Liliana turned her face away from the breathtaking vista and met his gaze. “Any chance we can pretend I never mentioned that little detail?”
“Sure. Though I’ll just ask Derek about it next time I talk to him. That was quite a conversational hand grenade you tossed out, Liliana.”
“Stupid umbrella drinks,” she muttered, her expression glum.
She looked so miserable that Brick took pity on her. “Want to fish a little first?”
Her eyes went warm with gratitude at the reprieve. “Yes, please.”
“All right, then. Now for the hike part of the hike. Follow me.”
He led her up a rocky trail, pointing out elk tracks in the rain-softened ground along the way. The hoofprints caught her attention, and she kept her gaze sharp, looking for more. When they’d climbed about halfway to the lake she called, “Here’s another one. Look, Mark. What is it?”
Mark. Damned if he didn’t like hearing his real name on her lips. He retraced his steps and peered down at the tracks. The sparkle in her eyes had him pursing his lips and teasing, “Hmm. Looks like grizzly.”
Sparkle morphed into alarm, and Brick laughed. “Just kidding. Those are cottontail tracks.”
Her brows arched. Her eyes flashed. “A bunny? It’s a bunny and you said a bear?” She punched his shoulder. “No wonder you and my brother were such good friends. You have the same mean streak.”
“Ow,” he said, rubbing his shoulder despite the fact that he’d barely felt it. She rolled her eyes and he grinned.
Lili trailed behind him as he led her to the storage box he’d moved up here as soon as the snow melted. After setting down the lunch supplies, he unlocked the box and removed two sets of fishing gear. He explained that the stream they’d be fishing was shallow, so full waders weren’t needed. They both put on waterproof boots, and he spent a little time instructing her about the basics of fly-fishing. He had her make a few practice casts before leading her to the stream.
They climbed up above the waterfall to a meadow where the gentle, grassy slope of the creek bank allowed easy access to a fishing hole that had proved fruitful in the past. Brick led her to the spot. “See how the bend in the creek creates a pool beside the more swiftly moving water? That’s where lazy rainbows like to wait for that perfect bug to float by. So you want to drop the fly above the pool and let the water carry it to him.”
She quickly got the hang of casting, though Brick had to remind her to keep her rod tip up and wait out the drift.
When they’d fished for ten minutes without a single strike, she observed, “I’ve heard that the sandwiches at the Mocha Moose are very good.”
“They are. But don’t worry. We’ll catch something. You just need to be patient.”
“You don’t know the half of it. Impatience is what got me into this mess.”
He glanced her way. She stood chewing on her lip again, staring blindly at the bubbling water. Her fly had drifted to the bank, but since she had the look of someone about to spill her guts, he didn’t want to interrupt her.
So when he sensed the bite at his own line, he purposefully neglected to set the hook.
“It happens more often than you’d think. Theft, fraud, embezzlement, I mean. Small businesses are especially vulnerable because they usually have few controls in place and employees whom they trust. More often than not, the thief doesn’t set out to steal. Maybe she gets in a tight spot and she sees a way to borrow from the company, meaning to pay it back on payday. Only something else comes up and she doesn’t pay it back and she doesn’t get caught and thus faces no consequences. It’s easy to justify, too, if she feels she’s being underpaid for the job she’s doing. Then before you know it, something else comes up. It’s rinse and repeat.”
Brick shot her a sharp look. This explanation sounded personal, but he didn’t think she was talking about herself.
“It’s a criminal charge, of course. Once the police get involved, there’s no going back. More than once I’ve seen the situation where the thief thinks it’s okay for her to steal because she has personal knowledge of something wrong the business owner has done. Like cheating on his taxes. They try to bargain with the prosecutors, but by then it’s too late.”
“Who did you try to help, Liliana?” he asked, taking a stab in the dark.
She shook her head. He’d guessed wrong. “A division of our firm does financial planning. I did a stint in that division before I focused on tax, and I got to know a few of our clients. A lot of them are retirees. Nice people. They trusted the firm. I’d see some of the people I’d worked with from time to time, and I started hearing about a great, safe investment we’d put them in. Bringing thirteen percent returns. People were thrilled.”
“In today’s financial climate, I bet they were.”
“It sounded fishy to me, so I started doing some checking. I couldn’t find much of anything about it. Little pieces here and there that didn’t add up. It bothered me. Maybe I pursued it longer than was strictly necessary, dug a little deeper than I needed to dig, but I was trying to do a great job. I was on track to be the youngest partner in the history of the firm.”
Of course you were. “You’re a Howe.”
A spasm of emotion crossed her face. She looked like she had sucked a piece of sour apple candy. Holy crap. Her family is part of this trouble?
“I found just enough to concern me, but then I ran into a wall. So I asked a founding partner at the firm, my mentor, what he knew about it. He asked for my files and said he’d look into it. He reassured me all would be well, and then he gave me a huge project to do and dangled the partnership bait. I let it go.” She paused a long moment, then repeated, “I let it go.”
“It was a scam?” Brick asked.
“Yep. After turning over my files to my mentor, I trusted him to take care of it. I didn’t hear any more about it and I really didn’t think anything about it. I worked all the time and April fifteenth was roaring down on me and I was drowning. Everyone worked late, but I was there by myself a lot. It was just after two in the morning when I went to put a file on my mentor’s desk. I was tired and careless, and I knocked a stack of files onto the floor. While I was picking them up, I saw the file I’d given him. It was much thicker than before.”
Liliana noticed then that her line had drifted onto the rocks. Holding her rod exactly as Brick had instructed with her right hand, she guided the line through her left, drew her rod up, and flicked an excellent cast.
Brick watched the yellow fly float downstream, perfectly positioned to drift across a placid pool where he’d bet his left nut that a trout waited. Liliana wasn’t actively fishing. She had retreated into the past.
“First, I couldn’t believe that the file was on his desk. It had been three … almost four … months. Second, some of the names had changed, and the numbers had changed. But then I thought I must have been remembering wrong. I’d worked with a lot of clients, a lot of numbers. I must have been remembering wrong. Except … I knew that wasn’t it. I’m good with numbers.”
Brick shifted his gaze from the fly to Liliana’s frowning face, then back to the drifting fly. “I’m sure you are.”
“But I’m terrible with people. Reading them. Knowing who I can and cannot trust. It never occurred to me to make copies. To protect myself. I was the Queen of Naïve.”
Brick could see where this was going. “Someone set you up to take the fall?”
She whipped her head around and met his gaze. “Yes! How did you guess?”
He started to say he’d left naïve behind decades ago but decided that sounded mean. “I watch a lot of movies. So, who was the culprit? Your mentor?”
“He was in on it. In on the cover-up. The actual thief was his partner’s son.”
“Ah,” Brick said. “You know, one of my grandfather’s favorite rants is how often the second generation destroys a family business.”
“Well, Carlton Harbaugh certainly did his part. He appropriated the pristine reputation of the firm his father had spent his entire professional life building to set up a pyramid scheme and bilk unsuspecting retirees of their savings.”
“He preyed upon seniors? What a scumbag.”
“I thought he was a great guy. I really liked him. He’s exhibit A for my lack of good people-judging skills.”
“So what’s the bottom line, Lili-fair? Are you in legal trouble?”
“No. And neither is Carlton Harbaugh. His father made restitution, so according to the firm, no harm, no foul, and the matter was over. Nobody even knew it had happened. Nothing prevented Harbaugh from doing it again. That was wrong. It was criminal, and I stewed about it. I finally worked up the nerve to broach the subject with my mentor.”
“And he threw you under the bus.”
She nodded. “They’d anticipated my protest. They reconstructed everything only using my name and employee number. They said they’d use it if I took it any further.”
“It can’t hold up. A forensic accountant surely—”
“Yes. Probably. That’s why they set me up with a DUI.”
Brick did a double take. “They what? How?”
“A dirty cop. It’s costing me my license.”
“Your driver’s license?”
“My CPA license.”
“Whoa … whoa … whoa. They are taking your career away from you?”
“Yep.”
“That can’t happen. You have to fight it.”
Her mouth twisted and she waited a long minute before replying. “I had thought to do so. My parents convinced me to go another direction.”
“What direction?”
Her genuine smile caught him unaware. “Colorado.”
“I don’t understand. How does— Strike, Lili! Good-sized fish, too. Rod up. Set it.”
She let out a yelp and yanked her pole up. The rod tip bent toward the water. “What do I do? What do I do?”
“Keep your rod tip up. He’s running the show right now. Let him fight you and wear himself out.”
“Do I reel him in?”
The rainbow on her line looked to be about eighteen inches. A good fish. He breeched the water and Lili let out a squeal.
“But work him real slow, Lili-fair. Mainly you want to prevent him from getting into the rocks and cutting the line.”
“He’s heavy! This is hard.”
“He’s a good fighter. You’re doing great. Rod tip up. Up!”
“Oh no. It’s gone slack. Did I lose him?”
“No. He’s still there. He’s resting. Work him a little now. If you can get him a little closer I’ll net him.”
It took her another couple of minutes, but Lili landed the trout. She bubbled with delight, and when Brick asked if she wanted to have her catch for lunch she shook her head. “No. We have sandwiches, and besides, he’s too pretty to eat.”
Brick carefully removed the barbless hook from the fish’s mouth. When the rainbow disappeared back into the bubbling stream, Brick bent and washed his hands. Rising up, he discovered Liliana with her bright eyes and infectious smile standing right there beside him.
“Thank you, Brick. This is something I’ve always wanted to do.” She went up on her tiptoes and aimed a friendly kiss toward his cheek.
But Brick still hummed with the effects of last night’s erotic dreams, so he didn’t have the strength or desire to fight his natural instincts. He turned his face and met her mouth with his.
He knew the moment his lips touched hers that it was a mistake. She tasted of spearmint and smelled of sunshine and she brought the theme song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical to his mind. “Oklahoma.”
She was … home.
He loved his life in Colorado. Loved his Callahan family. But the house and neighborhood where he grew up, and the family who’d cared for him since toddlerhood, would always be home.
He was lonely for home.
His free arm went around her and clutched her tight, but then her boot slipped on the wet rock and she lost her balance, falling into him. Brick shifted his weight, almost managed to steady them, but he was a man and therefore attempted to protect the expensive fly rods, too.
He took two steps back toward the bank. His foot slipped; she stumbled. They were going down.
With a grimace and a prayer, Brick flung the fifteen-hundred-dollar-apiece fishing rods toward the bank and at the same time clapped Lili’s head against his chest in order to protect her from the rocks.
He hit ass first against a large, relatively flat rock. One of his shoulder blades banged against something sharp, but the other landed on packed dirt. Liliana’s forehead whacked against his chin and her knee just missed his jewels.
All in all, not a bad landing, Brick thought even as icy-cold water soaked him from his knees down.
“You hurt?” he asked.
She sucked in a breath. “No. I’m okay. You cushioned my fall.”
He’d done that, all right. Now her breasts lay pillowed against his chest and her crotch was snuggled up against his thigh. She wiggled like the rainbow and Brick’s rod reacted.
Liliana tried to climb to her feet, but Brick was an experienced fisherman. He knew just how to hold her.
He rolled her onto her back and kissed her again.
* * *
Brick’s kiss was as hot as the mountain stream was cold. When his hands cupped her butt and shifted her, pulling her tight against the ridge of his arousal, Lili wondered if this counted as getting down and dirty.
Then his mouth trailed down her neck, his teeth scraped at her sensitive skin, and she quit thinking at all.
They made out like high school kids beneath the bleachers. At least, Lili guessed that this was what making out beneath the bleachers would have been like. She’d never had the experience. But this fit what she’d always imagined it would be. Long kisses. Deep kisses. Exploring kisses. Explosive kisses. Exquisite kisses. It was sexy and sensual and sinful, and Lili lost herself in the pleasure of a fantasy come true.
She was making out with Mark Callahan and one of his work-roughened hands had found its way beneath her shirt. Beneath her bra. He cupped her and kneaded her and stroked her nipple. Sensation arrowed straight to Lili’s core and she moaned into his mouth.
He answered with a groan and the warmth of sunshine on her skin finally penetrated her senses. When had he unfastened her bra? The man’s moves were smooth, but then, practice makes perfect and, heaven knows, he certainly had plenty of that.
And she was going to enjoy his expertise. Learn from it. Revel in it. That’s what her trip to Colorado was all about, wasn’t it?
So she allowed her hands to explore. He was hard and broad. Slick with mud. Deliciously dirty.
He rolled her onto yellow wildflowers with sticky stems. She might have preferred to have a blanket beneath her, but she wasn’t about to complain. His tongue laved her nipple, and when his mouth closed over the tip of her breast she arched her back and shuddered. This was the most exciting, spontaneous, erotic adventure of her life!
Until she moaned out his name … his given name. He froze and rolled away from her. He lay breathing heavily, his forearm covering his eyes, for the count of five.
Then he cursed a streak as blue as the sky above.
“Well,” Lili said, insulted. She sat up and straightened her clothes. “That’s flattering.”
“I’m not trying to flatter you!”
“Obviously.” She scrambled to her feet and went hunting for the waterproof boot that had slipped off during her fall.
Brick let out a few more curses, then explained, “I’m sorry that happened, Liliana.”
I’m not.
“It was inexcusable.”
She rolled her tongue around her mouth. “Careful there, Callahan. My self-esteem is fragile. You’re liable to damage it.”
He shifted his arm enough for one eye to glare at her. “Don’t be stupid. There’s nothing fragile about you, and even if there were, better your self-esteem be dinged than my legs both be broken.”
“Your legs? Did I hurt you?”
“No.” Brick rolled up to a seated position. “But your brother would if he knew I’d been rolling around in the mud with you.”
“Oh, for crying out loud. That’s ridiculous.”
“No, it’s really not.” Frustration hummed in his voice as he added, “Guys have rules, Liliana. I have rules, and for some reason whenever I’m with you I have trouble remembering them.
“Rules?”
“I don’t mix business and pleasure. Ever. Which means I don’t seduce customers. That’s a terrible business practice. Neither do I hook up with sisters of my friends. That’s a real good way to destroy a friendship.”
“And of course you would never do more than ‘hook up’ with a woman,” she replied, unable to keep the scornful note from her tone.
He climbed to his feet and rinsed the mud from his hands. “That’s correct. And I’m up-front about that with the women I date. If the lady is on the same wavelength as me, we’ll play around a time or two. But I don’t do relationships, period.”
Lili gave him a long look. “She really did a number on you, didn’t she?”
Brick didn’t meet Lili’s gaze as he bent to pick up the fishing rods and inspect them for damage. “You know my history better than most. I’d be lying if I denied it.”
“She got my partnership.”
“What?” He looked up from the fly rods. “What are you talking about?”
“She joined the firm after her divorce. She’s not a CPA, but she is Queen of Contacts. They created a special position for her. I suspect they recently made her a partner.”
“Tiffany? You’re talking about Tiff?”
Lili nodded.
“You work with Tiffany.”
“Not anymore. And I never really worked with her.”
Brick stood up straight and speared Lili with a look. “Was she part of the scam?”
“No. I can blame her for a lot, but not that. They played the scam strictly need-to-know. Keeps the sword they hang over my neck sharper.”
“Evil people,” Brick muttered. “What are their names? Do I know them from the old days?”
“I doubt it.” She identified the two senior partners and the son who’d caused her so much trouble. “We weren’t exactly part of their social circle.”
“No. Never heard of the bastards.” Brick shook his head and changed the subject. “You had enough fishing, Oklahoma? Those roast beef sandwiches are beginning to call my name.”
She cleared her throat. “‘Oklahoma’?”
Brick shrugged. “You prefer ‘Freckle’—?”
“No!” she interrupted with a shriek. Then, after a pause, she added, “I do like ‘Lili-fair.’”
“So do I,” he said softly. “I like her very much. And dammit, I’m trying to stop that from becoming a problem.”
They didn’t speak as they climbed down to the picnic spot beside the waterfall. Lili grabbed her backpack and went around behind Brick’s storage shed to change her clothes. When she returned, he had taken his muddy shirt off and he was sorting through the backpack.
Liliana’s mouth went dry. She’d seen a shirtless Mark Christopher many times before, because her parents’ house had a backyard pool and his had not. He’d been a star stud athlete in high school whose numerous hours spent in the weight room made him pretty to look at. Lili had spent a fair amount of time peeking past her bedroom curtains doing exactly that. She’d thought the teenage Mark Christopher was a hunk.
The all-grown-up Brick Callahan made her weak at the knees.
He pulled a Denver Broncos T-shirt from his pack and shoved his arms through the sleeves. He lifted the shirt over his head, and her gaze swept across broad shoulders, a smattering of dark hair covering a chest corded with muscle and narrowing over six-pack abs toward his low-hanging jeans and his groin.
She really wished he hadn’t stopped what they’d started beside the stream. He’d left her achy and needy and wanting. It really wasn’t very gentlemanly of him.
Maybe she should tell him so. The old Lili wouldn’t dream of it, but she was a Tornado Alleycat now. She could be bold.
She eyed him speculatively. She could respect his rule against sleeping with his customers, but that wasn’t the reason why he’d stopped. Honestly, he had no business bringing Derek into the creek with them.
Lili was working up the nerve to voice her protest as Brick called, “There’s a quilt in the storage shed. Want to get it and pick a spot for our lunch?”
“Okay.” While she fetched the quilt and spread it atop a patch of white wildflowers she tried to decide whether she was happy to have a reprieve or not. Maybe it was better that things hadn’t gotten out of hand. The last thing she needed was to fall for Mr. Three-Dates-and-You’re-Out.
She took a good look at the covering she’d placed atop the wildflowers. “This is a beautiful quilt, Brick. I’ve always loved the kaleidoscope pattern. It belongs on a bed or hanging on a wall. I hate to spread it on the ground.”
“Aunt Torie made it. We have dozens of them. The woman loves to quilt and to picnic. She has quilts and blankets stuck all over the place.”
Brick carried a large brown bag bearing the Mocha Moose logo and the small cooler just big enough for a half-dozen cans. He launched into a story about a special item his aunt Nic had requested at the Mocha Moose when she’d been expecting her son. “Peanut butter and bananas I get. But add pickles and that’s just disgusting. What’s funny is that we have so many pregnancies in this town and the sandwich got so popular that the Moose went ahead and put it on its menu. Don’t worry, though. Today we have roast beef.”
He set down the bag of sandwiches and the cooler and sat cross-legged on the quilt. Opening the lunch sack, he handed Lili a sandwich and asked, “So how do you plan to fight them?”
“Fight what?” She glanced around the quilt. Had she set it on an ant bed or something?
“The asshats at your firm.”
Her sandwich halfway to her mouth, Lili paused.
Brick continued, “You’re not going to let them get away with this. What’s your plan? Have you hired a lawyer?”
Deliberately, Lili took a bite of her sandwich. She knew the roast beef didn’t taste sour. Her taste buds had reacted to the topic he’d introduced. Appetite killer.
She chewed her food thoroughly and prepared to present her arguments out loud for the first time. She was confident in her decision. Well, more confident than doubtful at this point. Say, 60/40 percent confident.
She swallowed, took a sip from the can of sparkling water she’d chosen from the cooler, and said, “No, no lawyer. I decided not to pursue it.”
He frowned. “Legally, you mean.”
“Legally. Personally. Publicly. I’m letting it go.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
Her chin came up. “It doesn’t really matter if you understand or not. It’s my problem. My fight. My choice not to fight.”
“That’s bull.” He unfolded his legs and stretched them out. “These people stole from you. They blackmailed you. They’re criminals. You can’t just ignore that. You can’t run away from it.”
“That’s not what I’m doing. I’m making a choice not to pursue the issue.”
He took another bite of his sandwich and chewed it slowly, studying her. Lili reached for a single-serve-sized bag of potato chips that she didn’t want just to have something to do. “Then why are you keeping it such a secret? You only told me about it because the word ‘embezzled’ slipped out of your umbrella drink.”
She shrugged her shoulders. Ate a salty chip.
“You haven’t mentioned it to any of the Alleycats or anyone in town. I would have heard.”
He polished off the rest of his sandwich, licked his fingers, then said, “Derek doesn’t know, either, does he? That’s why you didn’t want me to tell him you’re here. You’re afraid. Afraid of losing your reputation. Afraid of losing people’s respect.”
The observation triggered her fury. She blurted, “So what if I’m afraid?”
He leaned over to search through the basket. Pulled out another sack of chips. “I never thought I’d live to see the day. What happened to that girl who sneaked into my backyard and climbed into my tree house to put a garter snake in Derek’s sleeping bag?”
“Wait. You knew about that?” Wonder if he knows about the blue bra, too?
“Or the young woman who, when put in an untenable situation on a bus, lifted her chin and squared her shoulders and walked like a queen into the fast-food restaurant.”
“You really didn’t just bring that up.” Lili shut her eyes and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I can’t believe you brought that up.”
“I can’t believe you’re running away.”
“I didn’t run away! I joined the Tornado Alleycats! And it’s nobody’s business why I left Oklahoma.”
“Sure it is. Those people committed a crime. You might be the only victim this time, but what about next—”
“I’m not a victim. I’m making a choice. I have a plan. I’m going to change.”
“Change what?”
“Me. I’m going to change me. I’m done being the dutiful daughter and a gracious coworker and dedicated professional. I’m done with being a good girl.”
“Why do I think I don’t want to hear this?”
She rolled up onto her knees. “Then put your fingers in your ears, because I’m going to shout. I’m going to live, Mr. Callahan. Live with a capital L. No more sitting on the sidelines because that’s what good girls do. What is that saying, ‘I’ll be hanged for a sheep as for a goat’?”
“‘Lamb.’ I think it’s ‘hanged for a sheep as for a lamb.’”
“Well, I’m not a lamb. I’m going to be the GOAT. The GOAT bad girl.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Not up on your slang, Callahan?” She gave her ponytail a toss. “G-O-A-T. Greatest Of All Time. My plan is that from this time forward I am going to be a Life GOAT. Patsy is a Life GOAT. A girl I went to college with is a Life GOAT. She was born with a genetic disease that gives her a life expectancy into her thirties. She did more living during our four years in college than I’ve done in my entire life. She was brave and courageous and daring. She wasn’t afraid to let a guy pick her up in a bar and take her to Paris for a weekend.”
Brick drew back at that. “She should have been afraid of doing that.”
“I’ve never been to Paris. Certainly never on a whim. I’ve never had a one-night stand. I want to pick up and go to Paris and Rome and Vienna. I want to pick up a stranger wearing a three-piece suit in a bar and be picked up by a biker wearing leathers.”
Brick yanked open the sack of chips. “Sounds like what you need to do is retrace your steps until you find your wits. Obviously, you’ve lost them.”
“I think I finally found them. It took me long enough, don’t you think? I’m almost thirty.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.” She shoved to her feet. “This is my career crisis. It happened to me, so I get to deal with it the way I want. And I don’t want to be an accountant anymore. I don’t want to waste time and effort and energy and money trying to reclaim something that was never right for me to begin with. I’m not wasting another minute of my life.”
“I understand that, Liliana. Honestly, I do. But you’re talking about picking up bikers in bars!”
He sounded so appalled that laughter burst from Lili’s mouth. Expressing her secret desires made her feel empowered. Expressing them to this particular man made her feel invincible. “It’s not just about men. It’s about living. I want to break free from ‘dependable’ chains and live my life with abandon. People who do that—they’re happy. They don’t have regrets. They live! It’s about time I had some adventure in my life, don’t you think?”
“Not that kind of adventure.” He climbed to his feet and braced his hands on his hips. “Go hang gliding or shark watching. Go bungee jumping! But picking up guys in bars is dangerous, Lili.”
“And shark watching isn’t?”
“At least you’re in a cage. The shark can’t stick something in your drink when your back is turned. Besides, you’re not that kind of girl.”
“I’m evolving.”
“There’s evolving, and then there’s being stupid. One-night stands aren’t safe or smart.”
“I just said this wasn’t all about men! Yet you’re bound and determined to go there. And besides, you’re one to talk. Are three-night hookups any better? I’ve heard about you, Brick Callahan. You’ve dated every unattached woman in town three times. Exactly three times.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh, isn’t it?” She folded her arms and lifted her chin in challenge.
A gust of wind blew across the meadow and sent an empty bag of chips blowing. Brick stooped to snatch it up. “Not every unattached woman. And it’s not like I sleep with every woman I date, either.”
“No. Just those on … how did you put it? A similar wavelength?”
A muscle worked in his jaw. A full thirty seconds passed before he grumbled, “Okay, fine. You have a point.”
She pressed the momentary advantage. “Times have changed, Brick. Ganders and geese have equal rights.”
“I know that. I’m not denying your right to sample the sauce. I’m just afraid you don’t know what you’re getting into. Deny it if you want, but you did grow up in Norman, Oklahoma. You are naïve.”
“Maybe. But I’m strong, too. Having an average of four tornadoes blow through town every year builds character.”
“I won’t argue that. But you’re like my little sis—” He bit the word off. “Friend. You’re my friend, Liliana. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Yes, well, I’m glad he doesn’t roll around creek banks feeling up his sister.
“The neighborhood where we grew up is a nice little bubble of good-hearted, caring, salt-of-the-earth people.”
Yeah. Right. Two words. Tiffany Lambeau.
She folded her arms. “Do you think I’ve done no living whatsoever since middle school? I did go off to college. I may look like a nerdy, number-crunching virgin, but I have had some experience. I don’t live with my mommy and daddy.”
“You don’t look like a nerd. Definitely don’t look like a nerd. As far as being virginal, well, the world isn’t full of stupid guys.”
She choked back a snort. Barely.
“You get anywhere near water and all I think about are mermaids.”
She wanted to take a moment to preen but decided she’d best make her point while she could. “Here’s the thing, Brick. I get it that living adventurously can be dangerous, but recent events have taught me that life in a safe little bubble can be just as perilous. Cruelty doesn’t have geographic boundaries.”
He crushed the empty chip bag in his fist and shoved it into a sack of trash. “Promise me you’ll be careful out there. The mountains attract some … characters.”
Lili’s lips twisted. He really did sound like Derek. All big brotherly. Lili told herself that was fine with her and tried to believe it. He did have a point, after all. Knowing that she’d hooked up with him, be he Mark Christopher or Brick Callahan, would drive her brother insane.
“You are a nice guy, Callahan.”
“No, I’m honestly not. This is killing me.” He gave her a slow, hot once-over. “You do it for me, Lili-fair. It’s all I can manage not to jump you right this second and finish what we started earlier. But you’re a line I can’t cross.”
“The rules.”
“Yeah. The rules.”
With his admission of her appeal, Lili’s appetite returned. She knelt back down and happily took another bite of her sandwich. “The Mocha Moose’s sandwiches are as delicious as advertised.”
He looked as if she’d thrown him a lifeline with the change of subject. “I recommend their egg salad, too.”
As the conversation turned to the culinary offerings in Eternity Springs and the surrounding area, a part of Lili’s thoughts drifted to her bucket lists. She’d had fun catching that fish. She wanted to do it again. But as much as she’d enjoyed netting that eighteen-inch rainbow, after this morning she thought she might set her sights on landing something bigger.
When she returned to Stardance Ranch RV Resort, she would add a blue marlin fishing trip to Cabo San Lucas to her life bucket list. As far as her Colorado list went … well … fishing had long been a secret desire of hers. Today Brick Callahan had given her a taste of the activity, and she wasn’t ready to let him off the hook.
Lili was a Tornado Alleycat now. Her goals and aspirations had changed. Yes, there were lots of fish in the ocean, but she could think of no reason why she shouldn’t go for the prize.
Brick Callahan. Three-date-limit, Mr. I-Have-My-Rules, Camp Director Dreamboat. What he didn’t realize was that she had a unique bait for her line. She knew Mark Christopher. Mr. I-Never-Met-a-Rule-I-Won’t-Break.
She wasn’t looking for a relationship, either. She had too much living to do first. Lili polished off her sandwich, then licked her fingers. Slowly. One by one.
Liliana Howe, Tornado Alleycat, had decided she was looking to cast her line and try a little catch and release.