5
“G et your phone ready ,” Jared ordered as he maneuvered through the heavy traffic coursing into St. Louis.
“I’m trying,” Cat said as she fumbled with her phone trying to open the app.
“It’s going to be to the right of us,” Jared warned her.
“I’m going to roll down the window so I can get a better shot,” Cat replied. “Can you keep an eye on Lucy?”
“Sure,” Jared reached behind him to rest his big hand on the puppy’s head.
“There it is!” Cat squealed in delight. “Can you see it?”
“I could miss that?” Jared asked. “Take the picture.”
“Oh, yeah.” Cat lifted her phone and snapped a series of photos. “Wow, isn’t it remarkable? I can’t believe I’m looking at the St. Louis Arch.”
“Try to get some photos when we go over the bridge,” Jared advised. “That’ll be your best chance.”
Cat lifted her phone and as they crossed the mighty Mississippi, she took several shots. The August wind was hot in her face, and she watched in fascination as the sun lit up the massive silver arch. The river was crowded with boats and shimmered in the sun like a well-worn suit.
Her heart raced as she thought of all of the travelers who had passed before her through the grand gateway to the West. It still felt like a dream to her. The excitement she awoke with each morning hadn’t ebbed. She’d been afraid homesickness would kick in as soon as she’d left Massachusetts, but that hadn’t happened.
She didn’t know how much Jared had to do with her state of well-being. She didn’t want to know. He’d soon be back on his ranch, and she’d be facing her adventure alone again. Would homesickness catch up to her then? No idea.
What she did know was that the man beside her was a devastatingly good smoocher. Just thinking about his kiss made her toes curl against the floorboard.
She’d thought she could have an affair with him. She’d thought it could be something swift and sweet, but now she wasn’t so sure. Sweet yes, but swift was doubtful.
Jared wasn’t like anyone she’d ever known. And sleeping with him would be the greatest test of her newfound independence. It would be so easy to lose herself in him, even easier than it had been with the big dumb jerk. Could she be with Jared and walk away? Or would she become the pathetic, clinging vine she’d been before? There was only one way to know for sure.
“Cat,” Jared interrupted her thoughts. “Are you planning on coming back in some time today? You’re letting all of the air-conditioning out.”
“Sorry.” Cat pulled her head back in and turned to face Jared. “I got lost in thought.”
“What about?” Jared asked as he released Lucy.
“Last night.”
“What about it?” His intense blue gaze flashed to her, and Cat glanced down at her lap.
“I just wanted to apologize for waking you up.” Cat fidgeted with her phone. “It won’t happen again.”
“You’re right it won’t.” Jared reached across the seat and brushed the windswept hair from her cheek. “I got carried away with you last night. I don’t intend to make that mistake again.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’?” He frowned at her.
“I mean,” Cat paused to clear her throat, “why don’t we just...you know?”
“You know?” Jared’s frown deepened. “No, I don’t know. Enlighten me.”
Cat expelled a nervous breath, plunging ahead before she lost her nerve. “Why don’t we hook up?”
“Hook up?” Jared hollered. “Are you kidding me right now?”
Hot color flushed Cat’s cheeks, but she persisted. “No, I’m not,” she insisted. “I am, however, very attracted to you, and I think it would be beneficial for both of us.”
“Sweetheart, I can think of a lot of words to describe it, but ‘beneficial’ isn’t one of them,” he retorted.
“Are you saying no?” she pushed, wanting the conversation to die a quick merciful death.
“I’m not sure,” Jared drawled. “When you say you want to hook up, do you mean one time only, or were you thinking it could be a random hit-or-miss kind of thing? Maybe we could stop at a few rest stops along the way, or better yet, check into a sleazy by-the-hour motel.”
“Never mind,” she snapped, feeling foolish at his mockery. “You’re obviously not as sophisticated as I thought you were.”
“There’s nothing sophisticated about sex.” Jared shook his head at her. “It’s purely an animal kind of thing.”
“I’m sure it is for you.” Cat sniffed and glared at the Missouri scenery outside her window.
Anger welled up in Jared, surprising him with its swiftness and intensity. He couldn’t believe this sweet woman was offering him a cheap meaningless fling. With any other woman, he might have jumped at the chance. But the thought of Cat being like that with any man made his insides twist. And all because one big dumb jerk had thrown her away. Couldn’t she see how special she was? How much she had to offer?
Cat deserved a whole man. A man that could give her all of himself not just bits and pieces. She deserved to be some guy’s treasured wife. That guy wasn’t Jared. And he’d be damned if he’d pull her self-esteem any lower by accepting her offer.
Reaching over the console, he captured her hand in his and placed a searing kiss against her palm. Her skin was warm against his lips, and his fingers tightened around hers in response.
“You deserve much more than a hook up,” he said. “Don’t ever settle for less than you’re worth.”
His voice was a gruff growl that whispered over her skin, and Cat shivered. Who was she kidding? An affair with Jared would be like selling her soul to the devil. She’d be lucky to survive, never mind walk away. She ignored the regret that pinched her heart and nodded her agreement. “I hope we can still be friends.”
“Of course.” Jared smiled at her, unaware that his eyes contained a look of naked longing.
Cat felt her spirits lift at his expression. The man could resist the pull between them all he wanted, but it was there. And maybe, just maybe, she could seduce him into making love to her. Cat tucked away her smile and began to plot.
They stopped for lunch, gasoline and other necessities in a small town a few miles off Highway 44. The day was blisteringly hot, and Cat was pleased she’d thought to wear a pale-yellow tank top and matching shorts. Not only was it cool, but it had rendered Jared speechless when he’d seen her.
They agreed Cat would drive the afternoon shift. She listened to his thorough list of cautions and warnings, with an expression she hoped resembled grave appreciation. Really, the man was such a worrier. As if she would let them fall behind schedule! She watched as he belted himself into the passenger seat, lowered his baseball hat over his brow and fell asleep.
She felt a twinge of remorse nip her conscience. Jared wouldn’t be so tired today if she hadn’t woken him in the middle of the night. As quietly as possible, she switched on the engine and belted herself into the driver’s seat. Now if she could just remember the way back to the highway.
Cat searched vainly for road signs that would point her in the right direction. She took a left out of the grocer’s lot, feeling certain that the on-ramp was just up ahead. Three turns and thirty minutes later, she wasn’t so sure.
She sat at a crossroads, facing a dirt road that seemed to lead nowhere. This can’t be right, she thought. Wouldn’t she remember a dirt road if they’d been on one before? Cat pulled her phone from the and tried to retrace her route. The map told her nothing. Putting the van in reverse, she backed up onto a pull-off area where she could turn the vehicle around, hopefully, without waking Jared.
As she maneuvered through the narrow rural roads, she tried to convince herself that she wasn’t as hopelessly lost as it appeared. She retraced her route as accurately as possible, but instead of finding the grocery store as she’d hoped, she came face-to-face with an enormous cow.
Cat stood on the brakes while her right arm shot out to keep Jared from being propelled into the dashboard. The van halted just inches from the large mammal that continued to chew its cud as if nothing unusual had happened.
“What the...?” Jared muttered when Cat’s elbow poked into his ribs, rousing him from his slumber.
“Sorry.” She grimaced, hoping he wouldn’t notice the rather large, black-and-white roadblock barring their escape.
“Where are we?” He sat up and pushed his baseball hat back on his head.
“Still Missouri...I think.” She shrugged.
“What?” He shook his head as if something was tampering with his hearing.
“I’m not certain where we are.” Cat gazed at him as nonchalantly as the cow.
“We’re lost? How could we be lost?” he asked in amazement. “All you had to do was take a right out of the grocer’s parking lot, and we would have practically fallen onto the highway.”
“I took a left. And we’re not lost. We’re directionally impaired.” Cat tooted the horn to shoo the cow out of the road. It continued to chew its cud and watch her squirm.
“Call it what you will. We’re lost. Why would you take a left?” he asked.
“I thought that was the way to the highway,” she said. “Obviously, I was mistaken.”
“How long have you been mistaken?”
“A half hour, give or take.” She rolled down her window and stuck her arm out, attempting to shoo the cow away. It was useless.
“And you didn’t wake me?” he shouted.
“I didn’t think it was necessary,” she answered. “I’d have found the highway eventually.”
“Your brother’s right,” Jared marveled. “You have the sense of direction of a chicken with its head cut off.”
“I do not,” she protested.
“You do realize that we’re heading north?” he asked.
“Yes,” she lied.
“And when we left the highway, we were headed north?”
“Yes,” she lied again.
“Then how are you going to find the highway if you keep traveling north and are, in fact, driving away from it?” he grilled her ruthlessly.
“I figured I’d run into a sign sooner or later,” she explained lamely.
“Oh, you’d have hit a sign all right, probably one that reads ‘Welcome to Iowa.’” Jared shook his head in disbelief.
Cat turned a serene glance from the cow to Jared and back again. A chuckle tumbled out of her lips before she could stop it. Jared’s eyes narrowed at her amusement before he, too, began to laugh. He had a rich deep laugh that was as contagious. They laughed at each other, glanced at the immovable cow, and erupted into laughter again.
“I’ll say one thing for you, Catherine Levery,” Jared said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “You’re never dull.”
“I think I’ll take that as a compliment,” she retorted.
The cow, apparently bored by their laughter, resumed its walk across the narrow road and into the pasture beyond. Only after it was out of earshot, did Lucy leap up and begin to bark.
“Fine watchdog you are,” Jared teased and ruffled her ears.
“I’ve been trying to retrace my steps to find the highway,” Cat said, taking her foot off the brake. “But so far, nothing looks familiar.”
“Let’s drive until we see someone, then we can stop and get directions,” Jared advised.
“Sounds like a plan.”
They traveled through the rolling hills until they saw two men visiting over a fence. One was sitting on a tractor, the other stood on an overturned crate. Cat pulled over to the side of the road and waited while Jared went to get directions from them.
She saw the men glance at her and break into sympathetic grins. How annoying. It wasn’t her fault that there was such lousy signage leaving the grocery store. If there had been a proper sign, she never would have gotten lost.
Jared thanked the gentlemen for their help and ambled back to the waiting van. How Cat could have taken the wrong turn was beyond him. It certainly validated Cameron’s opinion of his sister’s navigational skills. No wonder he worried about her.
Jared tried not to think of Cat alone in Copper Creek. He wouldn’t be there to share her misadventures or rescue her when she got lost. It was disconcerting to realize not how much she would need somebody, but how much he wanted that somebody to be him.
Jared tried to shake those thoughts loose as he climbed into the van beside the woman who was beginning to torment his every waking hour. She was his friend’s little sister and that was as far as it went. If he touched her, he was pond scum. He’d never forgive himself, and he was quite positive neither would Cam.
“So how far off are we?” she asked.
“Not terribly,” he reassured her. “Just go straight until the road forks, veer to the left and that road should lead us to the highway.”
“See? I told you I would have found it,” she said.
Jared’s mouth popped open as if he would protest, but then it slammed shut. Cat smiled.
A half hour later they were merging back onto the highway. Glancing at her side mirror, Cat saw an RV cross two lanes of heavy traffic to pull in behind them. She frowned. People were such reckless drivers. Then she noticed that the man driving looked familiar. He was wearing a fishing hat covered with lures.
“Jared, what color was the Bickersons’ RV?”
“Um, white with a dark blue stripe,” he said. “Why?”
“Because I swear that’s them behind us, but they’re in a different RV. This one is tan and green.”
Jared looked at his side mirror. “The angle is bad. I can’t see.”
“I’m sure it’s them. How odd. I thought Mabel said they were going to Florida. This isn’t the way to Florida.”
Jared rolled down his window and stuck his head out. The RV dropped back out of sight. “It must be someone who looks like them,” he said.
“I guess,” Cat said, unconvinced.
Trying to make up for lost time, they pressed on through the evening until they landed at a motel in Joplin, Missouri.
After they hauled their luggage and Lucy into the motel room, they each collapsed onto a bed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired in my entire life,” Cat observed with closed eyes. “Even with my eyes shut, all I see is the road in front of me, mile after mile of dotted white lines.”
“I know what you mean,” Jared’s deep voice growled in agreement. “Fast food for dinner?”
“Definitely.” Cat turned to glance at him.
“Do you realize we’re only halfway there?” Jared asked, his forearm resting on his forehead as if to ward off a headache.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“Oh, God,” Cat groaned and Lucy leapt up onto the bed and licked her hand in sympathy.
“Don’t worry,” Jared said. “We’ll be there before you know it.”
Cat studied the room around her. It was decorated in deep shades of blue and green. Everything matched from the prints on the wall to the carpeting on the floor. Even the curtains and bedspreads matched. It screamed motel room.
But it was her motel room, and she shared it with the most attractive man she’d ever known. And she was sitting somewhere in the middle of the United States having a fabulous adventure. Life didn’t get much better.
“We need to call Cameron,” Jared said.
The adventure took an abrupt downward turn.
“Why?”
“Because I promised him I would check in with him,” he said. “To keep him from worrying.”
Cat narrowed her eyes. “Fine. Call him. I’m going to take a shower.”
She began to unzip her suitcase, and Jared jumped off his bed, pulled his bedspread free, and began to drape it between them. Although she knew it was childish, Cat was annoyed. He was just tucking the end of the bedspread behind a painting when she whipped off her tank top. She sent it sailing past his head. He glanced back to see her standing in her bra and shorts and his eyes bugged. She smiled.
Jared blinked and all but ran to attach the other end of the blanket to the mirror on the opposite wall. She heard him sigh once it was fastened. So, he thought he was safe now, did he? She began to hum, something slow and sexy as she rifled through her suitcase, looking for fresh clothes.
“I’m going to call Cam now,” Jared yelled and sat on his bead on his side of the curtain Catwhile he waited for Cam to answer. Cat ignored him and hummed louder.
Finally, Cam answered,
“Hello?” Cameron answered the phone.
“Hey, buddy,” Jared’s voice sounded strained, even in his own ears. He glanced up. The bedspread was motel thin, and the light on the other side shined right through it, casting Cat’s form into delicious, seductive shadow. “Oh, damn.”
“What’s that?” Cam asked. “Hey, where are you?”
“Joplin,” Jared croaked, watching Cat bend over her suitcase. Her hum lowered to a purr as she arched her back, her fanny in the air, and stretched to lift items out of her bag. It was all Jared could do not to groan.
“Missouri?” Cam asked. “That’s great. You’re halfway there. How’s Cat?”
“Fine,” Jared gulped. He watched Cat’s shadow as she shimmied out of her shorts with all the sensuality of a burlesque dancer. When she stepped out of them and tossed them onto the bed, Jared gasped.
“Can I speak with her?” Cam asked.
“No!” Jared snapped. “She’s in the shower.”
“Really?” Cam asked.
“We’re sharing a room,” Jared explained.
“Oh,” Cameron said.
“But it’s not what you think,” Jared said. “Really. Nothing’s happened.”
“Okay,” Cam said.
“Absolutely nothing,” Jared said. “I’m treating her just like a little sister.”
“I’m sure you are,” Cam agreed.
“Yep, you don’t have to worry about me making a move on her. No sirree,” Jared said.
“It’s okay, buddy,” Cam said. “I believe you.”
“You do?” Jared asked.
“Of course, I do,” Cam said.
“Oh,” Jared said. Glancing back at the curtain, he watched her unsnap her bra and slide it down her arms. He couldn’t talk to his friend in this condition. As it was, he figured he’d have to go outside and bench press the van just to regain his sanity. “Look, we’ll call you when we get to Arizona.”
“Okay. And Jared?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks,” Cam said.
`“Right,” Jared said and hung up. He flopped back onto the bed and watched her pull on a short robe, tying it about her waist while still humming. The longing to rip the bedspread down, dive across the space between them, push her onto her back and climb on top of her was as primal an urge as he’d ever felt. Fighting it tooth and nail, he fisted the sheet in his hands and began to bang his head on the hard mattress. He doubted it would help, but at least it was something to do.
“Jared, what do you know about cars?” Cat asked.
“Why?” He glanced up from the map he’d been studying.
“Well.” She grimaced. “I’m not positive, but I think the white puffs of steam coming out from under the hood are a bad thing.”
“Pull over,” he ordered, tossing his phone aside.
Cat flipped on her signal and veered onto the shoulder. The steam was now billowing from beneath the hood. She glanced at Jared.
“Overheated.” He frowned at her.
“Now what do we do?”
“Halfway across Oklahoma and our engine overheats.” Jared ruffled Lucy’s ears. “Doesn’t that just figure?”
Cat glanced at the sparse scenery out the window. Oklahoma in August was as dry as dust and bone-wiltingly hot. The grass was bleached almost white and the few trees that broke up the arid landscape didn’t look strong enough to support the leaves on their limbs.
“What are we going to do?” Cat asked.
“I’ll take a look at it,” Jared said and climbed out of the car.
Cat watched as he used the hem of his shirt to pop open the hood. A cloud of steam bellowed out. Cat gasped but Jared rolled out of the way and waved to her from the side of the van.
She rolled down the window and asked, “Well?”
“We have a broken hose,” he shouted over the roar of the traffic. “I’m going to try to flag down some help. Sit tight.”
It was a scorcher out there and Cat could see the sweat beginning to pour off of his brow. Did no one care that they were broken-down? Jared stood on the side of the road and waved but no one stopped. Cars and trucks streamed past him in an unending line. He looked chagrined and shrugged at Cat. She shrugged back. What could they do?
The van was beginning to heat up and Lucy licked Cat’s hand and whined.
“I know, baby,” she said and filled the puppy’s water dish with some cold water. Lucy lapped at the water, spilling more than she drank.
Cat rolled down her window to offer some water to Jared. She froze with her hand on the window crank. Jared was standing on the side of the road doing what looked like dance moves!
Cat took a swig of the water and watched in rapt fascination at the sight before her. Jared had his hands in his back pockets as he executed what appeared to be a line dance. He stepped forward and back, then did a turn, a grapevine sort of side step with a clap.
The cars that had been slowing down to observe their breakdown were now speeding up to get past the weirdo on the side of the road. Jared did a series of spins and Cat burst out laughing while Lucy watched him with her head cocked to the side as if uncertain of his sanity. When he attempted a high kick, Cat cringed, fearing a nasty groin pull. Some wise guy honked but didn’t stop.
When Jared climbed back into the van, Cat was laughing so hard her belly hurt.
“What was that?” she asked.
“My attempt to get someone to stop,” he said. “I was hoping someone would think I’d gone crazy from the heat and pull over to help.”
“I think you scared away any Good Samaritans.”
“Scared them?” he asked. “Does no one have a sense of humor?”
“Just me,” Cat said. “Maybe if you showed a little leg someone would stop.”
“You want me to show them the goods?” he asked, looking offended.
“Not all of the goods.” She laughed. “That would land you in jail.”
“You don’t think I can do it, do you?” he asked.
“Uh...no,” she said.
“Don’t move,” he said and hopped out of the van, slamming the door behind him.
He strode to the side of the road and pulled off his shirt. Cat felt her pulse thud in her ears. He was perfect. Muscle-hard and deeply tanned, his chest looked like she could bounce a quarter off it.
Jared struck a parody of a bodybuilder’s stance. A lady honked and hollered her phone number as she drove past. He raised his arms and flexed. Another lady honked and threw a five-dollar bill out the window at him, but she didn’t stop. Jared looked miffed.
He came back to the van and Cat handed him a cold bottle of water from the cooler. She tried not to stare at his chest.
“Nice try,” she said. “But you should leave this to the professionals.”
“Oh, is that so?” he asked. “You think you can do better? Be my guest.”
Cat fished her lipstick and her hairbrush out of her purse. She fluffed her hair and reddened her lips. With a smile at Jared, she said, “Back in a jiff.”
Jared watched her hop from the van. She paused on the side of the road to hike up her shorts and pull the straps on her tank top down over her shoulders. What was she doing?
She blew him a kiss and Jared felt his ears grow hot. She moved to stand in front of the van. She leaned back against the van so that her figure was shown to full advantage. She raised one knee and let her leg swing. She looked like a pinup girl from the forties, with her full red lips and her wild hair being teased by the breeze, not to mention the amount of female curves she had on display. She was every sexual fantasy he had ever had. Jared was transfixed at the sight before him.
The screech of brakes shattered Jared’s lustful daze and he frowned. One, no two, make that three vehicles pulled over onto the shoulder, leaving long black skidmarks in their wake.
Cat turned and glanced at him over his shoulder. Then she winked. That did it!
Jared stomped out of the van just as the first driver was approaching her.
“Cat, get in the van,” Jared said.
She frowned at him.
“Do you need some assistance, ma’am?” a pimply faced kid, about sixteen, asked.
“No, she doesn’t!” Jared snapped. “Get out of here.”
“Jared!”
“Git!” Jared yelled and the young man ran back to his car.
“What seems to be the trouble?” the second driver, an older gentleman, asked.
“No trouble,” Jared said. “Move along. She’s fine now.”
“Jared, have you lost your mind?” Cat asked. “We need help.”
“No, we don’t. Just move along, old man. Show’s over.”
“Humph.” The old man stomped to his car and took off.
“You folks in need of some help?” A pretty young woman, wearing coveralls and baseball hat climbed out of the third vehicle.
Jared paused and Cat blinked.
“I saw your dance moves,” the woman said to Jared. “Pretty funny stuff. I was in the far lane so I had to double back to come get you. Can I offer you a lift?”
“No,” Cat snapped, but Jared said, “Yes.”
“Well, which is it?” The woman removed her hat and tossed a thick braid of honey-brown hair over her shoulder and looked between them.
“Yes,” Jared said. “Definitely a yes.”
Cat sat squished against the door with Lucy beside her. Jared sat in the middle, next to Molly, their rescuer.
“So, Jared, where are you and your wife headed?” she asked.
“She’s not my wife,” Jared said. A little too quickly, Cat thought. “No, Cat is more like a little sister to me.”
Cat blanched. A little sister? How could he possibly think of her as a little sister? If he was sitting any closer to her, she’d bite him. Here she was smack dab in love with him and he thought of her as a sibling! Argh!
Cat stilled. In love with him? She felt her stomach flip over as if they’d hit a bump. She glanced out the window. There wasn’t a pothole to be seen. Uh-oh. She’d fallen in love with the big galoot.
No, this couldn’t be. That wasn’t on her meticulously planned itinerary. Nowhere on her index cards did it read “fall in love.” Ack! This was completely unacceptable.
“Cat, are you okay?” Jared asked. “You look pale. Did you get overheated?”
“In a sense,” she said and he frowned. She turned away. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”