been grossed out, the translucent shirt made it obvious that he had a rock-hard body beneath it.
My nipples budded and I had to shift to make sure Tanner wasn't aware of my body betraying me.
"I'm thinking you might be just the gal." He moved into my line of site, blocking Luke completely. "What's the story with Nora? She's like an ice princess."
"Ask her yourself. You're a grown man." I pinched off a piece of the blue cotton candy and popped it into my mouth, enjoying the sweetness of it as it melted on my tongue. "If I were you, I'd fake an illness. Bust your head or something. She's a doctor for shit's sake. Get her attention."
His eyes glazed over a little. "That's actually a great idea."
"Good. Now move." I took the cotton candy from him and walked over toward Luke, pausing as a blonde with a cute pixie haircut, and big blue eyes moved around him. She gripped his arm with both hands and gave him a sexy smile. I couldn't make out her words, but she was flirting by the look of things.
I stopped in my tracks and turned to find my sister standing behind me.
"Nope. She's just an old friend of his from high school. Get over there and have some fun." She reached out and brushed her fingers through the side of my hair.
"Are you seriously giving me advice on fun? Last I heard, you had cobwebs in your panties!" I pushed her hand from my hair and smiled. "You go talk to Tanner and I'll-"
"Not a chance in hell." She crossed her arms over her chest. "He's an idiot, and I'm not interested in sex in a barn and then a car and then a closet and then-"
"Wait." I lifted my hand. "Why are you thinking he'd want sex in a bunch of random-ass places?"
"Because he's a playboy, Harper. That's all he wants." She shrugged. "
I'm not interested. Luke isn't like that at all, but his brother is a slut."
"So go after Luke." I forced myself to sound even, put together. I was in my early thirties, but being around my sister left me feeling a bit like a kid again.
"Not a chance. He's handsome and a great guy from what I hear, but I just don't feel anything."
"And you do around Tanner, don't you?" A smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
"I hate you. Hope you trip." She winked at me, straightened her shoulders, turned and walked back toward her clinic table.
Luke's deep voice rolled over me from behind and left my heart quivering in my chest.
"Harper?"
I turned and bit my lip, taking him in a few seconds before speaking. "I heard you had the best chili in the state. I thought I'd make sure you were the real deal."
"Well, come on over and taste me then." He lifted a spoon and winked. "You like it hot?"
Chill bumps broke out across my skin, and the air suddenly felt so damn thick. "Are we still talking about the chili?"
He laughed. "I'm not so sure, to be honest, but get over here and let me make a fan out of you."
Funny enough, he already had with little to no effort.
Chapter 4
Luke
The blush on her cheeks looked damn good. Her deep blue eyes drawing me in deep. She had the look of a woman I could find myself falling in love with. The very thought had me pulling back as she walked toward me.
"So... you're a chef, or is cooking just a past time?" She reached up and pushed her dark locks over her shoulder.
"I don't have a job, so I just help out around town where I'm needed, volunteer here and there and work the farm." I licked my lips, unable to help myself. "Cooking is a hobby. You?"
She stiffened and reached up to wrap her arms around her chest like she had the night before. The position accentuated her breasts, and my body grew hard at the thought of getting her naked and making love to her. It wasn't like me to want to take a woman to bed before I got to know her a little better, but something about the poutiness of her lips, the intelligence in her eyes. We could talk after I worshiped her body for a few hours.
"I love to read, though I can't seem to sit still much nowadays." She glanced over her shoulder as if uncomfortable and looking for someone to save her.
I scooped up some of the chili in a ladle and waited for her to turn back. "Onions and cheese?"
"Both." She smiled, capturing me in the moment.
"So you're from the big city? You always lived there?" I had to make small talk until I could get her to relax a little. Maybe digging into any part of her life was bad territory, but I couldn't help myself.
"Yeah." She took the bowl from me and picked up her spoon, her eyes never leaving mine. "I'm a psychologist there."
"Oh, interesting." I brushed my hands down the front of my shirt. "Now, be honest about the chili. I'm trying to win an award later today. No buttering me up in hopes of asking me out on a date while you're here."
She laughed and blew on the dark liquid in her bowl before looking back up at me. "Are you asking me out?"
"Do you want me to?" I smiled and watched her closely. I didn't know a damn thing about her, but something drew me in, forced me to step forward. The way her eyes widened a little let me know she wasn't ready for anything more than a friendship.
"I don't know." She took a tentative bite and went in for more. The soft moan that left her had my body aching.
There was no way for me to adjust myself so that the thick erection growing by the second below my stomach didn't grab her attention. Hell, Tanner would have used that to his advantage, but I wasn't him. My playboy days were long over, and I was fucking thrilled to have that door closed.
Too many broken hearts, including my own.
"Well, you think about it and let me know when you do." I reached out and wiped the side of her perfect mouth. "Come on. Let's go walk around. I need a break, and you need to experience a county fair in full effect."
"Alright, but don't let anyone touch my bowl. Have someone watch it." She sat it down and wiped at her mouth. "And not your brother. He'll eat it and say he didn't."
I laughed. "Wow. You've already figured Tanner out, hm? Poor guy can't get a head start with any of the pretty girls around here."
"Pretty girls?" She chuckled, and the sound lit me on fire. An angel with a broken heart. There had to be more to the story. Was she a good girl like her sister? A sweet woman with no desire to be involved with anyone? Not from what I could tell.
"You don't like the term?" I nodded toward the Ferris Wheel and forced my hands in my jeans pockets. I wanted to take her hand, but even at my age, it seemed silly. Trite. Like something two lovers would do, and where I wanted that to be what we became, I was trying to be realistic. Two weeks would go by in a flash, and she didn't need her world turned upside down, nor did I.
"I do, but I'm not really a girl."
I let my eyes move down the length of her body, enjoying her curves more than I should have. "You sure as hell look like one to me."
She swatted at me. "I'm a woman."
"Agreed." I stopped beside the Ferris Wheel and stuck out my hand. Old man Timmons shook it and opened the gate without a word passing between us.
"Do we need to pay?" She moved up beside me, and I reached out and took her hand, helping her onto the cable car.
"No. I help everyone where with their businesses or farms from time to time. They won't charge us." I got into the cart and locked the bar down in front of us. "Tell me what you do for fun, Miss New York City."
She smirked. "I'm not really sure life can be fun after a certain age."
I balked. "Are you shitting me? We're still young, and to be honest, the people who have the most fun are those who are old enough to know that all life can be is fun."
"You think so?" Her voice softened, and I caught a glimpse of that hurt, that timid nature that she seemed to be trying hard to hide.
"I do." I leaned back and extended my arm around the back of her shoulders as the ride started to move. She squealed, and I laughed. "You sounded all of ten years old just then."
"I wish." She scooted a little closer. "My sister and I haven't talked in three years."
"Why is that?" I cupped her shoulder and forced myself to relax. I wanted to lean down and kiss her exposed shoulder, to breath her in, to let myself fall in love with the gorgeous stranger pressed to my side. I hadn't wanted for anything or anyone in years. How weird it was to feel those feelings again. The slight fear that she would return to New York and leave my plain world just that - plain.
She glanced down and cupped her hands together. "My mom and dad were killed in an accident coming to see Nora and me in L.A."
"I'm sorry to hear that. My folks died on the way back from a funeral about ten years ago. They were five miles from the house." I cleared my throat. It wouldn't ever be easy to talk about losing them, not that I brought it up much. Tanner and I steered clear of the conversation and had for the longest time. It was too painful. Even still.
"Wow. That's horrible." She glanced over at me, the kindness in her eyes meaning far more than the heat I'd seen earlier. "Who's funeral? Were you with them?"
"No. I was in the service. I joined the Navy out of high school and had worked my way up to flying at the Air Force flight school, but after mom and dad died, Tanner was a mess. I got out of the military and came back here to help him work through everything."
"And is he better?" She glanced around as if trying to pick him out from all the other bodies that moved around on the earth far below us. He wouldn't be too hard to find. He was the only one in slacks and a button-down shirt. He'd never fit in again. He didn't want to.
"I don't know if better is the right word. He's become a different man than the one I left when I graduated high school and went on with my life, but he is who he is now." I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair. "So tell me why you and Nora haven't talk
ed in three years."
"Because I look like my daddy and she looks like my momma." She glanced over at me, her face so close to mine. Up close I could see the laugh lines on the side of her mouth and cute little freckles lining her nose.
"You're beautiful." I reached up with my free hand and touched her cheek softly as the world seemed to fade. "Did you know that?"
"No," she whispered and pulled my hand down. "My sister is the pretty one."
"Not from where I'm sitting." I pushed her hand away from mine softly and cupped her face again. "Let me kiss you. I've wanted too since I drove up the road to my home last night."
She laughed, and I could tell it was genuine. "What? That's ridiculous. Do you use these lines on all the girls around here that are after you?"
"Ain't nobody after me." I glanced down toward her lips and licked mine. "And it's not ridiculous. I could see sadness in your face yesterday. Something inside of me wants to force it to fuck off. Why is that?" I glanced back up, locking eyes with her.
"Because you said it yourself. You help everyone around here. A wounded bird shows up, and you're the first one in line to fix its wings and help it fly again." She pressed against my palm, her cheek soft, her perfume sweet.
"Do you need help flying again?" I leaned in and brushed my nose by hers, breathing her in.
"Do I look like I do?" Her soft panting left me so hungry for her touch, so needy to help her find release of any kind.
"Not in the slightest, but we all wear the mask we want others to believe in." I brushed my lips by hers. "Time for that kiss, pretty girl."
"Please?" She whimpered and closed her eyes as I leaned in to devour her sweet mouth.
Chapter 5
Harper
The kiss lingered on my lips as I rode in silence with Nora back to the house. She'd been going on and on about the nerve of Tanner Daniels, her voice loud and filled with a false frustration that was nothing more than attraction. She just couldn't see it, and I wasn't going to be the one to bring it into the light. We fought better than anything else, and I'd had enough angst in my own life.
My Last First Kiss: A Single Father Secret Baby Novel Page 66