“I noticed,” Cat said. “Even though I blacked out last night. I still remember what you did for me. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t come along? I’m just glad my parents weren’t home to see any of that.”
West planted his feet firmly on the ground and leaned into her. His face came close to hers. She could smell the syrup on his breath.
“No more drinking for you,” he said. “At least not while you’re out. You don’t seem like the type to handle alcohol well.”
“That’s because that was my first time. You see, it was on the list. I wanted to know what it was like. I didn’t enjoy it. I doubt I’ll ever partake again. I don’t see what the hype is about. It did not taste good.”
He studied her. The feeling of his gray eyes roving over her face, searching for… something, made Cat feel like she was back inside her car with the heat on full blast. All her life she’d had people staring at her, poking her, prodding her, asking her all kinds of private questions. With one look, she felt that West York saw into her soul.
She hoped he liked what he saw.
“I wanted to thank you,” she said. “Nobody’s ever rescued me before."
West smirked. “A good little rich girl like you? I have a hard time believing that. The quarterback didn't rescue you in high school?"
"I didn't know the quarterback."
“Oh, I get it. You rode with the academic squad. So you’re a hot nerd?"
Cat’s breath caught. "You think I'm hot?"
West ignored her query. “Or maybe you were in the marching band? You went to band camp?"
"I’ve never been to a camp, and I don't play an instrument."
“I definitely don't take you as a mean girl.” He pursed his lips as he continued to hold her with that gray gaze. “So you're not a nerd. You're not a band geek."
"Maybe I’m a rebel."
“I got it.” West snapped his fingers. "You went to a private school."
“Sorry. Wrong again. I was homeschooled, mostly."
“You need my help with your term paper?" He cocked his head in disbelief. “I’m not sure what you heard about me, but school wasn’t where I thrived.”
"I'm not in school anymore. I mean, I'm in college. I'm twenty. But yes, I need your help with a… project."
“You're talking about that bucket list again, aren't you?"
West crossed his arms over his chest. He looked down at her with clear disapproval. Cat felt like she was getting a grilling from the school principal.
“What is it with you and this list?” he asked. “Why do you have one? Is it like Twenty-One Things to do Before Twenty-One?”
“Something like that. I was wondering if you would help me out with a couple of the items?"
“Which ones?" He didn’t uncross his arms. He still eyed her skeptically.
“I want to go skydiving. My treat.”
West’s arms dropped to his sides. His brows rose to his hairline. “Skydiving? Do you have a death wish?”
Quite the contrary. She had a life wish. But Cat wasn’t about to tell him that. He clearly already thought she was crazy. “It’s just that I saw these bird’s flying—”
“So, take a plane ride.”
“It’s not the same.”
“How would you know? What makes you think that I would know? I’ve never been skydiving. I have no desire to go skydiving. I’m definitely not taking you to do it. You don’t even have the constitution to handle a couple of beers.”
“I’ll have you know I had three,” she said. “Okay, two and a half.”
“Those two and a half beers put you in danger. Skydiving could take your life.”
“It wouldn’t be my first near-death experience,” Cat mumbled under her breath with her chin to her chest.
“What was that?” West asked.
She’d said it more to herself than to him, so West hadn’t heard her. He wasn’t going to help her.
"Fine,” she said. “I’ll go by myself.”
“No, you won’t.” West stepped in front of her before she could head back around the front end of the car. “I’m not letting you do this.”
Cat couldn’t hide the joy bubbling up in her chest. On some small level, West York cared what happened to her. Which meant he cared about her. Which was one step closer to checking off the item at the top of her list; getting West York to give her that first kiss.
“Okay,” she said. “I won’t jump. But I want to do something on the wild side. What do you suggest?”
The light in West’s eyes shifted to something darker. Like a storm cloud moving in on an already-cloudy day. “So, you come to someone like me to take you for a walk on the wild side? Is that it?”
“Well, yeah. You’re my friend.”
Just like that, the storm passed. West’s gaze wasn’t exactly sunny, it wasn’t even clear, but still, the fog had lifted.
“I’m sure, like last night, you won’t let anything bad happen to me,” she said. “Because that’s the kind of man you are.”
West swallowed. He looked away from her. He inhaled deeply, then he reached his hand out to her. “Give me the keys. I’m driving.”
“I left them in the ignition.”
West grimaced. Cat couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard him curse under his breath. He walked around to the driver’s side as she climbed into the passenger seat.
A second after West turned the ignition, a glaring siren sounded from behind them. Looking in the rearview mirror, Cat saw a Sheriff’s car pulling up behind them. West threw his head back against the headrest. The curse he said this time was loud and clear for her to hear.
"Nice parking job, York.”
“Afternoon, Sheriff St. Clair,” said West.
Cat leaned forward to see the local Sheriff. She knew his name, but she hadn’t had the chance to meet him. Her father had told her that he wasn’t the come-over-for-dinner type. But her mother told her that now that the Sheriff had a new lady in his life he was trying to make an effort to mingle more.
"I don't need your license,” said Sheriff St. Clair. “I have all your details memorized.”
“Excuse me,” said Cat. “Sheriff St. Clair, it’s not West’s fault.”
“And you are?”
Cat opened her mouth to drop her family’s last name. Then she thought better of it. She did not want her father finding out about her extracurricular activities, especially not when he’d recently gotten a promotion with the local government.
“Whoever you are, watch out for this guy. He doesn’t have the best of reputations.” The Sheriff turned his attention back to West. The man tore a ticket off his pad and handed it to West. Then he turned on his heel and headed back to his squad car.
"Nice to visit with you, as always St. Clair,” West called after him.
“I’ll take care of that.” Cat reached for the parking ticket.
West snatched it out of her reach. “He’s right. You should not be hanging out with me. I’ll keep this as a souvenir to remind the both of us of that fact.”
10
West
The sign for leaving Hidden Hollows flew past them as West gunned the engine of Cat’s car. He was going above the speed limit. Mostly because he knew he could get away with it with Sheriff St. Clair back in town.
No one else on the police force wasted time with parking and speeding tickets. There wasn't much crime in the small town, so policing was a cushy job.
St. Clair had settled down somewhat now that he had a new lady in his life. The new bakery owner, Millie Thornton, had finally reminded the grumpy Sheriff that there was more to life than a speedometer. Unfortunately, West was still one of the Sheriff’s favorite customers. Though favorite might not be the right word.
The Hidden Hollows police force had West’s address saved in their favorites, and his phone number on speed dial. Though neither West nor Zik had committed anything resembling a crime in years, the officers of their small town still made house
calls more frequently than the York brothers cared for.
There wasn’t much either of them could do about that. Like it or not, they were stuck in this small town. The roots beneath their house were too thick and intricate for either of them to extricate themselves.
But for now, West rode free on the open roads of the North Carolina mountains. With the windows rolled down and the wind hitting his face, he felt free of any worries and woes that constantly bogged him down in that small town where people had made up their minds about him while he was still in the womb. All because of the sins of his mother and father.
His mother had left them years ago. She’d gone out one night and never came back. The call came at the end of the week that she’d overdosed, and her body was found in a trap house in the next city.
His father had been trying to get himself together before that. But after the death of his wife, Bill York couldn’t bring himself to care about his children any longer. His only concern was where his next drink would come from.
So shortly after becoming a legal adult, West was straddled with all the responsibilities of a father, overnight. It fell to him to not only take care of his younger brother but Dinck too. She had only been a few months old when West had bundled her up in a dark blanket and stood at his mother’s grave.
West and Zik had been dealt a raw deal. But West was determined that Dinck would have a shot, a real shot, at life. And if that meant that he was stuck here, so be it.
He'd never been in jail. He didn't need the bars. That boundary line of Hidden Hollows marked the borders of his imprisonment. But today he was escaping his fate. Even if only for a few hours.
West glanced over at Cat. Her hands were folded primly in her lap. Her head canted to the side as she stared out the window. There was a smile of delight on her pink lips. Her eyes sparkled as they reflected the late morning sun.
He still couldn't figure her out. She was definitely a good girl. A good, little rich girl with soft hands that somehow possessed a driver’s license even though she couldn’t park and could barely drive a car. A car that had less than two hundred miles on it.
She’d had a taste of danger. And here she was back for more. Yet, somehow, she’d enlisted him to protect her on this walk on the wild side.
West knew Cat was trouble for him. He couldn't get enough of the way she looked at him. Like he was strong and capable. Like he knew the answers to her deepest, most pressing questions. Like he was her hero.
He needed to break her of that habit.
Soon.
Eventually.
After their excursion today. Because she did need someone to look after her on this little adventure. And after he’d made her heart race, he would talk her out of that list of hers. Otherwise, she might get herself hurt.
“Have you lived in Hidden Hollows your whole life?" he asked her.
“Hmmm.”
West wasn’t sure if that was a noncommittal answer, or if it was a sound of contentment. She was so comfortable with him, so trusting. She scooted deeper into the seat.
Watching her action from the corner of his eye, West loosened his grip on the steering wheel. He eased his foot off the gas. He was no longer in so much of a rush to get where they were going and get this day over with.
"How is it we never ran into each other in town?” he asked.
"I told you," she said. "I was homeschooled. And I didn't get out much."
So, she'd been in a cage of her own. While he'd run the streets since he could walk, Cat had been trapped inside. He wondered if her parents were religious fanatics. Maybe the anti-government type? Hidden Hollows had all walks of people. But he doubted that parents who were against the government could afford to buy their daughter a car off the lot.
"So you're trying to make up for lost time with this bucket list of yours?" he asked.
"Something like that,” she said.
Either she was fascinated by the scenery out the window, or she was purposely evading his questions.
She turned to him then. Those light brown eyes were the picture of innocence. Like cinnamon sprinkled over a dessert.
Well, a little cinnamon never hurt anyone.
Cat smiled at him. The lift of her lips was one part shy, one part invitation. But he would bet his last dollar that she didn’t know she was making an invitation. Whatever she was, West knew that Cat wasn’t that kind of girl. The kind to be forward with a guy she barely knew.
True, she’d handed her car keys to a guy she barely knew and was sitting back as he drove her to God knows where. But just as she trusted him with her life, West knew he would never do anything to hurt this woman or to break her trust.
He also knew he should keep his eyes on the road. But he couldn't get enough of the way she looked at him. There was no judgment in her eyes. Only trust and delight.
And then she frowned. She lifted her head from the headrest and turned to look behind them. Her brown eyes squinted in distress. "West, you missed the turn for the skydiving."
“I told you,” he said. “I’m not taking you skydiving."
"But it's on the list."
"It's too dangerous."
“But…” Cat pouted. She crossed her arms over her chest like a disgruntled toddler.
West had to bite his upper lip to keep from smiling. Had no one ever told this girl no?
He gripped the steering wheel again. He had to. His right-hand itched to reach out to her. He wanted to take his thumb and smooth her pursed lips. Then he’d be free to lean over and—
"West, look out!"
West jerked the car to the right as a semi came out of nowhere. The semi zoomed past them as West got back inside the lane he was meant to be in. Figuratively and literarily. If all the trouble he'd gotten into because of her these past two days wasn't enough, that near-fatal accident should've been the final warning.
Cat was dangerous for him. He had no business thinking of kissing her. He shouldn't even be in this car with her.
But he couldn't turn back now. They'd arrived at their destination.
"Zip lining?" said Cat. The delight was back in her voice and in her eyes.
"You still get to fly through the air while tethered with rope. This is much safer."
Instead of arguing with him, her face lit up. "I'm game. Let's do it."
11
Cat
Cat’s heart was racing. Her hands and feet felt cold. Her breath came fast and short. All around her, all she could see was the tops of trees. In the distance was a mountain range, but it was at her eye level.
At second glance, she thought she might be a bit higher than the peak.
It wasn't the first time she'd been up this high. In fact, she'd been much higher. She'd flown to the capital to see specialists. But she'd been inside an airplane, strapped into the roomy cushions of a first-class seat when that happened.
A thick piece of fabric tightened around her chest, causing Cat to gasp. Her gaze fastened on the man holding the ropes. West was standing before her, towering over her with a mere two inches between them.
Cat inhaled slowly, catching the last vestiges of the maple syrup on his breath. The sugary scent warmed her down to her toes. Her heartbeat slowed as all her focus narrowed to the man making sure she was secured. The panic that had been creeping into her vanished under his sure hands.
"Sure about this?" West asked her. Buckles clicked into place as he finished strapping her into the safety harness.
"Definitely." To her own ears, her voice sounded breathy. One might even call her tone wanton. It was an apt description. Cat wanted very much to share her breath with West York.
“You remember all the instructions?" he asked.
No. She remembered the instructors talking. But they’d sounded like the teachers and parents in a Charlie Brown cartoons that played on the media room at the Children’s Hospital on holidays.
"This one is the brake.” West’s hand clamped over hers.
Part of Cat wanted to
yank her hand away from his. The last thing she wanted to do was to pump the brakes on what was happening to them. Or at least, what was happening to her. West probably put his hand over other girls’ hands all the time. It probably wasn’t a big deal to him.
But to Cat? It felt like… everything. With his hand on hers, she'd never felt so alive in her whole life as she did at this moment with this man.
There went the light-headedness again. Her heart was beating so fast that she was feeling pains in her chest. The cold was back too, in her fingertips and toes.
West took her hand again. With one hand he rubbed at her knuckles. With the other, he tilted her chin up until he was staring directly into her eyes.
Lightheadedness turned to dizziness. Cat tried to speak, but her tongue felt like it was on fire. She exhaled, trying to cool off her tongue. If West was going to kiss her now, she didn’t want to miss any part of the feeling.
“You’re looking a little pale there, Cat. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Cat opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes. I do. I’m good. I want this.”
She wanted to tell him she wanted the kiss more than she wanted to go sailing through the trees on a rope. But West was already turning from her. He placed his hook thingy on the rope that would take him over the treetops. She should probably remember what that was called since it likely meant the difference between her sailing through the air and landing flat on the ground.
“Here,” said West. “I’ll go first. To show you how it’s done.”
"Isn't it ladies first?" Looks like her tongue was back in working order, and the heat had left behind a little sass. She liked it.
West looked over his shoulder. One eyebrow raised as he regarded her. Did he like her sass too?
“I keep trying to tell you, I'm not a gentleman. I'll be waiting for you on the other side."
West turned back around. As he did so, his body brushed hers. Every cell in Cat’s body came fully alert.
Loving the Bad Boy Page 5