Chapter Six
Delany had managed to avoid Walker
since James had died, but now her heart tripped, her breath hitched
in her throat, and her mind went blank. When her brain synapses
started firing again, all she could think was to ask herself why
she couldn’t have a reaction like that to someone nice and
uncomplicated like Mateo Reynoso. It was her bad luck Walker
McGrath was the single human on the planet who set off an internal
chain reaction she feared would lead to personal
annihilation.
“‘In fact’ what?” Then
Keeley breathed out a long, multi-toned “Ooohhh.”
Walker stopped inside the door and
despite the crowd, his gaze collided immediately with
Delaney’s.
Every cell in her body stilled as if
waiting to engage with his. That’s how it’d always felt, like she
was truly alive only when she was with him.
Jeez, she
was pathetic. Long
haired and bearded, there was an untamed edge to him that hit all
her buttons and made her feel every one of the long months of
sexual abstinence. In denim jeans faded at the seams, and with a
black shirt under a battered leather jacket, he’d fit in just fine
at the biker bar across town.
Delaney forced herself to
break the connection and look away and found Keeley furiously
fanning herself with her napkin. “Okay, not questioning it any
longer. Now I get it. Walker is so hot he’ll set off the fire
alarms.” The fanning increased in velocity, and with her gaze still
on Walker, she said, “God, I love
his hair, all long and dark and combed back from
his forehead. He looks like Jason Momoa, right down to those
gorgeous shoulders. Every single woman in this room will want a
taste of that kind of hot. And, honey, if he keeps looking at you
like that, you’re going to burn to a crisp.”
“Enough, Keeley.” Delaney
resisted the urge to fan herself. She was grateful for the
distraction when the server set their frothy drinks in front of
them with the plate of piled-high nachos, topped with giant scoops
of guac and sour cream. Keeley picked up a chip and dug in to scoop
a heaping bite, closing her eyes as she chewed. “Mmm, delicious.
Almost as delicious as Walker McGrath.”
“Not helping,
Keel.”
Delaney chanced a peek at Walker to
find his gaze still locked on her. He took a step in her direction
and her heart leapt at the thought he would join them, only to slow
again when it seemed he made an effort to pull his attention away
and move to the bar.
Delaney took a hasty sip of her icy
drink, hoping to cool her warm cheeks.
Walker crossed to the end of the bar
on the opposite side of the room. As he passed crowded high-tops,
there was a ripple in his wake. People went quiet and ducked their
heads, then began whispering after he passed.
Mateo, who appeared engrossed in
conversation with a curvy brunette wearing a tiny skirt and a
low-cut halter top, gave Walker a nod, but otherwise, not only did
no one greet him, some folks she knew damned well used to hang out
with him averted their gazes and pretended not to notice
him.
A man sitting two stools down from the
seat Walker took nudged the woman he was with and they moved down
the bar in the opposite direction. If he noticed, Walker didn’t let
on.
A hot ball of anger swelled in her
chest.
Delaney was furious.
Many of the people in the bar had
grown up with him, played Little League with him. They’d gone to
the same schools. They knew he’d been wrongly convicted and spent
over two years in state prison for a crime he hadn’t committed, and
yet they were treating him like he carried the plague.
“Uh-oh, I know that look,”
Keeley muttered.
Delaney rose to her feet, fury
carrying her across the floor as she made a beeline to her target.
Owen placed a glass of what looked like whiskey in front of Walker.
He reached for the drink, movement checking when he caught sight of
her.
He set his drink down and swiveled,
and she stepped between his knees. He was seated, she stood on
tiptoes, so they lined up perfectly mouth to mouth. She cupped his
face in her hands, her fingers rubbing against the texture of his
beard while the dark scent of forest brought back memories of
another time. His gaze shone brilliantly green and aware as it
locked on hers, daring her to carry through on her
intent.
“This doesn’t mean
anything,” she murmured, her mouth millimeters from his.
Ignoring the voice in her head telling
her this could be the mother of all mistakes, she pressed her lips
to his and did her damnedest to ignore the fireworks exploding in
her brain.
His big hands spanned her waist and
gripped tight while time spun out.
Hot, dreamy, divine—kissing Walker was
everything it’d ever been, only more now. Richer and
darker.
Figuring she’d done her job and
needing to preserve her sanity, she pulled back to end the kiss.
There was a moment when their gazes caught and held and all sound
around them seemed muffled.
Raw emotion flashed across his face,
and it seemed as if he was trying to beat it back, but was losing
the battle. Her gaze still snared in his, she cleared her throat
and spoke loud enough so everyone around them could hear. “Welcome
home, Walker.”
His grin flashed and her knees went
wobbly. God, she’d missed that smile, plus she realized she was an
idiot. Getting this close to him wasn’t going to make feelings
she’d tried to ignore for so long suddenly go away. The gleam in
his sharp gaze told her he knew exactly why she’d kissed him. She
would’ve stepped back but found the hand he’d planted on the bare
skin of her back kept her from moving. “Not so fast, Laney. Next
one’s for you and me. Up to you whether it means
something.”
He took her under in an open-mouth,
tongues-engaged, pull-everything-out-of-her kiss. A wolf whistle
split the air, likely from Mateo.
The first kiss had been a preview that
fanned embers she should’ve known were still alive under the ashes.
This one ignited a full-blown conflagration.
Her hands moved through his hair to
the back of his neck where she gripped corded muscle as she
struggled to stay upright. Calloused fingers caressed the highly
sensitized skin of her back. If she had to judge their relationship
based on that kiss, she’d say they shared an explosive mutual
attraction and if she wasn’t careful, they’d end up tangled between
sheets before the night was through.
That was where this kind of kiss
led.
Which told her how easily she’d
misjudged the man who was kissing her brainless.
He’d made it clear that
the past would remain firmly in the past. Fine with her, because no
way in hell was she making that
mistake again.
Pulling together every ounce of
self-preservation she possessed, she pushed back from him. He gave
her bottom lip one last nip, and then let her go.
Heat burned her cheeks as she spun on
her heel and sailed back to the table, her head held
high.
Keeley let out a low
whistle. “Holy crap, Delaney. That was intense. Now every woman in the room
knows they’re shit out of luck with the hottest guy here because
he’s taken.”
Delaney’s muscles
un-bunched enough for her to slump in her seat. “That’s not
why I kissed him. I wanted people to know that I,
and by extension everyone at Cider Mill Farm, welcomes Walker’s
return. That we trust him. He was sent to prison for a crime he
didn’t commit, for god’s sake. He was the victim of a huge
injustice that cost him his freedom for over two years. People need
to get a clue.”
“You’re right,” Keeley
agreed. “No matter he’s been cleared of all charges, some people
still think him guilty.” Then her friend smirked. “But your way of
showing your loyalty may’ve revealed more than you intended. Trust
me on this. You staked your claim.”
“Great.” Delaney frowned,
then spoke the thoughts that’d never been far from her mind for the
past eight years. “It’d help if we could find who actually
assaulted Melanie that night.”
“We’ve been over that. So
has the detective.” Keeley gave her a sharp look. “I know that
face. What are you thinking?”
Delaney shrugged. “I’m going to try to
find her. Melanie,” she clarified. “We were friends. I could tell
she was holding something back at the trial. Then she disappeared.
I think she was protecting someone. Or maybe she was pressured not
to say what she knew.”
“The detective spent
months trying to figure that out and didn’t come up with anything.
What makes you think there’s more?”
“A feeling. Someone hurt
her and that person has been free to live his life while Walker
went to prison. It’s not right.”
“You’ve tried to find
Melanie before and came up against a brick wall. What makes you
think this time will be any different?”
“I don’t know, but I need
to try. She didn’t want to be found before.” Delaney shrugged.
“Maybe things have changed for her.”
“Don’t do anything
crazy.”
“I won’t.” Delaney tried
to shake off the mood and tilted her head at the stage. “Let’s
listen to the music.”
The band began its first set and she
made a conscious effort not to look at Walker. She knew why she’d
kissed him, but why had he kissed her? She tried to focus on the
music with an ear to whether the group would appeal to visitors to
the farm. The group performed a mix of country and rock, covers of
oldies, and not so oldies, along with some original numbers. The
couples crowding the dance floor enjoying themselves were an
excellent endorsement.
Keeley danced with a middle-aged guy
who wore a straw cowboy hat and had quick feet. She returned to the
table with her face happily flushed when the band took a
break.
Delaney was using a tortilla chip to
scoop the last bit of guacamole from the plate when Keeley bumped
her knee under the table. She glanced up and Keeley raised her
brow, tilting her head toward the door where two men had come
through. “Look who’s slumming.”
“Good grief.” Slumming was
exactly what Vance Norris was doing. He was dressed how rich guys