Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Ah, so you can laugh. Max said the two of you used to laugh until you puked,” Kaidee said, eyes twinkling over the amber beer in her glass.
“Max has never met a story he couldn’t turn into a joke,” I said, remembering the man who’d been my friend since we were placed in the same group foster home. I’d learned years later that cracking jokes like Max did was a common coping mechanism, but at the time, I’d simply thought fate had finally brought me someone good to lighten my load. “I’ve never laughed as hard as I do when the two of us get together.”
She reached across the table to squeeze my scar-free arm. “He misses you, you know. Said you broke his heart when you moved away.”
The hairs prickled on the back of my neck. For a split second, I thought it was some kind of childhood trauma response brought on by these memories, but movement out of the corner of my eye revealed Alex Marian coming to a sudden stop. His eyes seemed riveted to my table. Or maybe to the half-empty beer glass next to where Kaidee’s hand still clasped my forearm. Or maybe I imagined it because he lurched forward toward the ordering counter as if he hadn’t even noticed I was there.
“…go back to your place?” Kaidee asked.
My eyes had followed Alex, noticing the stiffening of his back and shoulders, but I quickly blinked back at Kaidee. “Sorry, what?”
“You look tired, Judd,” she said with a kind smile. “I think we need to get you home and into bed.”
I glanced back at Alex, wondering if I should say something to him, to ask why he’d left my office so quickly or why he hadn’t fought me harder on the open-flame permit. Before I could decide, it was his turn to order, and someone nearby asked if my seat was available.
“Er, yeah. I’m headed out,” I mumbled, standing to dispose of my dishes so he could take my place.
After the heat of the small, crowded restaurant, the cool night air was a relief. I sucked in a lungful of it and tried to relax my shoulders.
“You want to talk about it?” Kaidee asked.
At first, I wondered how she knew about my mixed-up feelings regarding Alex Marian, but then she added, “Must be a pretty big change living in such a small place after Philly.”
I let go of my thoughts about Alex and gave Kaidee an amused side-eye. “Who’s asking, you or Max?”
She shrugged, and it was the first time I noticed her body. She was fit and trim in a sleeveless cotton sundress that was cut low enough in the front for me to get a hint of her full breasts. The dress itself was shorter than I realized, showing off shapely legs and delicate feet with purple-painted toenails in strappy sandals.
Max was right. Kaidee was a beautiful woman. The kind who didn’t use makeup or fancy clothes to impress.
The kind who would normally be just my type… if I weren’t so bone-deep tired.
“Yeah, I guess it’s a big change,” I admitted. “But I like it. Today, we had a wildfire drill on the mountain, and it was a hundred times better than any training exercise I did in the city. Bright sunlight with zero humidity, mountain air with a cool breeze, and we even saw a cow moose and her calf in the distance. Can’t find that in Philly.”
“Sure can’t. That sounds amazing.”
I nodded. “It was, but I’m glorifying it a little. It also kicked my ass. I almost slipped into the river, got covered in mud, and used muscles carrying portable pumps that I’d forgotten I even had. I’m wrecked.”
She laughed as we arrived at a Subaru that had a muddy bike strapped to the back. “This is me.”
I nodded further down at my SUV. “I’m just there. Want to follow me?”
“Yeah, and I have you in my GPS, too.” She touched my arm again. “Hey, listen. I know you weren’t expecting me tonight, so I’ll completely understand if you just want to show me a horizontal place to lay my sleeping bag before calling it a night.”
I appreciated the out and took it. “I can do a little better than that. Come on.”
When we got to my place, I showed her around the small cabin, helped her carry her things into the guest room, and then escaped into my own bedroom.
I expected to fall asleep the minute my head hit the pillow, and I did.
But dreams of Alex Marian teased me all night. I tried to touch him, but as soon as my fingertips brushed his warm skin, he either skittered away or disappeared.
In the morning, I awoke hard and aching. My stomach tightened with need as my breath sawed in and out of me as if I’d been fucking the man in my dream.