CHAPTER EIGHT
Addy added the last item to the picnic basket she’d bought a few years back at an antique shop in Maine. She glanced quickly at the mirror and made sure everything was perfect before loading up the Jeep.
“Got a hot date?” Brian’s voice had her wishing she’d left to meet Trent five minutes earlier.
“Just a relaxing lunch.” She climbed into her Jeep, but he stood just at the edge of her door, preventing her from closing it.
“Then maybe you’d care to invite me along?” He moved closer, and she cursed herself for allowing him to sneak in under her radar.
“Sorry, I’m meeting a friend,” she said, silently hoping that her voice was casual enough that Brian would think it wasn’t a male friend.
But the look in his eyes told her that he’d guessed anyway.
“It wouldn’t be a McGowan, would it?”
“I don’t see how that’s any . . .”
He moved closer and she tried to inch away from him. She was almost sitting on her gearshift when he spoke again.
“I’ve warned you, the McGowans are the enemy. If certain people found out about this, you’d lose your job.” His hand snaked out and gripped her elbow.
She wished there was enough room to jerk it free, but instead, she narrowed her eyes and raised her chin.
“What I do on my own time is none of your concern.” She reached in and turned on her Jeep. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to be late.” She looked pointedly down at his hand still holding her elbow.
“You’re nothing but a slut, and soon enough you’ll be out.” He leaned closer to her when he said this, causing his breath to hit her full force.
“Have you been drinking?” she asked. “You know there’s no drinking on the premises.”
“I had a beer at the diner with lunch.” He dropped his hand. “Like you said, what we do on our own time . . .” He stepped back. “That’s the last warning you’ll get.”
As he walked away, she tried to put the entire situation behind her.
It was strange, she thought as she checked in the rearview mirror when she drove away. Brian and Trent were a lot alike, physically. They were both over six feet, built about the same, but where Trent had dark hazel-brown eyes and dark-brown hair, Brian’s eyes were an eerie blue, while his hair was jet-black like Rea’s, his mother.
As she drove, vague memories surfaced of what Brian’s father had looked like. The blue-eyed man had died years ago: suicide. The scandal had rocked the small town. Especially after he’d been found hanging from the local bridge by a couple fishermen. At first there had been speculation that Rea or even Brian had something to do with it, but those rumors died down quickly after the police stepped in and confirmed there was no foul play.
After his father had died, Brian went from being a closet bully to a full-fledged one. There wasn’t anyone in school or town that he wouldn’t pick a fight with. Including his mother.
Addy had heard that Rea had filed a restraining order a few years back. She hadn’t been in town—her family had been on one of their many exotic trips during the incident—but Addy had heard the rumors of how Brian had pulled a knife on Rea simply because she wouldn’t give him money for beer.
The entire incident got her thinking about her family. She hadn’t heard from her parents since they left town a few weeks back. Nor did she expect to until at least the end of the month.
Just the idea of their next family conversation had her head splitting as she pulled up next to Trent’s truck.
He was there instantly, opening her door for her. He looked so sexy in his light flannel jacket.
“I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t come,” he said.
Just seeing the apprehension in his eyes sent her into his arms.
“Hey,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her in response. “Is everything okay?” His arms tightened slightly.
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath and inhaled his comforting, spicy scent. “But let’s get this out of the way first.” She reached up on her toes and placed her lips softly over his.
Addy didn’t know what had caused her to make such a bold move, but she wasn’t prepared for the flood of electricity that spread throughout her entire body, heating every nerve ending. She felt his arms loosen, then tighten again as his mouth took over. Rubbing against hers gently, his lips moved slowly until she opened hers and felt his tongue dip inside her mouth for a taste.
It was beyond everything she’d ever imagined it would be. Kissing Trent. Her head did a slow spin. She was thankful that he had such a good hold on her—she would have slid to the dirt without his support.
His hand slid to the nape of her neck, holding her as the kiss deepened.
All of a sudden he released her, causing her to blink and look up at him.
“There is nothing I want to do more than stand here and kiss you all day.” Trent sighed and looked around. Almost half a dozen cars littered the parking area; this wasn’t the time or place.
He dropped his hands and took hers. “Let’s go for our hike.”
She started following him, then stopped. “The lunch.” She rushed back to the Jeep and opened her door to get out the basket, but before she could reach it, Trent was there, hoisting it out of the passenger seat for her.
She locked her Jeep and tucked her keys in her pocket. “Ready.”
They walked hand in hand for a few minutes in silence. She could tell he was deep in thought. She wondered why the silence between them felt so good. Still, she felt something else. The sexual tension was almost overwhelming. It was so powerful she found it hard to focus on where they were going.
“So,” he finally said when they reached a fork in the trail. “Which way?”
She tugged on his hand until they set foot on her favorite path. It was the least used, and there were several tricky spots that most hikers didn’t care for. Especially since during the spring it meant getting your feet wet.
“Excellent choice.” He pressed on, only dropping her hand occasionally to push a low branch away.
When they reached the highest point in the hike, Trent set the basket down on a small patch of tall grass and turned to her.
“So.” He cleared his throat. “I have to ask.”
She could see his cheeks turn a light shade of pink.
“What?” Her curiosity was piqued.
“Something set you off.”
Taking a deep breath, Addy answered, “I had a slight run-in with Brian.”
His gaze ran over her. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, she bent down to pull out the small blanket from the basket.
“What happened?” he asked as he helped her lay it out near the edge of the hill so they could overlook the mountains as they ate.
“He told me to stay away from you and your family.” She sat down. “Needless to say, I didn’t listen to him. I know how to handle bullies.”
He sat next to her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She nodded. “You seemed upset yourself.” She had wondered about bringing up her questions for him, but now, seeing the dark look in his eyes, she knew she should hold off, at least for now.
“Not upset—distracted, busy, overwhelmed.” He sighed. “Any of those would fit.”
“What’s overwhelming you?” she asked as she started to pull out the food.
“Well, it turns out I have less than a month to prepare for a wedding in my mother’s backyard.”
“Wait, what?” Addy turned to him. “They moved up the date?”
He nodded and looked out at the view. “They’re having a kid.”
“So soon?” she blurted before thinking.
“That’s what I said. I guess . . .” He shook his head. “I don’t know, I guess I just thought . . .”
“Marriage first, then kids?”
“No, I’m not that old-fashioned. If it’s right, it’s right. But at least I thought they’d want some time . . . you know.”
“To themselves?” she asked, handing him a plate.
“Yeah. I mean, I guess I’d be a little more selfish. Not that I don’t want kids, hell, I want at least three of the little buggers myself.” He chuckled. “Someday.”
“I think that’s why my parents had such a tough time with me,” she said as she opened a bag of chips.
He looked over at her as he put a sandwich onto his plate.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“They had me so soon after getting married. They didn’t have any time to discover who they were together. If they fit.”
“Some people should never have kids,” he said, piling chips on his plate.
She glanced over at him, and he quickly repaired his statement.
“Not that I’m saying—uh, I’m very thankful your parents had you.”
She laughed. “I know what you mean.” She’d never seen Trent so flustered before. He was usually so smooth that everyone fell at his feet. But now, she saw a side of him that most people didn’t get—vulnerable, less of a player. Maybe it was the setting, maybe the boldness of her kiss, but she felt her reservations starting to loosen.
Could I get any dumber? Trent thought as he chewed his food. She’d put him off his game with that kiss.
Just the memory of those lush lips on his had his mind doing somersaults.
“What about you?” he finally asked.
Addy tilted her head toward him and raised her eyebrows in question.
“Kids?” he asked.
She smiled. “If I do, I’ll make sure to have at least two. Being an only child was . . . tricky. I think that if there had been someone else, maybe things wouldn’t have been so hard.”
“Were they that bad?” he asked, shifting so he could look directly at her. He watched her eyes turn to the mountain view and fill with sadness.
“There were times it wasn’t so bad. But for the most part, I retreated into my books.”
“Now there’s something we have in common.” He smiled.
She laughed, a full-body laugh that almost had him reaching to cover that sound with his lips. “You read?”
“Why so shocked?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Men can read.”
“Yes, but . . .” She shook her head. “I’ve never seen you with a book.”
“And I’ve never seen you in a dress. It doesn’t mean that you’re not a woman.” Parts of her body begged to differ. He reached for another sandwich to distract himself. “So I’m being a complete ass and a huge sexist.”
She shook her head with a grin. “Okay, all sexism aside, what kind of books do you enjoy?”
“Most anything.” He looked at her. “I noticed copies of Orwell’s 1984, H. G. Wells’s The Time Machine, and a few other of my favorites in your trailer when we were in North Dakota.”
She nodded. “I have a first edition of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? too.”
“No way!” He sat up a little, intrigued and impressed. “Any chance I can borrow it?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t know, are you the kind of reader who folds the pages or uses a bookmark?”
He gasped. “I don’t get a person who would damage a book just to hold their spot.”
“You have passed the first test.” She nodded regally.
“What’s the second?” He leaned back on his elbow again.
“Do you own a copy of The Hobbit?”
He rolled his eyes. “Who doesn’t? My father gave me one for my thirteenth birthday.”
She smiled. “You are free to borrow any of my books.”
From there, the conversation turned to movies and food. They must have enjoyed the sunshine for almost an hour before her cell phone chimed.
“Sorry.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “It’s Beau.” She raised her finger and, standing and walking away, answered the call from her boss.
Trent listened to her talk as much as he could without snooping. By the time she hung up, she’d reached the edge of the hill, looking down into the valley that held Haven.
He approached her. “Is everything okay?”
She turned slightly toward him. “What are your intentions with the land you’re purchasing from the Lenz family?”
He sighed. “I suppose work was going to come up sooner or later.”
“Well?” She turned to fully face him.
“I can’t tell you,” he said. And before she could interject, he continued. “Not that I don’t want to, but I’m under strict legal orders not to.”
He watched Addy’s eyes narrow. “Can you tell me if you plan on drilling on the land?”
He thought about it. “No.”
“No, you’re not drilling or no, you can’t tell me?”
He sighed and nodded.
“Ugh!” She threw up her hands.
“Tell me how you found out about the purchase,” he said. “Who told Beau?”
“I don’t know,” she said almost defensively.
“You don’t know? Can you find out?” he asked.
“Why?”
“Because it’s obvious we have a leak that needs to be plugged.”
“Trent, FREE benefits from leaks like this all the time. Information in small towns travels, especially when people know their way of life could be in jeopardy. Why all the secrecy now?” she asked.
He shook his head. He couldn’t get into that with her here, not when it had been going so well. He knew she was getting more frustrated.
“It has nothing to do with . . .” Trent stopped himself and took a deep breath. “I can promise you this—whatever my family has planned, it will not affect the reservation.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“Why?” he asked.
Addy shrugged her shoulders, then walked over and started cleaning up.
“Why can’t you just take my word for it?” He bent down and helped her place the plates into the basket.
“Because.” She glanced up at him, then stopped her cleanup. “I have to answer to my boss. I have to let everyone know what your plans are. My staying in Haven depends on it.”
He tilted his head. “So if you find out what we’re doing with the land, you’ll leave Haven?”
She nodded. “If I find no cause for us to stick around, I’ll move on to the next site. Which, at this point, might be back to North Dakota.”
Trent felt his heart kick up a notch. “Then I hope you don’t find out anytime soon.” He took her by the shoulders with a kiss that melted his fears away. When he released her, her smile flashed. Then, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck, she knocked him on his ass as her lips covered his.