Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
T hursday evening Charlie sat in the driver’s seat of her car with Cassie riding shotgun. They’d just finished their traditional girls day in Denver, or as they liked to call it, Towanda day. An entire day devoted to doing whatever they wanted and to hell with the consequences. A female friendship bonding experience they’d started in high school when all the testosterone in her house had been choking the life out of her.
One day after receiving her license, Cassie had shown up at her house and declared Towanda. They’d just finished reading Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe in English and her friend had taken the book to heart. Cassie had known Charlie needed a day away from her overbearing brothers. Her friend had grabbed her and whisked her off to the city where they roamed 16 th street mall, tossing change in all the street performers’ buckets. Had lunch at the best burrito place in Denver. Tried to sneak into a bar and failed.
It’d been great.
Ever since, they’d made it a tradition, trying to have at least one Towanda day a month, but life often got in the way. Especially lately. With her friend’s recent marriage and her…men issues. They hadn’t had a girl’s day in months. It had been sorely needed.
“I can’t believe I bought those shoes,” Cassie giggled.
She glanced at her best friend from the corner of her eye. “I can. They’re killer. You look amazing in them.”
“I know, but the heel is so tall and skinny. It’s like walking on an icicle.”
She shrugged, keeping her focus on the road ahead of them leading them into Kismet city limits. “Yeah, but how much walking do you really plan to do in them?”
A chuckle sounded from beside her.
“Not much. I’m sure once Del sees me in them, he’ll sweep me up into his arms and rip off my—”
“Agggh! Okay! TMI! Do not want to hear.”
The laughter grew. “You always like hearing about my sexual conquests before.”
A shudder passed through her. “Yeah, that was before your sexual conquest was my baby brother.”
She was happy for Cassie and Del, but she didn’t need the details. Holy hell, she never needed those details. Gales of laughter sounded from the passenger seat, so infectious she soon joined in. She knew her bestie liked to tease her, all in good fun. Truthfully, Cassie and Del finding love and getting married had been amazing. Now her best and oldest friend was her full-fledged sister. Something she’d always wanted living in the land of endless brothers. But there was a downside.
The happy couples popping up like ants at a picnic in her family brought into stark contrast her own love life. Or lack thereof. She’d never been good with guys. Her fault. She tended to choose men embodying the very antithesis of what she grew up with. The bad boys, the rebels, the…losers. Call it extended teenage rebellion or daddy issues or whatever. She knew she had crap taste in men.
Cause you have a crap image of yourself.
She scowled at the unwanted thought. Ridiculous. Wasn’t even true. She was awesome. Charlie Jackson kicked ass and took names. She liked herself…didn’t she?
“You better slow down. We’re off the highway now.”
Pulling herself out of melodramatic thoughts, she snuck a quick look at Cassie. “We’re not in town yet.”
“Yeah, but we’re in city limits and you’re still going sixty.”
“Gray never gives me a ticket.” Benefits of knowing a person since elementary and owning the best/only distillery in town. Speeding tickets were easily forgiven.
“True. But you never know when your luck will run out.”
No sooner had the words left her friend’s mouth then the tell-tale shudder started to vibrate as her car shook with a familiar sensation.
“Oh no,” Cassie clutched the dashboard, voice tinged with worry. “Don’t tell me you have a flat.”
She grunted, fighting with her car as she slowed down to safely pull off to the side of the road. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“Charlie! You were supposed to replace your tires two months ago.”
She was supposed to do a lot of things, clean out her air vents, not eat crackers in bed, be nice to assholes who didn’t deserve it…
“It’s on my to-do list, okay?”
Cassie snorted. “Bet it just moved to the top now.”
If the woman wasn’t her best friend, she might be tempted to flip Cassie off.
“It’s fine. I’ll change this puppy and drop you off at home.” She turned the car off, popping the trunk and getting out of the car.
“Then you’ll take the car into Fred’s Auto shop tomorrow?” Cassie asked, exiting the car.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll take her into Fred.”
Hopefully Fred wouldn’t be working, or she’d get another earful about how to take care of a car from Kismet’s oldest mechanic. She liked Fred, but the guy was pushing seventy-five. He needed to retire and enjoy life. His son Mark was ready to take over the family business and he never chided Charlie for her lack of car maintenance. It wasn’t like she did it on purpose. Her mind just…forgot about things the second they were out of her sight.
She made her way to the trunk, searching around the mess of old camping gear, mud caked clothes she’d forgotten to take inside to wash, and old grocery receipts, until she found the latch to open the compartment which held the spare tire and jack. Only…
“Fuck!”
“What?”
Cassie rushed to her side, gaze moving to what Charlie was staring at, or more appropriately, what she wasn’t staring at.
“Fuck,” Cassie repeated. “Where’s your spare?”
She winced, glancing at Charlie with an apology and leaning to the side to see her spare on the back left corner of the car.
Cassie’s eyes went wide, exasperation reddening her cheeks. “Charlie!”
“Before you yell at me,” she held a hand up in defense. “I completely forgot I popped a tire last month when I drove out to Clearwater Creek. Those roads are a nightmare. I was so tired when I got home, I just forgot.”
“You forgot for an entire month?” Cassie shook her head. “We drove to Denver on a spare! Do you know how dangerous that is? How are we going to get home now?”
“Cassie, I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
Blinding bright headlights cut her off as she slammed her eyes closed, hands automatically going in front of her face to shield herself from their brilliance. The sound of tires crunching on dirt filled the air as a car pulled off on the shoulder and came to a slow stop directly behind her car.
She reached into her trunk, grabbing her tire iron in a firm grip. They were just inside Kismet city limits, but that didn’t mean they were safe. A dark, isolated mountain town road in the middle of the night was the setting of dozens of slasher movies. She should know. She watched enough of them.
“Oh good, maybe they can help,” Cassie said with a sigh.
Her best friend was too trusting. Charlie moved in front of Cassie, holding up the tire iron in a defensive position as the car door opened and a tall, shadowy figure stepped out. Her heart raced in her chest, thumping loudly as blood rushed in her ears.
“Evening ladies,” a deep, familiar voice said. “Car trouble?”
Oh shit!
She knew that voice. As much as she wished she didn’t. That deep, sexy, timber didn’t belong to a random slasher, though right now she kind of wished it did. Not really, but she did wish it belonged to anyone other than—
“Luc Woolf.”
“Charlie Jackson.” He nodded, stepping into the light of his car’s headlights.
They illuminated him like a freaking angel or something.
Suddenly a chaotic mess of dark brown curls invaded her personal space as her best friend leaned over her shoulder. “You two know each other?”
He rolled his lips in, as if holding in his laughter. “We’ve…run into each other before.”
Oh, ha ha. Sooooo funny. A teacher and comedian all rolled into one. Wasn’t he just the bees-freakin’-knees. She would not laugh at his stupid humor.
“Car trouble?”
“No.”
One dark eyebrow arched. He leaned to the side, inspecting her car which clearly revealed a flat front tire and spare on the back.
“Really?”
She wanted to whip that smug smile off his face. With the tire iron or her own lips, she wasn’t sure, but it infuriated her as much as it turned her on.
Dammit.
“We’ve got it handled,” she insisted, straightening her spine, infusing all the confidence she could into her words.
“No we don’t,” Cassie challenged from behind her.
She turned to face her betrayer of a best friend. “Cassie!”
“What?” Cassie shrugged. “You don’t have another spare. Fred isn’t going to tow you this late at night and unless you want to call one of your brothers—”
“Hell no!” She didn’t need another lecture on car maintenance from the Jackassons. She’d rather walk home in the dark than call any of her brothers. Ten miles wasn’t that far.
“I can give you both a ride,” Luc’s smooth, velvety voice offered.
A tempting siren’s call if she ever heard one.
Huffing out a breath of frustration, she turned and gifted him a tight smile. “Thanks, but my mother always told me not to take rides with strange men.”
Her insult bounced right off him, his smile never wavering. Who the hell was this guy?
“Wait, I thought you two knew each other?” Cassie came out from behind her and stared at Luc. “Who are you?”
Luc’s memorizing gaze captured Charlie, stealing her breath as he seemed to peer into her very soul. Then he blinked and it was gone. His attention turned to Cassie’s as he answered.
“Luc Woolf. I’m the new therapist at the hospital and I also volunteered to take over supervising the anger management classes going forward.”
“Oh.” Cassie blinked, realization setting in. “Ohhhhh, oh now I see. So this is the annoying Mr. Tall, nerdy, and sex—”
She dropped the tire iron, clamping her hand over her friend’s mouth before she could reveal all the embarrassing things she’d shared over dinner about the man standing in front of them. Embarrassing, private things that were said in best friend confidence.
Luc dipped his head down, but she heard the chuckle escape his lips. Damn him.
“Two flats in one night,” he shook his head. “That’s some bad luck.”
She frowned; thankful he was letting her friend’s revelation of her inner thoughts on him go. “Huh?”
He pointed to the front flat tire and the spare on the back. “You must have changed out the back earlier in the night then the front one went, right?”
“Oh, no. I’ve been riding the spare for a while now.”
He frowned, arms crossing over his chest as he stared at her. “It’s not safe to ride on a spare, Charlie.”
“She was going to get it fixed,” Cassie said, coming to her defense. “She has a very busy schedule, and I dragged her out tonight without much warning. It’s my fault for not checking first.”
A smile tugged at her lips. How quickly her best friend’s tune changed. Just a few minutes ago she’d been harping on Charlie just like Luc. But it seemed in the face of someone else taking her to task, Cassie stood by her side. Warmth tickled her belly at her friend’s protection. It wasn’t needed, but she appreciated it all the same.
Luc inclined his head to Cassie. “I understand, Ms….”
“Jackson. Cassie Jackson.”
His head tilted as he glanced at the two of them. “Sisters?”
“We are now,” Cassie exclaimed gleefully, tugging Charlie in for a tight side hug.
Rolling her eyes, she hugged her friend back and explained. “Cassie had the extremely unfortunate taste to marry one of my brothers.”
“Hey,” Cassie gently smacked her arm. “I have excellent taste and Del is wonderful.”
She lifted her hand and wavered it back and forth in a so-so gesture.
“One of your brothers?” Luc frowned. “How many brothers do you have?”
“Three,” she answered. “Three annoying, interfering, know-it-all brothers.”
Luc’s gaze assessed her. A small light of recognition sparked in his dark brown eyes. He nodded as if some big revelation had just been exposed at her words.
“Oh, I see. That makes some things clear.”
What? What things? Just because she had brothers didn’t mean anything. Why was Luc acting like she’d just revealed some big secret? All she did was tell him how many siblings she had.
“Leave the psychoanalysis at the office, Doc,” she grumbled, glaring at him. He might be a therapist and her anger management teacher or whatever, but he didn’t get to dissect her life outside of court appointed classes.
Luc’s gaze…entrapped her. That was the only word for it. She found she couldn’t look away, even if she wanted to. He seemed to study her entire face without ever breaking eye contact. He gazed, as if searching for her very soul, to weigh it, examine it, discover what made her tick.
Good luck buddy. Even I don’t know what the hell I’m about most days.
“Okay, Charlie.”
He said her name slowly. Testing it on his tongue. It rolled from his lips like a caress. Never had she thought of her name as sexy. How could she when it was usually a boy’s name? But it sounded feminine falling from Luc Woolf’s lips. Feminine and sensual.
“Would you like me to give you two a ride home?”
He was dropping it? Color her surprised. Perhaps the new guy in town didn’t want to rustle too many feathers. Or maybe he would use this next week in class to give her extra homework or something. An essay about road rage or something stupid.
“Yes, thank you, Luc,” Cassie answered after Charlie remained silent for too long. “We really would appreciate a ride.”
Cassie nudged her with her elbow. Her sharp, pointy elbow.
“Ow!” She glared at her best friend before turning her gaze back to Luc. “Yeah, thanks. A ride would be great.”
After grabbing their bags and locking her car, Charlie followed Cassie to Luc’s car. She hurried to the back and slipped in before Cassie could protest. She knew her best friend. Cassie was already playing matchmaker in her mind. No thank you. Charlie had sworn off men and even if she hadn’t, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes wouldn’t be the guy she picked to date.
A few tumbles in the sheets to see how bad she could make this good boy, sure, but not anything long term.
Luc pulled out onto the road, listening as Cassie filled him in on all the details of Kismet that a newbie would need to know. He drove at a safe speed—because of course he did—paying attention to her friend as she sulked in the back. This night totally ended on a bummer.
Luc followed Cassie’s directions to her house. She knew her friend had planned this so she would have to ride alone with Luc to her house after. Tricky, but not tricky enough.
“Thanks for the ride, Luc. We got it from here.”
Cassie turned in her seat to stare at Charlie with confusion. “But your place is three miles away.”
“Yeah, but my car is out of commission, and I’ll need a ride to work tomorrow. I’ll just stay the night and head over with Del.”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open to protest, but she saw the moment her logic hit, eviscerating any argument her best friend could come up with and ruining her matchmaking plans.
“Oh, I guess that makes sense.”
Luc’s eyes stared at her through the rearview mirror, a knowing light filling them. She shook off the delicious shiver it sent through her body.
“Thanks for the help, Luc. Why don’t you stop by Jacks sometime. I’ll get you a drink on the house. As a…welcome to Kismet.” It was the polite thing to do. Thank someone for doing you a favor. It wasn’t like she was making excuses to see him in a setting where she was in her element and not looking like a total jackass.
Right, and the Rockies run east to west.
“You work at a bar?”
His demeanor changed instantly. Gone was the humorous smile, replaced by a tense jaw. His relaxed body had tightened, knuckles going white from his grip on the steering wheel.
“Um, yeah. Well, not a bar really. My brothers and I own a restaurant and distillery. We have a tasting room that kind of serves as a bar.”
He didn’t say anything, but the air around them suddenly clogged with tension. What the hell?
“I see.”
Really, because she didn’t. Why did the fact that she ran a bar seem to upset him so much?
In the next moment the tension vanished as he smiled again. Whatever…weird thing happened disappeared as the calm and jovial Luc she recognized came back.
“Glad I was there to help you all out. You ladies have a nice evening.”
“Thanks, Luc,” Cassie said getting out of the car.
Charlie scooted across the back seat, hand on the door handle. She popped the door open, but just before she stepped out, his deep voice stopped her.
“Charlie.”
She looked up to see him staring at her in the rearview mirror again. His dark eyes gleaming behind the lenses of his glasses. Her breath caught in her chest, once again trapped by that enchanting gaze.
“See you in class next week.”
At the reminder of who this man was, what he was to her, she scowled. Pasting on her most sarcastic smile, she sweetly said, “Can’t wait.”
His chuckled followed her out of the car as she shut the door a bit harder than was necessary.
“So, are you going to tell me what the deal is with you and the hot doc?” Cassie asked as they stepped inside.
Luc pulled away, giving them a slight finger wave as he left. Shaking her head, she glanced at his retreating car through the window.
“No. No I am not. And he’s not a doctor, he’s a therapist. They’re different…I think.”
“Rude, but I’ll forgive you. For now. You will end up telling me eventually.”
True. She always did end up telling Cassie. It’s what best friends did. Shared their secrets. Secrets like if they had a totally inappropriate crush on their teacher.
He’s not my teacher. Not really.
It didn’t matter what he was. Luc Woolf was off limits. He was too nice, too smart, too…good for her. She liked bad boys. She doubted Luc had a bad boy bone in his pinky. Then again it wasn’t like she knew him that well, or at all really.
All she knew was when Luc’s face changed from pleasant to closed off the moment she mentioned Jacks, something in her ached. True, she didn’t know the guy from Adam, but she didn’t like that look of…pain she glimpsed on his face. It didn’t seem right.
“Ask all you want, just don’t tell me what you plan to do with that feather duster you bought at the gag shop in the mall.”
The distraction worked as her friend laughed, mentioning something about a French maid outfit Del bought her that Charlie promptly blocked from her memory. She must be really sick to bring up this subject again, but somehow it was better than discussing Luc. She didn’t know why, but the sexy man had gotten under her skin, and she wasn’t entirely sure she liked him there. In fact, she knew she didn’t.
So why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?