Crime and Periodicals: Green Valley Library Book #2

by Romance, Smartypants

  “I should stop. The kids…” he murmured.

  “I think they’re asleep,” I quickly whispered in response because I didn’t want to stop, not yet.

  He grinned and took a quick glance at the floor to confirm my observation. Then he turned my hand again and brushed soft, sweet kisses over the back of each finger before placing my hand on the back of his neck and pulling me into his body. Ripples of warmth flowed through me as I melted against him. My breath caught in my throat as his hands drifted up and down my back. For the first time I understood what it meant to have a man’s touch light you on fire. I was burning up.

  His fingers sifted into my hair and with a gentle tug he tipped my face back. I watched his eyes drift shut and his grin fade away as his face dropped to mine. He kissed me, warm and soft, claiming my mouth with his until I was left in a happy haze of pleasure. He pulled back; I opened my eyes to find his eyes on mine, sweet and sexy with that crinkly perfection at the corners I adored.

  “Is this okay?” he asked softly as he swept my hair over my shoulder.

  “Yes, Wyatt,” I whispered. Then he kissed me again—deeply, sweetly, completely. Restless pulses of pleasure darted through me as our kiss deepened and his tongue entered my mouth to tangle with mine. Holy Hufflepuffs, he was a good kisser.

  We were lost in each other, in this perfect moment where nothing existed but me, him, and this beautifully epic, probably life-changing kiss. His heart had found mine. More than our lips and hands connected us; we were in one of those rare moments when two people communicated with their souls. I pulled away to look at him and I knew he felt the same. My skin prickled with awareness as my heart opened up to let him inside. I pulled back with a sigh as I recalled my father’s warning to be careful of falling too fast.

  He let me go, but first placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “I like you here.” He framed my face with his palms then I swayed into him again to rest my cheek against his broad chest.

  “Thank you for inviting me.” My words were muffled but he heard me just the same. “I should probably get Harry home. It’s late.” I sat up and looked into his eyes as he smiled at me.

  “I’ll help you get Harry into the car,” he whispered.

  “Thank you.”

  We stood. I gathered our coats and Wyatt scooped Harry up off the floor. Once Harry was secure in the back of my Jeep, I turned to Wyatt. “I had a great time tonight. Your girls are amazing, your house is adorable, and I like you so much.” I shut my eyes. God, I had turned from not talking at all to a compulsive oversharer. What was wrong with me?

  I’d read a lot of books. I used to look for answers in books when I was too afraid to live my life. Books were full of helpful facts, even fiction. But if you weren’t pairing your reading with living then the facts were useless. Was this what a relationship was? Having a hand to hold and feeling like you had somewhere to belong? Because I felt that way right now.

  He didn’t say anything. He just slammed his mouth to mine.

  I ran my hands up his chest, loving the way his muscles felt under my palms. My hands came to rest on his cheeks as his mouth opened and his tongue swept between my lips to move against mine.

  He was delicious and I wished we weren’t outside. I wished I didn’t have to get Harry home and into bed because I didn’t want to stop kissing him.

  After another moment he pulled back. He held me and studied my face.

  I pressed my fingertips to his lips. Then I threw my arms around his neck and my body back into his. He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his head in that sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder, a spot that I hadn’t known before this moment would drive me crazy with his touch. My head tipped to the side so he could reach it better. His breath drew goose bumps across my skin before his lips pressed a kiss there. I held tight and breathed him in. I couldn’t get close enough. I wanted more of this feeling—I was soaring and every time he touched me, I flew higher.

  I waved goodbye to Wyatt as he stood on his porch watching me go. My heart fluttered with the memory of being in his arms and my thoughts kept drifting back to his sweet kisses. As I got closer to home, I couldn’t help but wonder how it would work if we went further. Where would we live? Would he be willing to leave this adorable house and move his girls into the ranch someday? I couldn’t take Harry away from my father, from Weston and Ruby. My life was not completely my own and neither was his. Was it possible to add anyone to it and take care of Harry the way he needed me to?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sabrina

  Tonight was the night. Our second attempt at a first date. We were meeting at Genie’s, to have dinner, dance, and whatever else. The possibility of whatever else was what I was a little bit nervous about. We had been texting and talking on the phone all week long, but I hadn’t mustered up enough courage to tell him I was a virgin. He could probably figure it out if he thought about it—whenever I talked about my life it was like a giant context clue that shrieked VIRGIN ALERT on repeat like an obnoxious, blaring alarm clock—but did men really think that hard about stuff like that?

  I finished applying my lipstick—MAC Diva (I wish)—and stepped back to examine myself in the mirror. I had traded my regular library nerd-wear for the skinny jeans Ruby helped me pick out when we were back to school shopping and a silky black tank to wear under my leather jacket. I was also wearing sexy underwear; it was green and lacy. Green was Wyatt’s favorite color. Sexy underwear made me feel sexy, but it also made me more nervous. I never said I made any sense. I slipped on Cora’s red boots for luck and tried to stop thinking about my panties.

  I drove to Genie’s and recalled the time when I’d come here to find Willa. I almost felt like a different person now. I was still shy, and I always would be, but that sickening dread I always felt whenever I left my house was gradually dissipating. The more I made myself do, the less I felt it. I was nervous, but not terrified, and for me that was huge.

  I pulled into a spot and got out. No hesitation this time as I crossed the parking lot to enter the bar. Wyatt had planned to drop his girls off with his mother and meet me at the edge of the bar, near the booth in the corner.

  I spotted Willa behind the bar slinging drinks and looking like a hot, blond, female version of Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Okay, she looked nothing like Tom Cruise, but she could flip a bottle up in the air and catch it like a badass. Genie was there, too. She waved to me as she filled glasses with the beer on tap behind the bar.

  I sat in a stool and waited.

  “Flamin’ Dr. Pepper?” Willa called to me with a huge smile on her face.

  “No, thank you. Just a beer please.”

  “Coming right up.” She slid me a beer. “When is Wyatt supposed to get here?”

  I glanced at the clock on my phone. “Any minute now.”

  She grinned at me. “I’m so happy for you, Sabrina. Wyatt’s a great guy.” She patted my hand and headed down the bar to help another customer.

  I sipped my beer and waited.

  Willa and I had caught up a lot since she’d come back to Green Valley, but I still didn’t know everything she’d been through while she was gone. I knew she was divorced. I knew her husband was a giant a-hole. But I had already known he was a bossy a-hole before she left. Mostly we just spent time talking about me, the kids, her job here at Genie’s, and the fact that she was about to move into the apartment in Everett’s basement next week.

  I finished my beer and glanced around the bar. I got up to stand on my tiptoes and scan the area. Where was he?

  I didn’t want to order another beer and I didn’t want to keep checking the time on my phone like a loser. I should text him. Just a little text to see if he was okay.

  I’m at Genie’s. Are you running late?

  I added a smiley face emoji and a friendly red heart so I wouldn’t seem like a crazy, hostile nag. I hit send.

  Oh my gosh, I shouldn’t have added the heart. He would think I want to marry him right now and ha
ve his babies. He would think I was in love with him like a stalker or something. I inhaled a huge breath and tried to calm my racing thoughts. I did want to have a baby. And sometimes I thought about what it would be like to marry Wyatt. Did he know that I practiced signing Sabrina Louise Logan-Monroe in my journal? Was he against hyphens? Had he figured out what my thoughts were and decided that escape was his only option? I mean, he hadn’t texted me back yet.

  I put my phone in my pocket and waited.

  Willa came around the bar and glared at the man in the stool next to me until he got up and walked off. “I’m on break,” she announced and took his seat.

  I tried to smile at her but the only expression I could muster up was a raised eyebrow look of panic. She covered my hand with hers and pressed down to stop me from tapping it on the bar.

  “You’re going to be fine, Sabrina.”

  “He’s late. He’s not coming. He hates me, I know it.” The words burst out of me before I could filter them.

  “He doesn’t hate you. No one hates you. There is nothing to hate.” She smiled sympathetically and held my hand.

  I froze. Of course, there was nothing to hate. I had been nothing for years. It was easy to be nothing.

  Now I was something. I was a girl waiting for a boy in a bar and it was scary.

  I wanted to be more than that.

  I am more than that.

  I was a daughter, an aunt, and a friend. I was an assistant librarian and a responsible driver. I could make the most kick-ass brownies in the world, and don’t play Monopoly with me—I’ll kick your butt. And yes, I was also a girl waiting for a boy in a bar, but I was so much more than that. And Wyatt was one of the people that had helped me see it.

  “You’re right. Something must have happened. I’m going to call and see if he’s okay.”

  “Good idea.”

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and called.

  It sent me straight to voice mail.

  “No answer,” I said.

  “Wyatt wouldn’t stand you up. I’ll call Everett,” she offered.

  “Oh, you have his number, do you?” Go, Willa. Everett is a catch.

  “Shut up.” She smiled and rolled her eyes. She pulled out her phone and held up a finger as she waited for him to answer. Her eyebrows went up. “He’s not answering either.”

  “Well, we’re all out of numbers to call. How long do people wait for a date? I don’t want to be rude.”

  She laughed. “You’re so crazy. He’s the one who’s late and you’re sitting here worried about being rude.”

  I shrugged. “I can’t help it.”

  “Good, don’t change completely. I’d miss you.”

  Tears filled my eyes. I leaned over in my stool and hugged her. “Thank you.”

  She pulled back and looked me dead in the eye. “But if he doesn’t have a good reason for this, you let him have it. Life is too short to put up with shit from any man.”

  “Okay. I will let him have it if I need to. I will take no shit.”

  “Good for you.”

  “I think I’m going to head home. If he shows up, will you tell him?”

  “Absolutely. And I’ll stop by in the morning. We can either eat a shit-load of ice cream for breakfast or go get pedicures. I’m there for you either way.”

  “I’m so glad you came home, Willa.”

  “Me too.”

  She got up and headed back behind the bar while I retrieved my jacket and drove home.

  Ruby and Weston were in the living room watching a movie, boxes of pizza spread open on the coffee table in front of them.

  “Hey,” I said as I flopped down on the sectional and reached for a slice of pepperoni.

  They exchanged a look.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be out with Wyatt?” Ruby asked.

  “He didn’t show up.” I took a huge bite of pizza, then flopped it back in the box. I didn’t have an appetite after all.

  “He stood you up?” Weston sat forward. “I can’t promise I’ll succeed. In fact, I may die if I try it. But, for you, I’ll attempt to kick his ass.”

  I shook my head as I finished chewing. “That won’t be necessary. Something probably happened. It will be fine,” I insisted.

  “What’s going on? What is up with you? Why aren’t you freaking out?” Ruby questioned me.

  “He’s a good guy,” I explained. “Something probably happened. I’m sure he’ll call me later and apologize. And if not, then I will be okay. I am more than just a girl in a bar.”

  “Yeah. You are. Absolutely.” Ruby studied my face as she reached for another slice of pizza. She tossed it back in the box and glared at me with suspicion. “Who are you and where is my Aunt Sabrina?” She turned to Weston. “We shouldn’t have watched that body snatcher movie earlier. I am freaking out.”

  Weston laughed.

  “Riri! You’re home early.” Harry jumped over the back of the couch and hugged my neck.

  “I sure am and I missed you.”

  “I missed you too.” He cuddled into my side. “Let’s watch Harry Potter. Can we?”

  “Sure, it’s been two days,” I answered. “I was starting to forget some of the dialogue.”

  Ruby laughed and snuggled into my other side. Weston grabbed another slice of pizza and settled in to join us.

  We watched the movie.

  I tucked Harry into bed at nine o’clock. Hours after my date with Wyatt was supposed to start and I still hadn’t heard anything. Was he okay?

  I said goodnight to Ruby and Weston and headed down my bookshelf-lined hallway to my little apartment off the side of the house. I changed into yoga pants and my favorite Smash-Girl T-shirt.

  What would Sienna Diaz do?

  Would she cry if the man she was falling into serious like with stood her up? Was that okay? Tears filled my eyes. I tried to blink them back, but they wouldn’t stop.

  I spun around as Ruby entered my room with a knock.

  “I knew you were upset.” She ran in and hugged me.

  “I can’t help it. I—”

  “Shh, no matter what, you’ll be fine. We’re all here for you. I’ll help Weston kick his ass. Or maybe I’ll just call Cle—never mind. You’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it. Pop is upstairs. Do you want to talk to him?”

  “Nah, I’m okay. I love you, Ruby.”

  “I love you too.” She squeezed me close again then pulled back to smile sympathetically at me.

  “I think I’m going to go for a walk. I don’t feel like being cooped up in here just thinking and wondering and being miserable.”

  “To the pasture?”

  “Yeah, you know me.”

  “I do know you. That’s how I know you’re going to be just fine.”

  I slipped on my Chucks, grabbed a hoodie, and grinned at Ruby. “I’ll see you in the morning, sweetheart.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Wyatt

  Tonight could not have gone worse. I was supposed to meet Sabrina at six o’clock for our date at Genie’s. Instead I spent the evening in an emergency room in Maryville with Mel and her sprained wrist. She had fallen off the slide on the playground at school. In my crazy rush to get to the hospital I’d lost my phone. I did not have Sabrina’s phone number memorized. Who memorizes phone numbers anymore? I was not able to call her, and I was late—so, so late. Over four hours late.

  My mother agreed to stay with the girls so I could swing by Sabrina’s house and attempt to get her to forgive me for tonight. My mother was a romantic and nosy as hell. It didn’t take much to convince her. The girls were asleep when I left and wouldn’t even notice I was gone, hopefully. How could I manage this—a potential relationship—when I had the girls to take care of?

  Sabrina had texted her gate code to me weeks ago, when I’d asked her out the first time. I punched it in and drove through. I parked my truck in front of the house, relieved to see the lights on downstairs.

  It was bad form to knock on anyone’s door thi
s late at night, but I didn’t want her to think the worst of me. I hated the thought of it. It was killing me to think I’d hurt her feelings.

  I knocked softly. I shifted from side to side like a teenager picking up his first date. I shook my head and took a deep breath.

  The door flew open. It was Ruby. She stood there and glared at me with her eyebrows up. Weston came up behind her.

  “Hey, Wyatt. You’re kind of late, bro,” he said with a glare to match his sister’s.

  Ruby continued to glare at me.

  I flinched when she narrowed her eyes. Damn, she was scary for a sixteen-year-old girl. “Mel sprained her wrist. I was at the emergency room and I lost my phone,” I said in a rush. I didn’t want Ruby to slam the door in my face or attack me like a teen demon.

  I didn’t have to worry though. Once I finished explaining, she lost the malevolent look and smiled at me. “Oh, well, that’s different. That’s good—not for poor Mel—but for you. I have to go and text Cletus,” she muttered and ran off.

  “Cletus? Winston?” I asked.

  “She was planning something with itching powder. I don’t know. I only heard one side of the conversation. I find it’s best not to rile Ruby up too much,” Weston advised. “Sabrina is out back. She was kind of upset earlier and went out there to think. Just drive around the garage, go past the barn, and keep on going until you see the old horse pasture. You’ll find her out there.”

  “Thank you, Weston.”

  “I know how it is. Relationships—they’re tough, man.”

  “How’re you doing?” I had heard he and Lizzy had broken up.

  “I’ll live.” He grinned at me. “Go get her.”

  I nodded and got into my truck.

  The moon sat low in the distant sky, gleaming huge and orange, shining almost as bright as the sun. I drove slow over the gravel road and kept my eyes peeled for Sabrina.

  I drove a bit more before I spotted her down a slight slope, sitting in the middle of an open field. I cut the engine and made my way to her.