Keep On Loving You (Trickle Creek #5)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was a beautiful day. If you liked being up before dawn on a Sunday.

Kat Carlson did not.

Unless, of course, she was on the trails on her mountain bike. When she was flying down the twisty dirt trails, with the blue sky overhead, and sun shining through the trees and creating pockets of sunshine, the early morning was totally worth it.

Too bad those days were far and few between lately.Business was booming and she was far too busy running her increasingly busy hairstylist business to take very many days off lately. Even for mountain biking.

Until today.

Kat had been planning this day for two weeks and had even rebooked a handful of clients so she could join her big brother Craig on the trails for a day of sibling bonding and competition, as they would no doubt push each other on increasingly harder terrain until finally they were both streaked in mud and dirt, completely exhausted, with maybe a few bumps and bruises, and more than a few stories to relive when they finally collapsed on the patio of Brickhouse with a cold beer.

It had been years since they’d had a proper bike day. Between Kat’s shop, and Craig’s ice cream store, the Sugar Shack, never mind his new fiancée and his little girl, their schedules rarely matched up. Kat could hardly wait.

She left her SUV with her bike on the rack, parked outside her brother’s house, and dashed to the door. Kat only bothered to knock once before letting herself in.

“I hope you have coffee,” she called out as she stepped into his entryway. Instinctively, Kat squatted and braced herself for the inevitable crash of her niece, six-year-old Meredith, whose favorite method of greeting her auntie involved running at full speed into her legs.

Kat waited, and when Meredith didn’t arrive, she got to her feet. “Hello?”

“In here.”

She followed the sound of his voice to the kitchen, where she found her big brother draped over the kitchen table, cradling a cup of coffee between his hands, his cheek pressed to the wood surface. He was wearing pajama pants and an old concert T-shirt. His hair was ruffled from sleep and in no way did he look ready to hit the trails with her.

He raised a hand in greeting. “Coffee’s fresh.”

“You’re clearly not.” She gave him a sidelong glance and poured herself a cup before sitting across from him. “I’m afraid to ask.” She lifted the steaming cup to her lips. “But I will.” She raised her eyebrows.

Reluctantly, her brother sat up and ran a hand through his tousled hair. “I’ve been up all night,” he explained. “Meri’s sick.”

That would explain the lack of greeting. “Is she okay? A cold or the flu?”

“She threw up about a million times.”

Kat pushed out of her chair and stood, putting distance between her and what was very likely her germ-infested brother.

“Yes,” he answered her unasked question. “I’m probably sick, too. Lucy just went back to bed.” He waved his hand dismissively. “I probably should have texted you to give you a heads-up.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Kat made a mental note to spray herself down with the hand sanitizer she kept in her glove box when she left. “That sucks that you don’t feel good. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”

“Me too.” Craig shrugged and dropped his head again. “I tried to rally, but…”

It was clear that the only place Craig was going was back to bed. “Do you need anything?” She moved to the fridge to take stock of its contents. “Soup, juice, maybe some?—”

“We’re good.” He stopped her. “Whatever it is, I think it’s only a twenty-four-hour thing. Meri stopped throwing up around five. Honestly, I’m just exhausted. I think we’ll all spend the day on the couch, watching cartoons and sleeping. We’ll be better soon.”

“In time for the meeting tonight?” She looked at him sideways.

“Oh, that’s right. Asher and Noa are going to be back.”

“And I can’t wait to see them.”

After receiving a stipulation from their deceased father’s will that he needed to take a forced sabbatical from the family business, their older brother took off for a six-month trip around the world. But not before accidentally kidnapping a runaway bride and falling in love with her. Kat had been following their travels on social media, but she was more than ready to see the two of them in person.

“You better be feeling better for the meeting.” Kat tried to look stern. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” It wasn’t just the family dinner she’d been waiting for, and they both knew it. As the youngest sibling, it was Kat’s turn to hear what stipulation their father had left for her in his will. It wasn’t whatever task he had in mind for her, as much as it was the letter she was sure he’d left for her that Kat was looking forward to.

It had been over two years since he’d passed away, and Kat still missed her dad with an ache she wasn’t sure would ever go away.

“I know,” Craig said. “I’ll take as many vitamins as I can. I’ll do my best to be okay for tonight, I promise. But I’m sorry about today.”

She tried not to look as disappointed as she felt. After all, it wasn’t Craig’s fault they weren’t going to get to go riding after all.

“We can just reschedule our bike date for another time.” Even as she made the suggestion, she mentally scoured her calendar, and her next free day wasn’t for weeks. If then. “I’m sure we’ll find something that?—”

“Oh no.” Craig cut her off. “I know how busy you are, Kat.”

She waved away his protest. “I’ll make?—”

“No.” He stopped her again. “What I’m saying is that you’re going riding today.”

Taken aback, she gave her brother a look. “I am, am I?”

“You are.” He grinned. “Because I totally forgot to tell you. Last night, before…well, before the puking started, I heard from Andy. He’s coming to town for a bit. So I invited him to join us.”

Kat worked hard to control her reaction to the unexpected news that Craig’s best friend was on his way to town. The same guy Kat had secretly pined over for years, growing up. The first boy who she’d been totally and completely in love with, even if he had no idea. The man whom she’d fantasized about far more than was probably healthy, instead of pursuing actual relationships with men who were available and interested in her.

“Andy?”

Craig nodded.

If he’d noticed her reaction, he didn’t mention it. No doubt he was too tired to notice much of anything. Which was definitely for the best in this situation .

“He should be here any minute. He drove most of the way last night and was going to head in early this morning.”

“To bike?”

Once more, her brother nodded.

“With me?”

“No.” Craig laughed. “Well, maybe. But just to ride in general. And since it’s a ten hour drive, we can’t leave him to ride alone. So, it seems like a good chance for you to get out there and?—”

“I don’t think so.”

Kat started to back up in an effort to reach the door before Andy arrived. Not because she still had her schoolgirl crush on him. No, she’d grown past that. Way past that. In fact, the last time she’d seen Andy on a trip to Vancouver for a hair show, Kat had been sure to pay a visit to him so she could once and for all put those feelings behind her.

“Why not?” Craig reached for her untouched coffee cup and helped himself to the extra caffeine. “You guys are friends. Didn’t you go to his place for dinner when you were in Vancouver? When was that?”

“Just before Dad died.”

“Wow. That long ago?”

Kat nodded. It had been a long time ago, but Kat remembered it as if it had been yesterday. But her brother did not need to know the details of that particular visit. “It just won’t feel the same without you,” she lied. “I promise we’ll go as soon as you’re feeling better.” Determined to get out of there before Andy arrived, Kat spun on her heel and slammed directly into a hard chest. She swallowed; his familiar scent flooded her senses, threatening to overwhelm her.

The room spun around her, and if she didn’t know better, she might have thought she’d come down with whatever germs her brother had. But she did know better.

Two hands caught her by the elbows.

There was no way she could get away now. Kat took a breath and looked up. His eyes sparkled and his mouth—the same one that the last time she’d seen him had been between her legs, doing extremely wicked and wonderful things to her—was twisted up into a very sexy grin that made her stomach twist into a tight knot.

Maybe those feelings weren’t behind her after all?

As if she needed a reminder.

Andy Fisher didn’t usually need any excuse to catch up with his best friend, especially when that catch-up involved ripping down the mountain on a bike. Something there hadn’t been nearly enough time to do since he’d started school, and then grad school to earn his accreditation as a physiotherapist.

Not that his schedule had cleared much since graduating either. After all, those student loans weren’t going to pay themselves.

It had been way too long since he’d been back to Trickle Creek for any length of time, and even longer since he’d had the opportunity to have a little fun while he was there. He’d snuck into town for the grand opening of his best friend Craig’s ice cream shop a few years earlier, but that could hardly be counted as a vacation of any kind, and he definitely didn’t have the type of time to catch up with his buddy the way he would have liked to. Yes, going to Trickle Creek was always a good idea.

A sentiment that was only reinforced when Kat Carlson practically threw herself into his arms moments after he’d let himself into Craig’s house.

Instinctively, his arms went up and around her. A mistake, judging by the way his breath was completely sucked from his lungs at the feel of her against his body. He held her for a moment longer than he probably should have, especially because the moment he inhaled her sweet scent, his brain betrayed him by instantly flashing back to the last time he’d been so close to her. Only, that time, they’d been naked, and Kat had fallen asleep in his arms.

A detail of her visit to his apartment for dinner on her quick trip to Vancouver that Craig never needed to know about.

Especially considering Andy and Kat had agreed that it would only ever be a one-time thing. She’d said some kind of bullshit about being happy for right now.

It was bullshit, because Andy was pretty sure he could be happy with Kat for a lot longer than that. Still, there was and always had been her big brother, his very best friend who was more like a brother to him, to think about. And that was a very big consideration.

Andy recovered from the shock of having Kat in his arms as quickly as he could and managed to paste a grin on his face before she looked up at him.

“Hi.” He held her gaze for a moment. The urge to bend down and press his lips to hers was way too strong for two people who’d agreed to be just friends.

What happened between them was one night only. No repeats. Friends. That was it. That was all it would ever be.

“Hey,” Kat said after another moment passed. She stepped back and pulled out of his arms. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I was just?—”

“Getting ready to go riding,” Craig finished for her.

Craig.

Andy looked across the room to where his best friend was half sitting, half lying across the kitchen table. “You look like hell, man.” Andy instinctively took a step back.

“Astute observation.” Craig groaned and dropped his head again. “Did they teach you those skills in that fancy school of yours?”

Andy laughed. “That’s exactly why they’re going to pay me the big bucks one day. My mad observation skills.” He tried to meet Kat’s eye, but she was studiously avoiding him. “I have to say, man.” Andy turned his attention back to his friend. “You really don’t look like you’re up for any…well, much of anything today.”

“That must be those mad observation skills again,” Kat muttered under her breath with an unexpected sarcasm that caught Andy off guard.

When he glanced in her direction, she was finally looking at him. Humor danced in her pretty blue eyes .

He nodded his head with respect.

“Kat’s going to ride with you today.” Craig pushed himself up from the table. “I am going back to bed.”

“I told you, I’m not going to go.” Kat shook her head. Her long red hair was tied back in a tight braid and hung down the center of her back.

Andy resisted the urge to tug on it, or more specifically, wrap his hand around the silky hair and use it to pull her toward him so that she was once again pressed up against his— no! He had to stop thinking of her that way. They’d agreed.

One night. That was it.

Never mind that the memory of her screaming out in ecstasy while his head was buried between her legs, teasing her, licking her, tasting her, had played on repeat through his brain every day since they’d last seen each other. That was, when he wasn’t letting his imagination run away with thoughts of exactly what it would have felt like to sink himself into her sweet heat, if they’d allowed themselves to completely cross the line.

“You need to go, Kat,” Craig said. “Andy’s come all this way, and if you don’t go with him, I’m going to feel even shittier about screwing up our bike day than I already do. Besides, if Andy is going to spend the next few days at your place, you might as well go?—”

“What?”

“ My place?”

Both Andy and Kat spoke at the same time. Andy risked a glance at Kat, who was not doing a very good job managing her facial expressions, which would have been a problem if Craig wasn’t so out of it. After all, they’d been friends forever. Hell, Andy himself had practically been like another brother to Kat growing up. That was before. Still, there was no reason that Craig should think anything of Andy staying at Kat’s place.

“Yes,” Craig said, obviously growing exhausted by the conversation. “I’m sick. In fact, you’re both putting your lives in your hands by being in this house one moment longer than you need to be. Go. Hit the trails. Be healthy. Have fun.” Craig waved his hand randomly behind him as he moved toward the back of the kitchen and the hallway that would take him to his bedroom.

And then they were alone.

Andy exhaled slowly. “It looks like we’re going to?—”

“Come on.” She pressed her lips together and shook her head with a resigned sigh. “Let’s go. If we’re doing this, then let’s do it before it gets too hot out there.”

As far as Andy was concerned, looking at Kat in her tight tank top and her bike shorts that hugged her ass, it was already plenty hot.

She turned and left, only stopping to glance over her shoulder with a sassy grin and add, “I hope you can keep up.”