Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Amy
I woke up Saturday morning to the sun shining in through my bedroom window. My eyes opened, and I lay there, staring at the ceiling. I felt different. At first, I didn’t know why, then I realized…
No nightmare.
I wasn’t sure when the last time was that I hadn’t had the same terrifying dream, but last night I'd slept soundly.
Well, sort of. I'd had a dream of a different kind, one I'd never had before.
This one involved a sexy black-haired, green-eyed cowboy and a handsome brown-haired, blue-eyed sheriff.
Both of them were touching me, kissing me, driving me absolutely crazy.
I realized I was sweating, but it wasn’t from terror. It was from…
Oh, man. That had been some dream.
“You’re crazy,” I whispered to myself, unable to keep from smiling.
I seriously doubted either man was even half-interested in me. Sure, I'd seen them give me a couple of what I'd thought were I’m interested in you looks, but I'd obviously misinterpreted them. I was almost positive the two men were into each other, which meant they were definitely not into me.
My cell phone buzzed and I jumped, knocking my alarm clock onto the floor when I reached for it. My throat felt thick as I stared at the screen.
So much for thinking the fear had abated.
The alert showed it was a text from a number I didn’t recognize. Clicking on the text app, I stared at the screen.
Do you like to swim? If not, we could go to the range again. You know, if you’re up to it.
My heart did a double-tap in my chest. The good kind.
Oh, and if you don’t recognize the number, this is Wolfe.
I laughed. As if I thought it was anyone else.
With trembling fingers, I tapped out a response:
I like to swim.
And I did. Although I couldn’t remember the last time I'd been swimming. Would’ve been sometime in high school, I figured.
The reply came almost instantly.
Good. I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes. We’ll grab breakfast on the way out to the lake. It’s a private lake, so you don’t have to worry about an audience.
I could think of nothing to say except:
Okay.
As soon as those four letters were out there, I launched myself out of bed.
Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on my door. My heart was once again in my throat, but it wasn’t from fear. This was something else. Anticipation, maybe?
Yeah. That had to be it.
Smoothing my hands down my shirt, I walked to the front door. With a firm grip on the knob, I turned it, pulled back, and grinned.
“Mornin’,” Wolfe greeted.
He looked good.
Really good.
He was wearing jeans—not a surprise—and a black T-shirt with the Cedar Door logo on it. He had a ball cap on. The brim had been arched, which did little to shield his eyes but a whole heck of a lot for his sex appeal.
“You ready?”
I nodded, feeling somewhat light-headed.
Since I didn’t carry a purse—I purposely kept all identification hidden in a safe in my house—I had nothing to get except my house key. After locking up, I followed Wolfe out to his truck. Once again, he opened my door for me, allowed me to get in, then shut it gently behind me.
A second later, he was in the truck.
I noticed a box on the center console. A rectangular white box. “Are those...?”
“Donuts?” he supplied.
My eyes widened as I looked up at his face. “You bought donuts?”
He nodded.
One day last week, Lynx brought donuts to the shop. I hadn’t meant to show my excitement, but I had. And now Wolfe had gotten more. I was tempted to throw my arms around him.
I wouldn’t, but the idea was appealing.
I smiled at him. “Lynx said the nearest donut store is twenty minutes away.”
One dark eyebrow lifted as though he was waiting for the punchline.
“You were at the donut store when you texted me.”
“I was.”
“So, how’d you know I’d go with you?”
Wolfe chuckled, putting the truck in gear. “Didn’t. Figured if you shot me down, Lynx would’ve finished off the donuts.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “Is he gonna be disappointed?”
Wolfe’s sideways glance sent warm fuzzies through my. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” He nodded toward me. “You did bring a swimsuit, right?”
“I did.” As soon as I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair back into a ponytail, I went in search of a swimsuit. I'd bought one when I went to Walmart right before I moved into my house. I hadn’t figured I'd ever wear it, but every woman needed to have a swimsuit, just in case.
This was that just in case moment.
Granted, it wasn’t anything fancy, but it was a two-piece. I hadn’t considered how revealing that would be until I put it on. Which was the reason I had on a T-shirt that I intended to keep on.
“Is Rhys going with us?” I wasn’t sure why I asked that, but the words had stumbled right out of my mouth before I could think about it.
“Do you want him to?”
I was pretty sure there was some serious interest in Wolfe’s eyes. “Sure. Why not? He’s your friend, right?”
“He’s my friend.”
“Then invite him. It’ll be three friends going for a swim.”
If I wasn’t mistaken, Wolfe’s heavy sigh wasn’t exactly laced with disappointment.
Wolfe
I knew I was reading too much into it when Amy asked about Rhys. Taking her at face value was the smartest thing to do, but there was a deep, dark, underlying desire that had me holding out hope for something I knew would never happen.
Still, I called Rhys.
“’Sup?” the sheriff greeted, his voice a rough rasp in my ear.
“Amy and I are headin’ to the lake.” I glanced over at Amy. “She wants to know if you wanna join us.”
She smiled back at me.
“She wants to know?” He sounded skeptical.
“Actually, yes,” I assured him.
“When?”
“Right now.”
Rhys yawned. Apparently, I had woken him up.
“Yeah. I’ll meet y’all there. I assume you’re takin’ her to your lake?”
“Yep.”
“Cool.” Another yawn. “See you in an hour.”
“We won’t wait on you.” I chuckled. “And we’ve got donuts. You’ll be lucky if there’re any left. Amy’s eyein’ them right this minute. Later.” I hung up and set my phone in the center console. “He’ll meet us in an hour.”
“How long have you known Rhys?” Amy asked, pulling one of the glazed donuts from the box.
“Since elementary school. Maybe before that.” I cut a quick glance her way. “We’re both from Embers Ridge.”
“Are y’all … close?”
I chuckled, my thoughts drifting back to last night on my front porch when Rhys had jacked me off. Couldn’t get much closer than that, but still, I said, “Not really, no. He’s five years older than I am. Our families aren’t exactly on good terms.”
“No?”
“No.” I laughed. “It’s a redneck thing, I guess. A lot of glares and grumbles. Although it’s calmed significantly over the past few decades.” Even more so since Rhys’s old man died. People said Rhys’s grandfather was an ornery old shit. His old man had made the guy look like a fucking teddy bear.
“Is there a reason for it?”
I shrugged and turned off the main road. “Probably. If I had to guess, someone stole someone’s girl or gun, or land. That’s the way it usually goes.”
Amy laughed softly. “It must’ve been fun growing up in a small town.”
“I wouldn’t trade it,” I admitted. “No small-town livin’ for you?”
She shook her head. “Not unless Houston counts as small.”
I didn’t say anything immediately. I didn’t know if Amy had meant to tell me something so personal. She’d been careful not to talk about herself and I'd been careful not to pry.
“Well, I’d say Embers Ridge is much smaller than Houston.”
“I like it here.”
“What do you like most?”
“I don’t know.”
“The people? The pace? The eggs at the diner? Or maybe seein’ the cattle graze alongside every road that goes through town?” I smiled at her, then cocked an eyebrow. “It’s the donuts, right?”
Honest to God, I had never seen someone react to donuts the way Amy had the day Lynx brought them into the shop. It was as though she’d been deprived of them her entire life. And that beaming smile was the very reason I had gone forty minutes out of my way to get donuts this morning.
Another laugh from Amy and I felt the tension in my spine ease.
Being around her felt right, but every time I was, I was apprehensive.
Not necessarily because of any tension between us, either.
My problem came more from the fact that I didn’t want to intrude on her.
I liked that she was opening up to me slowly.
We were becoming friends, as she’d said.
And yes, I wanted to get my hands on her, but that was something I could wait for.
“You,” she said softly.
My head jerked toward her. “What about me?”
I noticed the blush that colored her cheeks. “That’s what I like most about this town.”
“Is that right?” I couldn’t deny my ego swelled from that knowledge.
“And Rhys.” She grinned. “And maybe Reagan and Lynx, too.”
Laughing, I turned the truck down the dirt road that led to the lake. “Aww, come on now, girl. Why you wanna wound my pride like that?”
“I seriously doubt anyone could wound your pride.”
“Why do you think that?” It was probably true, but I still wanted to hear her take on it.
“I’ve seen you, Wolfe. The way all those cowboys look at you. They’re intimidated, but it’s like they can’t let anyone know it.”
“Naw. They’re intimidated by Lynx.”
Amy giggled. “Yes, I’d say they are. But also by you.”
Silence descended as I steered the truck down to the edge of the water. I parked beneath a tree. Although it was only nine in the morning, it was already ninety degrees.
“You ready to do this?” I asked, noticing Amy was wringing her hands in her lap.
She peered over at me from beneath her lashes, a small smile forming on her lips as she reached over and unbuckled her seat belt.
Her smile widened. “Last one in’s a rotten egg!”
I roared a laugh as Amy launched herself out of the truck, running full out toward the lake.
It took a second for me to toe off my boots, but I was right behind her.
Jeans and all.
Rhys