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“I grew.”
Her hand reached out and touched his arm lightly. He automatically flexed his muscles beneath her touch.
Her green eyes looked up at him with a twinkle in them. “You certainly did. Do you spend all your time bench-pressing cattle?”
The image struck him as funny, and a slight laugh, more like a release of air, escaped before he could stop it.
“Did you lose your funny bone, too?” She squeezed his elbow. “Nope, it feels like one is still in there.”
His lips tried to curve up again. She was something else. He didn’t know what to say, so, as usual, he remained silent, trying to figure out this situation.
She breathed in deeply and wrapped her arms around his waist again, resting her head against his chest. “It is so good to see you again. I was afraid you’d changed too much, or that, once I saw you, I wouldn’t recognize you, but here you are. Oh, my goodness, we always had so much fun together. Climbing trees, running through the fields, snowball fights.”
She squeezed him slightly. He held his breath, willing his body not to respond to the temptation of her pressed against him. It was only a friendly hug. It didn’t mean anything. Certainly not what the lower half of his body wanted it to mean. He shouldn’t be thinking about her that way at all. This was Nikki. His best friend who left when he was fourteen, barely a teenager.
“Maybe I should take up cow lifting.” She stayed cuddled against him. “I could definitely use some definition in my arms. But then that would be a lot of work and someone would have to spot me, because I can’t lift a cow on my own.”
As she leaned against him, he didn’t know what to do with his arms. The top of her head almost reached his chin.
She lifted her head and looked up at him. “Would you spot me?”
With her this close, he could lift her the few inches he needed to be able to kiss her pretty pink lips. Would she taste as rich and darkly seductive as she smelled? Or would she taste like the spring her eyes promised? Strawberries and mint.
“Sam?” Her smile kept his eyes glued to her lips. “Would you spot me?”
Her words made no sense. He shook himself and lifted his gaze to her smiling eyes. “What?”
“In cow lifting? You would definitely keep a cow from falling on me. Wouldn’t you?”
“What?” Apparently she’d lost a few marbles in California.
She released him, and the lack of her warmth hit him the wrong way. “I guess you’re right, cow lifting isn’t for me. I’m sure there are other things that could help me improve my figure while I’m here.”
She bent down and picked up her shoes.
“You don’t have to improve your figure.” The words slipped out.
“Thanks.” Her cheeks flushed pink. “You always were sweet. I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with the house and the farm. Did you keep those rocks we collected? The ones that had the crystal-like appearance?”
“From the creek? Yeah.”
She was like a whirlwind that he had no chance of escaping or keeping up with. A very unintentionally sexy whirlwind. When they were younger, there’d never been anything but friendship between them. More often than not, she’d beat him at racing. Now the only thing racing was his heart; if it weren’t for the attraction pulsing through his veins, he’d be worried that another fainting episode was about to happen.
“So what are you doing in the woods at this time of day? Searching for fairies and dragons? The twins are out in the field, joyriding.”
Her smile was a constant that he was beginning to appreciate. People didn’t smile at him this much. As soon as he opened his mouth and said something, they generally stopped smiling. He didn’t mind keeping his distance from folks. It made things easier.
“Checking the fence.” He put his hands in his pockets and looked back toward the fence.
“I’d offer to come with you, but—” she held up her shoes “—I haven’t quite reacclimated to farm life. Can you believe this is what I’ve been wearing since I left here?” She pulled her skirt out to the side. The sunlight made the thin material almost transparent.
He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat at the remembrance of what was under that skirt. “It’s nice.”
“Thanks, but it isn’t really right for strolling through the fields. I just couldn’t help myself. I didn’t want to wait to find the right clothes or shoes to come out here. It’s been too long.”
He stepped back to discourage her from hugging him again.
“We really need to get together. I left the house without even grabbing my phone.” She laughed. “It’s been ages since I’ve left it behind without worrying that I’d miss something from work. Do you know what I mean?”
He shrugged. His brothers had bought him a cell phone and made him promise to keep it on him because of his condition. It was in the bottom of a drawer somewhere. He wasn’t sure if it was even charged currently. “I have to get back to work.”
“Of course, but I’m holding you to going out with me for a beer, or maybe I’ll wander over with a six-pack, so we can catch up on the past seventeen years.”
He nodded and whistled for Barnabus, who had wandered off while they’d been talking.
She closed the distance between them again and wrapped herself around him for the third time. “I’m glad I ran into you.”
He awkwardly patted her back this time. His body felt charged with electricity everywhere she touched him. He stared down at her dark hair. She wasn’t like the women in town who tried to draw his attention. Most of those women were divorced or widowed. He didn’t have a problem with them, but he wasn’t sure he was the best choice for a long-term relationship, which is what at least some of those women had wanted. As long as he picked the right ones, things worked out just fine.
But Nicole had been his buddy. Her father, John, would kill him if he messed with her; besides, they’d never been like that. They’d gone frogging together back when she wore braids and T-shirts and walked like a boy.
There was nothing boy-like about her now, except those underwear that he shouldn’t be thinking about. He wouldn’t even know about the different styles of underwear if he hadn’t been forced to go back-to-school shopping with his sister-in-law and niece. The only reason they apparently had taken him was to get him out of the house more often.
Nicole would be better off if she didn’t get to know the guy he’d become and just remembered the boy she’d left behind.
She released him, graced him with another smile and spun in a circle. “I feel better already. See you soon, Sam.”
As she sashayed away from him toward the fence, his eyes were drawn to the curve of her bottom. If she was enticing in a skirt, she’d be irresistible in a pair of jeans. Barnabus rushed out of the bushes and sat patiently at his feet. This summer had just gotten interesting.
Chapter Two (#ulink_528143c8-d76c-5409-b08f-6f294f1e23be)
Nicole straightened her shirt, tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted the six-pack from one hand to the other. She stood in front of Sam’s screen door, which he could walk by any minute and see her standing out here in the dark like a ninny. This was Sam. Her friend, her confidant.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. She could hear some shuffling from the other room, and then he was walking toward her. Holy crap, it hadn’t just been her imagination. He was tall, dark and handsome. Not at all the kid she’d left behind.
Earlier today, his blue eyes had been amazing close-up, sparkling in the sunlight with flecks of dark blue mingled with light blue and even hints of gold. Not that she’d been staring earlier. It had taken most of her willpower not to check him out the way he’d done to her. Farming had definitely been good for his development. His chest was broad. His arms were muscular, but not overly so. And she’d bet money that he was packing his own six-pack under that AC/DC T-shirt.
As he drew closer, he ran his hand through his thick, shaggy hair and she wanted to do the same, except, in her fantasy, when she wove her fingers in his hair, she would jerk his full lips down to hers. When he stopped at the door, she held up the six-pack and smiled.
She needed to stop thinking of Sam as eye candy. Their meeting today had caught her off guard. She hadn’t thought, just reacted. And it had felt good.
With everything that had happened in her life recently, she could really use a friend. Maybe Sam could use a friend, too. She’d kept his friendship close to her heart when she’d moved to California. Sam, who’d always known the right thing to do. She’d written him letters as she maneuvered through a new school and social situations she never would have experienced in Tawnee Valley. She’d never sent the letters that shared all her secrets and fears. Just a few when she’d first moved away. Right now, she needed a friend more than sex... At least, that’s what she reminded herself of when he stood on the other side of the door looking like sex on a stick.
He opened the screen door, and she slid through the opening under his arm, into the kitchen, before he could tell her not to.
“How’s it going? I brought beer.” She moved around him, catching hints of the crispness of his soap and that distinct, manly scent that was all Sam. Raw, powerful.
“You aren’t going to hug me again, are you?” He eyed her suspiciously.
She shrugged and set the beer on the table. “Probably.”
She pulled out two beers and handed him one. He took it from her, almost as if he were afraid to touch her. He hadn’t returned her hugs earlier. Of course, he hadn’t been touchy-feely when he was a fourteen-year-old, either.
Twisting off the cap to her beer, she glanced around the kitchen. It looked the same. Her dad had mentioned that Mr. and Mrs. Ward had died years ago. Other than that, her father hadn’t talked much about the Wards, except to say Sam was a hard worker.
“Cheers,” she said and clinked her bottle against his. They both took a swig and then stood there awkwardly with their beers. “So...does the rest of the house look the same? The kitchen definitely hasn’t changed.”
He shrugged. His gaze dipped down to her bare legs. She’d changed into shorts and had managed to find her one pair of sneakers that she didn’t use for running.
“This is ridiculous,” she said.
He lifted his gaze to hers and raised his eyebrow.
“We were once best friends, Sam. I used to sleep in your bed. We used to run around in bathing suits and sneakers. I showed you mine and you showed me yours...in a perfectly scientific discovery sense. We should be able to have a beer together and catch up like normal people.”
He shifted his weight on his feet, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward, about as much of a smile as he could make, apparently. “Sure. You want to see the house?”
“I’d love to.” That had been what she was angling for, after all.
Sam had a house, a job, a couple of dogs that had greeted her when she walked up, while she was adrift in life. She didn’t have a job and could end up anywhere in the United States with her search. She’d just left a long-term relationship and wasn’t in the right frame of mind to start anything. Even with her old best friend who was now hot but completely anchored to this town.
He led the way, and she noted how he filled out his carpenter jeans with a very nicely shaped butt. As he stopped abruptly, she ran into him. He looked over his shoulder at her with that disgruntled expression of his.
“Do you ever smile?” She returned his look before she stepped back and glanced around the dining room. “Nothing’s changed. How do you manage that? I’m constantly changing things. Moving furniture, painting walls, buying lamps. Jeremy used to complain that I couldn’t leave anything for longer than a minute.”
“Who’s Jeremy?” he said in that gruff voice of his. Definitely lower toned, it made her spine tingle in response. Could she get him to read her a book or even the dictionary? Maybe the ingredients off a cereal box? Whole grain oats, sugar, calcium carbonate...
“My ex-boyfriend.” She wished she could say “my dog” or maybe “my snake,” but he was her ex. “We lived together in LA. He got the apartment. I lost my job and came back here.”
“That sucks.” He led her into the living room. There was a nice flat-screen and a game console, along with a few recliners and a couch that had seen better days. He gestured to one of the chairs and sat in the one with the best view of the TV. His chair looked like the most lived-in one.
“It did suck, but it was probably for the best.” Jeremy had actually had the gall to blame her parents’ divorce as one of the reasons she wouldn’t connect with him. It was ridiculous. “I don’t want to think about it. I want to find out what you’ve been doing since I last saw you. You obviously didn’t complete our tree house.”
He shrugged. “Didn’t have time.”
Getting him to talk was like pulling teeth. They used to talk over each other. They’d had so much to say and share. “I heard about your mom and dad. I was sorry I couldn’t be here for you.”
He nodded and looked at the label on his beer. The way his shoulders hunched told her he wasn’t over the pain of losing them. She wanted to let him know that he could cry on her shoulder if he wanted. She wished she could have been there. As she’d been there for him when his dog died when they were eleven.
“You had to take care of Luke and Brady and the farm? That must have been tough. I couldn’t imagine being responsible for another person at eighteen. I was barely responsible for myself. We won’t discuss my poor goldfish burial ground. How did you date or go out?”
“I didn’t.”
She opened her mouth and snapped it shut. Someone as handsome as Sam didn’t stay single without effort. He was gorgeous and tall, and she really wanted to see the solid body she’d hugged earlier. “Didn’t you have a girlfriend in high school? I tried to date in high school, but the guys were always after one thing.”
She looked at him, expecting his answer to her question. He was still looking at his beer label, lost in his own world.
“What?” He finally raised his gaze to hers.
“High school girlfriend?”
“Yeah, I had a few of those.”
She took a drink of beer. “What about after high school? Anyone special?”
“No.”
She felt compelled to fill the empty space around them. “Jeremy and I met in college. I think that’s why we stayed together so long. I’m surprised you didn’t have anyone like that. I mean, I realize you were busy with your brothers and the farm, but it’s really hard to go for a long period without...well, you know. I mean, even in a relationship, you can have dry spells. We had been in a rut for a while. Maybe that was part of the problem. How long has it been for you?”
He lifted his eyebrows at her and she flushed with heat, realizing she’d just asked him how long it had been since he’d last had sex.
“Sorry. I tend to just say whatever’s on my mind. My mom tried to stop me, but I like being honest and open. I can’t stand when people keep secrets or don’t say what’s really on their minds. You were always honest with me. But I overstep boundaries all the time.” She took a drink to stop herself from talking.
“My family says I don’t talk enough.” He returned to his perusal of his beer bottle.
She smiled. This was easy ground to tread upon. “How are your brothers?”
“Brady’s married to Maggie Brown. They’ve got a kid, Amber. She’s cool. Luke and Penny Montgomery are together down in St. Louis.” He didn’t lift his gaze to hers. His tone was matter-of-fact, just reciting facts with no emotion connected to them.
“That’s exciting.” The names of the women sounded somewhat familiar, but that wasn’t what she was focused on. Had he really changed that much? The boy she used to know seemed to have turned into a crotchety old man at the age of thirty-one. Surely there was something exciting in his life. Maybe a hope or a dream or a wish for someone special to share his life with. She stood up and circled the room, looking at the pictures and knickknacks. They were all old with a coat of dust on them. Like his mother had placed them there and no one had moved them since. “You out here by yourself, then? No one special now?”
“No.”
She stopped in front of the TV and turned to face him. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “No, you aren’t by yourself, or there’s no one special?”
He lifted his gaze to hers, and she caught her breath at the deep blue of his eyes. They seemed empty of that spark he’d had when they ran through the yards with pretend weapons.
“No one,” he said with all the emotion of a stone.
Even so, her heart fluttered in her chest. Nicole was hopelessly hopeful, as her mother would say. She crossed the room to stand in front of him. “So we’re in the same boat, then. Single and alone with no one to worry about but ourselves.”
“I guess so.” He took a drink.
She glanced out the window at the accumulating darkness. Did that mean he wasn’t interested in her? Or anyone? Did she want him to be interested in her? She might have had the teeny tiniest of small crushes on him in eighth grade, but nothing she ever would have acted on. They’d been best friends. Buds.
Gah. She needed to get out of her head. “I haven’t seen good stars in ages. With the city lights and air pollution in LA, I was lucky to see a few stars in the Big Dipper. Do you remember when we used to wait until dark and look at the stars?”
He nodded, and a corner of his lips quirked up a little. That was all the encouragement she needed.
“Why don’t we grab the rest of the beers and go see the stars? We can go down to the tree house and lie on our backs, look up at the stars, watch for falling stars.” She grabbed his free hand and tugged on him. “Come on, Sam. Live a little.”
His hand closed around hers. The feel of his firm grip shot through her and made her aware of his heat and how close she’d gotten to him. She was practically standing between his knees.
“Slow down, Nikki. Not everything has to be go, go, go.” This time, when the corner of his mouth went up, a small dimple flashed at her.
She stopped tugging. The warmth of his hand spread through her. Her heart thrummed a steady rhythm as she thought of all the places she wanted that hand. Her eyes focused on his lips. She forced herself to focus on renewing their friendship. Clearing her mind and her throat, she said, “We could see the stars and watch the moon play hide-and-seek in the leaves of the tree. It’ll be fun.”
For a moment, she was sure he was going to turn her down. Instead, he stood. She didn’t have time to back up. His heat surrounded her. It slipped through her clothes and wrapped itself tight around her lungs, making it hard to draw in a breath.
