Christine

Slowly and deliberately, I set the empty tray on the bar, turn to face Travis, then step close enough to make my point, without shouting over the band.

“Obviously, the two of you have some kind of history. But I don’t share that history. Bull and I have an understanding about how he’ll behave in here. I don’t care if you two go find a dark alley and pound the crap out of each other, but let me make one thing clear.” I jammed my right index finger into his chest. “It isn’t going to happen in my place. Ever.” Stabbing my finger harder to emphasize the last word, I used the motion to push myself away.

Just as carefully, Travis set his mug of beer on the bar and folded his arms across his chest. “First, there aren’t any alleys, dark or otherwise, in Pine Haven. Second, what do you mean your place? What happened to Tom Valentine?”

What was the matter with me? I never put myself on display like I just had.

Never.

Yet as I watched his green eyes flash with surprise, I realized I wanted those green eyes on me again. Wanted any internal combustion he felt to be for me.

Only for me.

I stuffed my hands into my back pockets, knowing full well the move would thrust my ladies front and center. His eyes instantly left my mouth and settled on my chest. My lips curled into a lopsided smile.

Much better.

“It’s been my place since I bought it from Tom going on six years ago.” Let’s just see what he has to say about that.

“I put everything I had into this venture and then some. So, trust me, wherever you take your argument with Bull, it had better be far, far away from here.”

He stared.

His mouth opened, closed again. Finally, he manages one sentence. “You told me the boss was a ball-buster.”

Although I was standing so close that, even in four-inch heels, I had to tilt my head to meet his eyes, I refused to step back. Instead, I leaned closer. “I am,” I whispered with soft seduction in his ear. “You can trust me on that, too.”

As I walked away, my hip brushed him in passing. He shifted quickly out of my way but not before I got a good feel. Since I doubted he was packing a gun… there, I was fairly certain his attention was back where I wanted it.

On me.

* * *

Hours after the last patron had headed home and the light in front of the bar had been turned off, I stretched out on my bed in my one-room apartment above Valentine’s. But sleep remained elusive. Still feeling the residual heat from my encounter with Travis McGee, I wore only light pajamas and hadn’t bothered to pull down the covers on the bed.

So, the returning bad boy was Grant McGee’s brother. I hadn’t seen that one coming. And Sissy was definitely going to hear about her omission of that little detail.

I consider Grant’s older brother. Not one mention within my earshot during the six years I’d made Pine Haven my home. What did it take for a town to obliterate someone’s existence from the circle of gossip? It must have been something drastic for the hard feelings to be so enduring, even after such a long absence.

I frowned.

Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to play up to him during my act. I still had a hard time fitting in, even after years of living in Pine Haven.

Something about Travis intrigued me; something compelled me to want to spend more time with him. Emotions and physical sensations, I hadn’t experienced in years, demanded permission to come alive again.

“Travis McGee.” Into the darkness I whispered his name, testing the feel of it on my tongue.

I wasn’t worried about why he’d left Pine Haven, nor why he had unexpectedly returned. None of that had anything to do with me. On the other hand, my over-the-top response to him confused me. He wasn’t my returning prodigal anything. But something had drawn my attention in his direction from the start, and I wasn’t certain I could back off.

Or if I wanted to.

For sure, he was easy to look at, with his long legs and fit muscular build. Wherever he’d been, he’d spent plenty of time outside. His skin was well tanned, his face not quite shaven. Sun-kissed dark blond hair feathered back and fell straight to touch the top of his collar. I always had been a sucker for that scruffy look.

I was intrigued by the way his expressive green eyes changed color with his mood. And I really liked the way he studied me with those eyes, especially when he knew I was looking back.

Touching him had been daring for me, even in the context of my performance. But I liked the feel of him. Even more, I liked knowing I had thrown him just a little off balance, when I admitted in the heat of my anger that I had been thinking about him.

Tired, unsettled, just at the edge of sleep, I nevertheless found myself wondering if Trav was home to stay or just in for a visit. Either way, I figured my summer had suddenly become a lot more interesting.

* * *

With shaking hands, I pushed the button to open the comm again. “Are you there, Mick?”

After a very long pause, the radio squawked and the voice answered, “I’m here. What’s the status?”

I tried to keep it professional. “I’ve been advised you need to check your emergency locator signal. Help is on the way. And you should conserve your radio battery by turning the unit off and checking in every hour.”

A lengthy pause followed. I could hear him breathing. Then I was surprised by a wry chuckle. “Good try, sweetheart. You get points for caring. But I know the score. I’m pretty sure the thing sticking in my back is an office chair, and since we’re in the parking garage, that makes it at least a couple of floors of rubble on top of us.”

A tear slipped down my cheek, and I lost the battle for objective professionalism. “Maybe it’s not as bad as you think. Maybe a furniture truck fell on you instead of the building.”

His laugh in my ear belied the gravity of the situation. “So you’re a glass-half-full kind of gal, huh?”

“More like a grateful-the-glass-holds-anything-at-all kind of gal,” I countered.

He laughed again. “I like you. Got a name?”

“Oh, it’s um, Jocelyn.”

“Whoo-hoo! Ms. Yum-Jocelyn. That’s a mouthful,” he said, exaggerating his Wyoming accent. More softly, he asked, “How ‘bout I just call you Angel? That’s what your voice makes me think of.”

* * *

The ground underneath me trembled. Quake! With my racing heart threatening to hammer its way out of my chest, I popped my eyes open. The blanket of blackness eased into shades of gray as my mind adjusted to wakefulness. The ground beneath me became the softness of my own bed. Another tremor rocked me, shaking the mattress beneath me, as shivers wracked my body.

I sighed and watched a sliver of moonlight moving across the windowsill. The dream hadn’t been unexpected. I’d grown used to my memories intruding sometimes. Thanks to the dream, though, I was now wondering if starting something with Travis was a good idea after all. Maybe we could share a meal and it would be the start of a nice friendship. My erogenous centers twitched in protest as I recalled my sexy little dance for him the night before.

Yeah.

With the first touch of dawn, the colors around emerged from the gray, as if the room itself was coming alive. Time for me to come alive too.

I pushed to my feet and smoothed the bed covers. While the rushing water steamed up my bathroom, I drank my coffee and painstakingly selected the makeup I would need in order to face the day. And my impromptu date with Travis McGee. I stood naked in front of my closet for a full ten minutes trying to decide what to wear. I had no idea why I felt like a nervous girl going to my first dance, but I sure hoped the unaccustomed feeling went away, and quickly.