Gage

  Kristina sat forward with enthusiasm. “That’s the band of choice up here. They stopped coming when the business died off. If you can talk them into playing, we could make some flyers and I’m sure this place would be bursting at the seams. Just not sure if they’ll come.”

  “I know a little something about musicians and bands. They’ll come. We can make the flyers later today when there is a lull between lunch and dinner.” I smiled at both of them. “Thanks for all your help. I’ve got a really good feeling about this, and you guys have been great.”

  “There aren’t that many good jobs out here,” Kristina said. “And you didn’t come in with a bossy attitude.” She glanced over at Maxwell. “I think we’re all relieved about that.”

  I nodded in appreciation. “Well then, I’ll make some calls and then go buy the curtain rods.”

  chapter 12

  Gage

  Rake had been sitting as still as a statue waiting for the rat he’d chased beneath the porch to show its wiggly pink nose again. Ranger, on the other hand, had decided to curl up in the quiet corner of the porch, hoping that the distant thunder didn’t come any closer. I hated to disappoint both dogs, but the rat was probably long gone out the back side of the porch, and the afternoon sky looked primed for a thunderstorm.

  I reached into the bucket and pulled out the last four inch nail. I would need a few more to finish the loose porch steps. After finishing my morning ranch chores, I’d decided to head over to Russell’s place to fix the broken steps. I wasn’t completely sure what my motive had been except that I was feeling somewhat guilty about giving Summer a hard time. I dropped my hammer into the bucket and stood from the porch just as her unsteady, little car rolled down the path to the house.

  She got out of the car, and Rake finally left his sentry position at the porch and ran to greet her. I could have walked over as well, but I much preferred to watch her stroll toward me. Her slim hips seemed to sway in rhythm with invisible music, and her movements were as smooth as if she glided toward me on ice skates.

  She folded her arms across her chest to shield against the crisp wind circling the house. “Hello,” she said hesitantly.

  I looked back at the porch. “Hope you don’t mind. I had some time, so I decided to fix those steps.”

  She looked slightly stunned. “That’s really nice of you, but I don’t have much money.”

  I shook my head. “No charge.”

  “Well, the next pitcher of beer is on the house.”

  “I won’t say no to a free pitcher.” I combed my long hair back with my fingers. “I’ve got to get some more nails at the hardware store.”

  “Oh, that’s where I was heading. I need some curtain rods. I just stopped here to grab my sweatshirt. It’s colder—” She stopped, seemingly deciding not to complain about the weather. “Anyhow, I guess I’ll see you there.”

  “Kind of silly for both of us to drive. Hop in the truck. I can take you down there.” I walked to the truck and smacked the side. Both dogs ran over. “Go on and get your sweatshirt. You’ll have to share the front seat with Ranger. He’s afraid of thunder.”

  She hesitated but only for a second.

  Summer was pulling a green hooded sweatshirt on over her sweater as she came down the stairs. She stepped over my tools and walked to the truck. Her cheeks were pink from work and the cold wind, and she was wearing less makeup. While I hadn’t thought it possible, she looked ever prettier.

  Rake was stretched out in the bed, and Ranger was already sitting shotgun. I opened the door on the driver’s side. “He jumped in before I could stop him. You’ll have to slide in from my side.”

  She pushed the sleeves of her sweatshirt up and grabbed the steering wheel to pull herself inside, exposing a bumble bee tattoo with a string of musical notes following it on the inside of her wrist.

  I climbed in behind the steering wheel.

  “Maxwell had assured me that the hardware store was a straight shot to town but then he’d proceeded to lay out a lengthy and convoluted set of directions that would put even Google maps to shame. And with my sense of direction, I figured I had about as much chance of actually finding the place as I had of carving the curtain rods out of tree branches.” She pulled in her bottom lip as if to stop herself from talking more.

  I turned the truck around. “What’s wrong?”

  She tucked her hair behind her ear. A smile creased the silky skin on her cheek. “Nothing. It’s just that I don’t seem to be very good at making the case that I can handle living up here.”

  “Everyone gets lost in a new place.”

  She reached up and patted the top of Ranger’s head. The dog was panting as if a monster was going to pop out of nowhere and eat him. “I don’t blame you, sweetie. Thunder is scary stuff.”

  I stopped the truck. Summer looked over with round brown eyes as I fished for the first aid box under the seat.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked.

  “Your hands are so red and chapped.” I slid the box out and grabbed the tube of hand lotion.

  She stretched her fingers out in front of her. “Shit, they are. Kristina and I were cleaning all morning. There must have been a year’s worth of dust on everything.” She smiled at the hand lotion. “Lavender scented? Nice.”

  “Damn right. Working horses and logging puts a lot of wear and tear on my skin. Besides, a little callous is fine, but too much—” I winked suggestively down at her.

  She rolled her eyes, opened the tube and squeezed out a giant dollop of cream. “Oops, that’s too much.” She lifted her hand to me. “Take some.”

  I reached over and dragged my fingers through the hand lotion, stroking her palm as I did so. I’d done it at first without thinking of anything but taking some lotion from her hand, but I couldn’t stop until I reached the tips of her fingers. I released the breath I’d been holding, and she stared down at the channels my fingers had left in the cream. For a moment, the only sounds were the truck motor and Ranger’s panting.

  Summer pulled in a shuddering breath and then quickly rubbed her hands together. She finished by spreading it along her forearms.

  “You like insects…and music.”

  She peered up at me questioningly.

  “Your tattoos.”

  “Oh, yes, I guess I sort of landed on the insect theme and then stuck with it. I also have a caterpillar on my—” She sucked that bottom lip again.

  I waited for her to finish, but she didn’t.

  I laughed. “Now I’m not going to stop thinking about that caterpillar.” I glanced over at her. “Or that blush. But you do like music?”

  She grew quiet for a second. “Music is as much a part of my life as breathing,” she said so quietly it almost seemed as if she was just talking to herself.

  She reached forward and turned on the radio. As she sat back, Ranger let out a big dog sigh and laid his head in her lap. She stroked him, and he fell asleep. “Where are your tattoos?” she asked. “I assume a guy like you has plenty of them.”

  “Only two. The last one I stupidly got on my shoulder, and I had to go to work the next day. Hurt like hell under my suspenders.”

  “I noticed some of the loggers who come in have those. And why are their pants chopped off at the ankles?”

  “Out on a logging operation, you need to make sure there’s no piece of clothing or pant cuff that can get caught in the machinery, or on anything else for that matter.”

  “Must be terribly dangerous out there. By the way, Maxwell is back, and he has some tasty stuff planned for the menu. Also, I talked the Rambling Rustlers into playing next Friday night.”

  “Great, my brother Seth will be in town, and I know he likes that band. Sounds like you are really moving along with the place.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “That’s great, Summer. I’m glad.”

  Her dark brown eyes peered up at me with suspicion.

  “No, I’m serious.”

  “T
hanks.” She leaned her head back against the seat. The music thrummed through the speakers in rhythm with Ranger’s snores.

  A few minutes later, Summer’s head dropped against my shoulder. She was sound asleep. The bumps in the road nearly knocked her off the seat, and I carefully pulled my arm out and wrapped it around her. She was so tired, she didn’t wake but, instead, snuggled instinctively up against my side. And that was all it took. Her thin body wriggling next to me, the flowery scent of whatever shampoo she’d used and a tiny, almost imperceptible, sleepy sigh, and I grew rock hard. It was like the casual reach for the hand lotion. It had started innocently enough as nothing…until it became something. And now my cock was telling me something that my head hadn’t seemed to notice yet. I wanted this girl.

  The mass of thunderclouds sank lower in the sky. A downpour was inevitable. Summer’s small blonde head bounced lightly against my chest with every dip in the road. The hardware store was a mile away when the phone in her pocket rang. Summer startled awake, and Ranger lifted his head. She jumped forward and looked around for a second trying to figure out where she was. I moved my arm from around her shoulder. She blinked up at me.

  “Did I fall asleep?”

  “Like a bug in a rug.”

  She took note of her position. Her thigh was still pressed firmly against mine. She slid away from me as far as the giant dog next to her would allow. Her phone rang again. She looked at it, grunted in disgust and ignored it.

  “I guess it’s someone you’d rather not talk to.”

  “That’s a tame way to put it.” She relaxed back. “Are we almost there?”

  I turned into the driveway just as she asked.

  I got out and she slid out my side. I whistled for Rake to jump out of the bed. I pushed the seat forward, and he slid into the narrow compartment behind it. “It’s about to rain, so we should hurry. Did you bring measurements for the curtain rods?”

  She patted the pocket of her jeans.

  The store was nearly empty as we walked inside, but deep laughter rolled up from the aisle that contained work gloves and safety goggles. Terry smiled up at me but then cast a less friendly expression at my companion. Terry’s black hair hung in loose curls around her face. I’d finished my last years of high school in Montana, under the threat that military school would be next if I didn’t keep my nose clean and graduate. Terry and I had dated for half of senior year, one of my longest relationships to date. I’d been her first.

  Summer wandered off toward the home decor aisle. I stepped up to the counter to talk to Terry.

  “I heard congratulations are in order,” I said.

  A wide grin crossed her face, and she held out her hand to show me her engagement ring.

  “Cody is a lucky man,” I said.

  “Thanks.”

  Laughter boomed from the back again. The deep voices sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place them to faces. Terry cast a worried glance in their direction.

  “Who’s back there?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Ralston’s crew is back in town for a job.”

  “Shit. That would explain the text from my boss saying that we’d been underbid on this week’s job. Cheap labor for crappy work. Some people don’t get it. Hopefully, they won’t spend too much time in town.” Hank Ralston and his two equally asinine buddies, Travis and Kurt, traveled around to different logging operations to fill in for temporary job vacancies. They were dangerous and careless and the worst type of workers to have on site, but they worked for less. And some companies preferred the low price tag, even if it meant putting everyone on the job at risk. I’d worked with all three of them, and more than once, Hank and I had gotten into a fight. He was a fucking hazard, and I’d let him know it to his face, something he never appreciated.

  “Never seen your fine ass around these parts.” Hank’s voice rolled up the home decor aisle. In the few seconds it took me to reach them, my fist had tightened into an iron ball.

  Hank was one of those hairy goobers with an extra long beard and more muscle than he knew what to do with. He was as stupid and mean as he was ugly. He and his sidekick, Travis, who’d put on another twenty pounds of belly fat, had Summer blocked in the narrow aisle. She looked only slightly nervous as she wielded her curtain rods like blunt swords.

  Hank was facing my direction. He looked up and there was a flicker of fear in his black, beady eyes. “Why, turn around, Travis. Look who’s here. It’s our old buddy, Gage Barringer.” He motioned to Summer. “Is this pretty thing with you? Guess you already fucked everyone else in town. Had to bring in new blood.”

  Travis wisely stepped aside, and Summer scooted closer to me.

  “Just finish your shopping and get the hell out of here, Ralston. Your stench is making the whole store reek.”

  His face reddened as his beard twitched with anger. “You don’t tell me what to do, Barringer, you got that? We’re here buying safety gear.”

  I barked a harsh laugh. “That’s funny. Hank Ralston talking about safety. Your nose looks better since I busted it. Crooked fits you,” I said.

  His eyes narrowed. His second minion stepped around the corner of the aisle. Kurt was one of those dirty fighters who wouldn’t throw a punch until your back was to him.

  “Did you find what you needed?” I asked Summer.

  She answered with a silent nod.

  I took hold of the curtain rods, and she grabbed my free hand. I squeezed my fingers protectively around hers and walked past Travis. I wasn’t completely sure that the three idiots behind me would let me leave the store without a fight, but one brawl and they’d be sent packing by the town sheriff, who’d already had problems with them. I was certain they didn’t want to lose the jobs they’d just snagged.

  Heavy raindrops pounded the roof of the small store. I grabbed the nails I needed and Terry checked us out. She kept looking nervously toward the back of the store where Hank and the boys were still hanging around. They were definitely laughing less now.

  Terry bagged our stuff and handed it to me. “I guess I’ll see you around, Gage.” She flashed a friendlier face at Summer this time.

  I leaned an arm on the counter. I had no intention of leaving her alone in the store with Ralston. “I hear Cody and you might be moving east after the wedding.”

  Her shoulders relaxed as she seemed to sense that I wasn’t leaving before them. “Yes, he’s going to finish school back there, and then he’ll be working for a company that makes car parts. He’s got himself a good position.”

  The three browsers came forward to the counter with their gloves and a few other items. I stood and waited for Terry to check them out. Summer inched closer to me, and I badly wanted for her to take my hand again. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time. And with good reason. They were three of the sketchiest looking assholes around, like the kind of guys who’d pull a knife on you for no reason.

  Ralston stared at me as he walked past, then the three of them walked out the door, got into their truck and pulled out of the lot.

  “Thank you for staying, Gage. I hate it when they’re in town.”

  “Yeah, you aren’t the only one who feels that way. Tell Cody I said hello.”

  A lightning bolt lit up the sky. The raindrops were as big as marbles as they bounced off the black asphalt and the top of the truck.

  Summer pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up over her head. “Holy shit, even the rain is colder here.”

  I put the curtain rods and nails behind the seat alongside Rake. Ranger was sitting up stiff and scared and ready to get home. He wagged his tail weakly as Summer slid in next to him. She put a comforting hand on his back.

  “Oh my gosh, the poor baby is shaking.” She reached over and hugged the dog. “I don’t blame you. Loud noises make me shake too.” She lifted her hand. It trembled. “Those guys were awful. Look at me. I’m like a scared rabbit. Of course, it could also be because I’m soaked through to the bone and freezing my ass off. Start
the heater.”

  “A scared rabbit would have run. As I recall, you were threatening them with your menacing curtain rods.”

  “Yes, I had them shaking in their boots. Seriously, thanks for coming back there. They sure went a few shades paler when they saw you.”

  “Yeah, Ralston and I have gone a few rounds. And, just to warn you, whenever they’re in town for a logging job, they like to eat at the Raven’s Nest.” I reached behind the seat for the dry sweatshirt I kept there and handed it to her. “Why don’t you take your wet stuff off and put this on. It’s still eight miles until we get home.”

  She stared down at the sweatshirt in her lap for a second. “All right, but don’t look.”

  “No promises,” I said.

  She wriggled out of her wet sweatshirt and sweater. I made a point of looking down at her. “I like pink bras.”

  “Of course you do. Although, I’m sure you’re not really picky when it comes to taking them off.” She pulled my sweatshirt over her head. The sleeves hung way past her hands, and there was enough room for two more her size inside.

  “I’m not ever going to live down the bathroom sex thing, am I?”

  “Nope. First impressions and all. But you might be able to tweak my opinion some. Today, when you stayed to make sure your friend at the hardware store was safe, that was a good tweak. And you came down that aisle pretty fast when you heard them say something scurrilous to me.”

  “Scurrilous,” I repeated.

  “I know I’m kind of a nerd sometimes.”

  “No, I like the way you talk.”

  “Then maybe you’re a nerd too. Except you really don’t fit the part.” She curled into the warmth of the dry sweatshirt, and I caught her lifting the cotton fabric up to her nose. “It smells like you.”

  “Uh oh, is that bad or good?”

  She considered the question for a second. “I guess as far as men go, you smell pretty damn good.”

  “That’s nice to know. Hey, will you do something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Put my number in your phone. Just in case you need me.”