Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
They drive out to the nearest grocery store and pick up a few things. "Maybe we should check out the town while we're here," Liam says, reaching for a bag of grapes. "I haven't been there in ages."
Truth Harbor, the nearby town, has a history of pirate lore. "That sounds fun," Tori agrees. "I’ve never been up here before."
They wind up eating sandwiches with chips on the cabin's back deck. Liam says he doesn't mind eating the veggie bologna she bought, which is a nice surprise. She's dated too many guys who freaked out when she told them she didn't eat meat.
It's a warm summer evening, and she can hear frogs down by the water. Grasshoppers too. A symphony of buzzes and croaks.
She picks up her glass. "Most guys buy beer, but you bought a six-pack of iced tea."
"I know. I drink it all the time. My whole family does, actually."
She imagines his nice, normal family. All of them sitting around drinking tea and being civilized. Nobody's drunk. You don't have to hide liquor bottles or fight anybody for their car keys.
It sounds like heaven.
Unfortunately, this makes her think of her mom and Wayne again. She can't seem to get them out of her mind.
And to make matters worse, she's spending the weekend with a lawman.
Talk about irony.
She knows she told herself to forget her problems, but they don't seem to be listening.
"Do you want to make a fire down on the beach?" he asks as they're finishing up dinner. "I thought that might be fun."
"Um… sure." She's nervous about something else too, about what exactly happens later tonight. It's the new dancing elephant in the room, and this time it’s X-rated.
She follows him into the kitchen, admiring his muscular shoulders beneath the soft cotton T-shirt. Her eyes drop lower to the way his jeans fit both loose and snug.
When he turns to take her plate, she quickly looks up at his face again.
The corner of his mouth twitches. "Were you just checking my ass out?"
"Yes. No! Maybe." She panics. "What's the right answer?"
He seems to find this amusing. "The truth is usually the right answer."
"That makes sense. Okay, I admit it. I was checking you out."
"Is everything all right, rubia? You've been jumpy all afternoon. "
She licks her lips. "I know I asked you away for the weekend, but I'm just wondering about your, um… you know… expectations?"
He shrugs. "That depends. What are yours?"
"I asked you first."
He puts the plates in the sink and turns back to her. "It's like I said earlier. We don't have to rush into anything. Let's take our time."
"But we'll be sleeping in the same bed. Are we going to have intimacies?" Even she can tell how dumb that sounds. He's gazing at her with affection though and not like she's a weirdo.
"Only if you want to."
"Obviously we had our afternoon of lust, and that was very nice. This is way more than an afternoon though."
"Is this why you've been acting so nervous?" He reaches for her hand. "Let's just see how it goes. We don't have to have sex."
"Okay." She nods but then rethinks it. "What if I want to?"
Drawing her near, his voice rumbles low. "Then I'm happy to oblige."
Her breath catches at his tone. Tendrils of desire shimmer through her body. "I think my knees just went weak."
He chuckles softly. "You're something else."
Bending down, he kisses her. Tastes her. Gentle and perfect. Not a horny toad kiss but the kind you give someone you care about.
The kiss deepens, and she slides her arms around his neck. A part of her still can't believe Liam's here with her, that she's getting to know him like this. He seems to be a genuinely good person. Look at how he's helped her, how he called that detective about Mable.
Unfortunately, the thought is a douse of cold water. Mable being stolen brings back the worry about her mom and Wayne again.
"What is it?" he murmurs when she draws back. "I promise I won't jump you." He gives her a sly grin. "Unless you want me to."
"No, it’s not that."
"Then what?"
"I just…." She considers how to phrase this. "I have a weird question to ask. What happens if someone knows about a crime but doesn't report it?"
His brows shoot up and his demeanor shifts. "That depends on the crime."
"It does?"
"Sure." His gaze turns to one of concern. "You're not in any kind of trouble, are you?"
"Me? No, not all."
He seems relieved. "Like I said, it depends on the crime. Anything violent involving a minor needs to be reported right away."
"Oh, I don't mean something like that. I was wondering if one person knows about another person doing something illegal. Can the person who knows about it get in trouble?"
He shakes his head. "Not usually. Not reporting a crime isn't typically an offense."
"It's not?" Relief washes through her, since she's mostly worried about her mom. If Wayne's robbing stores and smuggling stolen goods, she doesn't want her mom to get in trouble if she knows about it.
"Active concealment is though."
"What's that?"
"Actively or intentionally trying to conceal a crime you know about. In other words, taking steps to make sure it stays hidden."
"Oh." Her relief evaporates. If her mom knows about Wayne, she's most likely helping him hide it.
Liam's watching her carefully. "What's this about?"
"Nothing. I was asking out of curiosity."
"Curiosity?"
She tries to come up with an explanation. "I was thinking about Mable, you know? Wondering if anybody saw something, then why didn't they report it?"
"Ah, I see." He seems to accept this. "Oftentimes people are too scared to get involved. "
"Maybe that's it." She thinks of her mom again. She doesn't seem afraid of Wayne. Just the opposite.
His expression softens. "I know this has been hard for you. Many people feel violated after they've been robbed."
She nods. "It has been like that."
"I'm really sorry." He strokes her back. "Have you thought about getting another vehicle yet? Like I said before, I'm happy to help you look."
"You are?"
"Sure."
"That's nice of you. My cousin Brody's going to help though. He's a mechanic and owns a garage. It's how I found Mable."
"Okay, but let me know if you change your mind."
It's nearly dark outside by the time they head down to the little private beach. Tori brings the bag of vegan marshmallows she brought for the trip and relaxes on a nearby log while Liam puts the fire together.
Water laps against the shore as she breathes in the summer air. It reminds her of when she was a kid, back when life was full of possibilities. The future an open book.
She's melancholy thinking about her own book, how it’s already written and not that interesting.
But then she perks up watching Liam.
There's something about him. Something that excites her, makes her think maybe life is still full of possibilities.
"You're putting that fire together like an expert," she says, taking out a soft marshmallow to eat. She enjoys watching him. He's a treat for the eyes. "Let me guess. You were a Boy Scout, right?"
He glances over at her from the stack of wood he's built and grins. "Guilty as charged."
She's not surprised. There's such a wholesomeness about him. It makes him even sexier.
It doesn't take long before he's got a nice little fire started. He comes over to her with two sticks and sits beside her on the log.
"I figured we'd use these to roast marshmallows," he says.
Instead of handing her one, he takes out a Swiss Army knife from his pocket and starts whittling.
She watches his capable hands. "How's your knee? You're not limping or wearing the brace anymore."
"Yeah, it's good." He runs a finger over the edge of the stick. "It's mostly healed now."
Once he's done whittling, he gives her the first stick. She waits for him to finish the second one before pushing marshmallows on each end. They scoot closer and hold them in the flames.
"Do you always know the best way to do everything?"
He turns his marshmallow to brown evenly. "What do you mean?"
"It seems like you always know how to do everything, handle every situation."
"I suppose." He shrugs. "My dad's kind of like that. He was always teaching me stuff, so I learned a lot from him."
"You're lucky. I grew up without a dad. He left when I was three and then later we found out he died in a car accident."
He turns to her. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"I wish I remembered him. Road says he does, but only vaguely." She turns her marshmallow to change the angle.
"That must have been tough, growing up without a father."
"At least we had our uncle Lance—my mom's brother. He passed away, but he was a father figure to me and Road."
"What was he like?"
Tori thinks about how to answer that question. "He always looked out for us. Made sure we were okay."
Liam nods with approval. "He sounds like a good man."
She smiles to herself, wondering what the two of them would have thought of each other. "In a lot of ways, he was great." She hesitates, wonders if she should tell him the rest. "Except he was a criminal. An outlaw. "
She feels him shift beside her, giving her his full attention. "Your uncle Lance was a criminal?"
"He tried to keep that part of his life hidden from me and Road, but we knew. A lot of people were afraid of him." She reflects back to when she was a kid. Despite all her mom's loser boyfriends, no one ever laid a hand on her, her mom, or Road, and it's because they were too scared of Lance.
"But he was good to you and your brother?"
"He was. I miss him." She looks at Liam. "Sometimes people aren't just black and white but shades of gray, you know?"
"I suppose." He shrugs. "Not sure if I believe that."
"Maybe I shouldn't have told you about my uncle." She studies him with worry. "Your family is so different from mine. Are you shocked?"
"No. I'm glad you told me. It doesn't change how I feel about you."
"It doesn't?"
"I can tell what kind of person you are, Tori. That's all that matters to me."
She nods with relief.
He pulls his marshmallows out from the fire. She does the same, and they blow to cool them down, except she can't resist pulling some of hers off to eat.
"Ow, that's hot."
"We should have picked up the ingredients for s'mores when we were at the grocery store," he muses. "I didn't even think of it."
She pulls off another hot piece while Liam waits patiently for his to cool.
"So, what happened with Elena?" she asks, taking a bite. "I guess she agreed to watch Miss Fancy Pants?"
He tests his marshmallow. She watches his mouth as he licks his thumb, that handsome face lit by firelight. Her eyes drop lower to his shoulders and then his neck—which is impossibly sexy.
"It wasn't a problem. Luckily, she was happy to do it."
"Did you tell her about me? "
His dark eyes flicker over to her. "No."
Tori nods. She understands why he didn't, but a part of her feels bad that they have to sneak around.
"I plan to though," he says. "I don't want to lie to anybody, and I definitely want to keep seeing you."
"You do?"
His voice softens. "You know I do."
She takes a breath. "Let's see how this weekend goes first, okay?"
"Sure." He grins, eating his marshmallow. "Are you taking me out for a test drive? Kicking my tires and revving my engine?"
"Maybe," she teases. "How do I know what I'm buying here?"
He leans closer. "Don't worry. You can drive me as long as you like."
Desire flames up in her as all sorts of images dance through her mind.
Liam seems to notice it too. He leans in and kisses her. She licks the sugar from his mouth, and a small rumble of approval emanates from his throat.
It sends even more flames through her. Soon she'll be just like that fire.
"You taste so sweet," he murmurs. "You always do."
The two of them gaze at each other.
A fun notion comes to her mind, something she hasn't done in a long time. "I have an idea. Let's dance."
"Dance?"
Taking his marshmallow stick, she puts it down next to hers.
"But there's no music." He seems confused. "What are we going to dance to?"
"It doesn't matter. We don't need music."
"We don't?"
She stands. "No, silly. We have the crickets and frogs. The crackling fire."
He still seems confused but joins her anyway. Tori takes his hand and moves her hips to a silent beat. She hasn't danced without music in years, but used to do it all the time when she was a kid. Dancing everywhere she went, listening to the music that played inside her.
Liam lifts her hand and twirls her in a circle.
She giggles with delight. "See, you're getting the hang of it."
The two of them continue to dance near the fire, then move down to the beach for more space. They're holding hands, twirling each other.
"This is weird, but kind of fun," he says with a grin.
She puts her hand up and spins him around. He's so tall he has to duck beneath her arm. They take turns until they're both dizzy and finally collapse next to each other on the beach.
"Wow." She tries to catch her breath. "I haven't done that in ages, not since I was a little girl."
He grins. "I'll bet you were a sprite, weren't you? Blonde and delicate."
"Except I'm not as delicate as I look." People always think she's a pushover, that she's too nice, but she's had to be plenty tough in her life.
His eyes find hers in the dark. "I know you're not."
"You do?"
"I saw how you handled your mom and her boyfriend. That whole situation can't be easy."
She grows quiet.
"Can I ask you something? How long has that been going on?"
She already knows the "that" he's referring to. Her mouth opens, ready to spin a lie, since that's what she always does. But then she thinks of how he didn't seem shocked over Lance, and how he's already seen her mom drunk. "My whole life."
He nods solemnly. "I had a feeling. Is there any way to get her some help?"
"No. She doesn't want any help. It's why I never go anywhere. I had to fight to come here to this cabin."
Liam's expression fills with compassion. "It's not right what she's doing to you. What about your brother? Can he help? "
She runs her fingers over the sand. "I don't want to bother him and Blair. They're so happy. It would only bring them down."
"It shouldn't be all on your shoulders though. Is there anyone else who could help?"
"My sister, Kiki, but she wants nothing to do with my mom."
"You have a sister?"
"Half-sister. She’s eight years younger than me. Married and lives in Idaho."
"I never knew that."
Tori draws circles in the sand. "She’s closer to her dad. It’s why she moved there."
"It’s not fair that it’s all on you."
Tori shrugs. "I'm used to it."
"There must be some way to get your mom into rehab."
She knows he wants to be helpful, but he hasn't lived it. He doesn't know what it's like dealing with someone who has problems like her mom does. "Let's talk about something else, okay?" She wipes away the circles. "I don't want to think about this anymore."
"Okay, sure."
She leans back and looks over at him from the corner of her eye. "Let's discuss you for a change. If I'm taking you out for a test drive this weekend, I have some questions."
"What do you want to know?"
“I’ve been thinking about something you told me recently. Why do you pick the wrong women?"
He smirks. "So you're going for the meaty stuff, huh? I thought you were a vegan."
"Hey, it's like you said. I'm kicking the tires and revving the engine." She reaches for his hand again and tugs on it. "Come on, I'm genuinely curious. If it helps, I've made some bad choices in my love life too."
He shakes his head. "I don't know why I make so many bad choices with women."
"You must have a theory. "
He gazes at the lake and seems embarrassed. "I'm not sure if I want to say it out loud. You might agree with it."
"What do you mean?"
He glances down to where they're still holding hands and then looks at her. "I'm kind of a boring person."
Tori's taken aback. "You're not boring. You're an FBI agent, and before that you were a professional baseball player. There's nothing boring about that."
"But those are just things on the outside. I'm talking about me as an individual." He sighs. "The truth is I'm basically a fuddy-duddy."
She laughs. "That's silly."
"It's true. I'm too old-fashioned. Too rigid. I always feel like I'm a step behind the times."
"But why would that make you go for the wrong women?"
"Because I'm attracted to women who aren't like me. Who are unusual. Who don't seem boring."
She goes silent, reflecting on this. She knows she's sort of an oddball. "Women like me?"
"Yes." His voice softens. "Just like you."
"So, I'm your type?"
He nods. "You are. Except you're not crazy. And believe me, I've dealt with some real crazies."
She doesn't say anything. She thinks about some of her issues: how she recently fell for a gay guy, how she's been faking orgasms for years. And now this new possible mess with her mom and Wayne. "How do you know I'm not one of the crazy ones?"
"Because I can tell you're not selfish. I guess that's what I'm really talking about."
She moves closer. "I don't think you're boring. You are kind of old-fashioned, but I like it."
His eyes stay on her face.
"I think it's sexy."
A smile plays around the edges of his mouth. He lowers his voice. "You know it's a crime to lie to a federal agent. "
"I'm not lying."
He reaches out and drags her onto his lap. "Damn, you turn me on," he murmurs, nuzzling her neck. " I can barely think straight around you."
"I must be a real weirdo, then."
His lips touch her ear when he whispers, “The best kind."