Chapter Fourteen

That ominous statement pinged alarm bells in Nate's head. "What do you mean? Was he violent with you?"

"Not really. He didn't beat me up or anything, if that's what you mean. But he didn't like letting go of his toys. Including me. Possessive didn't even come close to describing it. He said he'd come for me if I left—that he loved me too much to let me go—but I knew the truth."

Nate was almost afraid to ask, but curiosity won out. "And what was that?"

"He was more worried about losing a meal ticket than a soul mate." She shrugged again, only this time it was stiffer and less carefree. "Besides, I haven't seen him in months, so he's probably moved onto the next meal ticket."

"Does he know where you're going?" Nate asked.

"No. There's no way he could. I got this job after I stopped taking his calls. He's probably emailed me, but I haven't had a chance to check my account since I left town. No phone or anything."

"Do you want to use mine? Or I could lend you a laptop. Dockside has public wi-fi, so does the Rise and Shine and a couple other places in town."

"Thanks, but I'm good. It's been nice taking a break from all the electronic leashes. I feel like I've lost fifty pounds."

"I can only imagine. If I didn't stay in contact, people would freak."

She shot him a wry grin. "I noticed, based on how many calls you received during the few hours I had your phone. For a second there, I thought you might be a dealer."

"As in drug dealer?" The idea was so ludicrous he laughed out loud. "No, just a combination of running businesses and living in a small town. There's always someone thinking that what someone else is doing is somehow my business. Or that my business should somehow be theirs."

"I think it's cute. I mean, it beats the hell out of living somewhere no one cares—where you could die in your car or apartment and no one would notice until you started to stink up the place."

Had that been what it was like for her? Was she really that alone? "What about family?"

"Oh, I have plenty of that. Unfortunately."

"Don't get along?"

"Mom and I get along fine as long as I have cash to give her. Dad died in prison—shanked for ratting on someone. I never knew him. I have an older half-brother who's also been in prison most of my life, and a younger half-sister who goes from man-to-man as often as I change socks. She learned that from our Mom."

"Learned what?"

"That the answer to all her problems is in the next man she meets—that somehow having a penis gives men the ability to fix everything wrong in her life and then immediately screw it up again."

"Sounds exhausting."

Hanna's head hit the headrest with a thud. "You have no idea. Which is why I'm off men. I always choose poorly—a genetic trait, I guess. But I prefer my problems to be my own to create or fix as I see fit."

Nate felt something deflate in his chest. He really liked her. She was smart, funny, hard-working, and sexy as hell.

And completely unavailable.

She stabbed her spoon into the ice cream, as if punctuating the end of the conversation. "What about you? What's it like having a family that doesn't suck sweaty donkey balls?"

He let out a laugh that sounded more like a snort. "I'd love to see you ask my dad that question. He'd probably turn three shades of purple before he was able to speak."

"Too crass?" she asked, grinning.

"Too vivid. And to answer your question, it's both wonderful and infuriating. I love my family and they've always got my back, but there's also no escaping them. I have two older brothers who are following in Dad's footsteps. The heir and the spare. And then there's me."

"Black sheep of the family?" she asked.

He chuckled at the idea. "More like gray. My dad is in construction—building houses, mostly. My oldest brother set out and founded his own company doing more commercial property than residential. He knew he'd butt heads with Dad too much if they worked side-by-side, but he loved the business, so on his own he went. That left Saxon, my next oldest brother to step up to the plate and began taking over Dad's responsibilities. He's great at it, but that doesn't leave a lot of room for the third son."

"So, you run the motel instead?"

"I do, but I also do construction in my own way. They build new buildings, I restore old ones."

"Way more interesting," she said, nodding.

"I think so, too, but Dad is always telling me that the profit margins are too small. My skills are being wasted. It's a bad business model in our part of the country."

She made a scoffing sound and waved her hand in dismissal. "Money isn't everything. Believe me, I know. I have none and yet I somehow still don't cease to exist."

"The motel is profitable. Sure, I spent a lot returning it to its former glory, but it was either that, or let it get bulldozed. That place has been here since the Corps of Engineers built the lake in the thirties. Who are we to say it's time is over?"

"You restored it? That was your work?" she asked, sounding impressed. "Amazing. I could have sworn that the place was brand new when I walked in—like it had been hermetically sealed in time. If that's the quality of work you do, then you should tell all the naysayers to go fuck themselves. You're doing exactly what God put you on this earth to do."

All Nate could do was stare at her. He had a whole night sky of brilliant stars to look at, but not one of them interested him half as much as Hanna.

She got it. For the first time in his life, he'd met someone who understood him—understood his drive and his passion.

Without thinking, he leaned over the console and kissed her. He had no choice. He couldn't be in the presence of someone this special and not take just a small taste.

She sucked in a shocked breath and it pulled the air from his lungs. His head spun and his blood heated in a mad rush.

In the back of his mind he knew he wasn't supposed to kiss her. They weren't even on a date. But he couldn't seem to get his body to go along with the ruse.

He wanted her. Craved her. And in some small way, needed her.

His past girlfriends had never understood his work the way Hanna did. They'd always asked him why he cared so much about old, rundown things. And why he didn't go work for the Grace Construction powerhouse. They would look at him with dollar signs and engagement rings flashing in their eyes, hoping to score a wealthy husband in a town where there was little wealth to be had.

Nate didn't want that for himself. He knew what deep, meaningful relationships looked like. Watching his parents and grandparents was proof that they existed. But the way those girls looked at him was nothing like the way Mom looked at Dad.

Nothing like the way Hanna looked at him—like his value went well past monetary, all the way down to his soul.

Her slender hand pressed against his chest, and he knew he'd gone too far with her.

Nate lifted his head, but couldn't bring himself to back away. Not yet. He'd take his punishment for going against their no date deal, but he couldn't stand to put too much distance between them. Not yet.

But rather than accusation or anger in her expression, what he saw now was desire mixed with resignation.

"I want you," she said. "I want you so much my skin aches. But I can't do this to myself again."

"Do what?"

"Make another bad choice. I've already made so many. I have to stop repeating my old mistakes, or I'm never going to find my way in the world."

He didn't want to be a mistake. In fact, the idea that she would see him as one was so repellant, it stopped him cold.

All he wanted for her was to be safe and warm and happy, and because of that, he moved back into his seat and started the engine.

"I think it's time for me to take you home," he said.

"You're not mad?" she asked, sounding confused.

"Because you wouldn't have sex with me?" He shook his head. "Disappointed, yes. Definitely that. And horny." He grinned at her to soften the blunt statement. "But not mad. You have to do what's right for you, and if I'm not that, then so be it."

She stared at him like he was speaking a different language. "It's okay if you're mad."

"Nope. You were straight with me from the beginning. It's not your fault that I think you're sexy as hell, or that your skin smells like pure temptation."

She sniffed the back of her hand, frowning. "That's ice cream."

No, it wasn't. That scent was all woman, but he didn't tell her that. No sense in making this any more awkward.

"Put on your seatbelt, Hanna. It's a long way down."