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On second thought, napping by herself was better. Safer. Even if she would be…lonelier.
CHAPTER NINE (#u23a456c9-8bc2-5521-9534-a49e67643ba3)
TACO NIGHT AT the Hood Hamlet Brewpub always put a smile on Cullen’s face. Nothing beat good food, great beer and hanging with friends, but it was the last place he wanted to be tonight. He gripped the steering wheel and turned onto Main Street, trying to ignore the floral scent of Sarah’s shampoo drifting his way.
She peered out the window. “It’s crowded for a Thursday.”
Her kisses had sent him to the brink. He’d been on the verge of losing all control until she’d taken him out with her cast. He’d never been so relieved to be punched in the gut. It hurt, but he could have been hurt a lot more if he’d continued kissing her. “Fresh snowfall brings skiers and riders to the mountain.”
Sarah turned toward him. “What about climbers?”
His gaze lingered on her lips. He jerked his attention back to the road. She was the one with the concussion, but he needed to have his head examined. Imagining her with Paulson during the drive home had done crazy things to Cullen.
His self-control had been nonexistent. Whenever Sarah was involved, his feelings overrode common sense. But he hadn’t withdrawn or run away from her. This time he’d done something worse. He’d kissed her.
Talk about reckless behavior.
Finding out she was jealous about who he was with had been a real turn-on. Kissing her had seemed the most natural thing in the world. But he couldn’t allow himself to be taken in by her again. “If they’re smart, they’ll wait for a better weather window and an avalanche report.”
“If not?”
“You hope they get lucky. Otherwise OMSAR pings us with a mission call out.”
“Some people think they can conquer the mountain.”
He parked across the street from the brewpub. “Yeah, but the mountain always wins.”
“Mother Nature gets a shot in once in a while.”
“Leanne’s fiancé, Christian, can tell you all about that.”
“She mentioned how OMSAR rescued his cousin and him.”
Cullen turned off the ignition. “They got caught in a wicked storm, but it ended well.”
Sarah unfastened her seat belt. “It’s too bad there aren’t more happy endings like that.”
Her wistful tone surprised him. Sarah could be impulsive, but she didn’t give in to flights of fancy or fairy tales. She must be talking about her rescue. “Yours has a happy ending.”
Her gaze narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Mount Baker. Your accident,” he explained. “Your data could have been destroyed. Your injuries could have been worse. You could have died. But none of those things happened. Happy ending.”
“It will be happy once I’m back at the institute.”
Away from him.
The words were unspoken, but implied. They stung, given how passionately she’d kissed him back this afternoon.
She reached across her chest and fumbled with the door handle.
He leaned over to help. His arm brushed her breast, sending a burst of heat rushing through him. He pulled back. “Sorry.”
“I’ve got it.” On the third try she opened the door.
She exited as if a bomb were about to blow. He hurried around the truck, then held her hand. “Be careful.”
Annoyance burned in the depths of Sarah’s eyes. She tugged her hand out of his. “I know to be careful.”
“Just watching out for you.”
“It’s not as if I did something stupid to make myself fall. If the steam blast hadn’t happened…”
She wouldn’t be here. The thought brought a strange mix of relief and regret.
“I can cross the street by myself,” she continued.
“There could be ice,” he cautioned. She must be hungry. Hunger would explain her short fuse. “I’d say the same thing to anyone else who was with me, so don’t get your panties in a twist.”
She pursed her lips. “That would be hard to do, since I’m not wearing panties.”
Cullen’s mouth went dry. His gaze dropped to her hips. All he saw were jeans, but the thoughts running through his head raised his temperature twenty degrees.
“Trust me, I’d know if my thong was twisted,” she added.
A thong. He remembered her thongs. His temperature spiraled. He needed to take off his jacket.
He realized a moment too late she was crossing the street without him. “Wait up, Lavagirl.”
Sarah stood on the sidewalk, tapping her toe.
“You’re hungry,” he said.
Her foot stopped moving. She nodded with a contrite expression.
“The taco bar is all-you-can-eat,” he said.
She bit her lip.
He motioned her toward the entrance, but she didn’t move.
Her gaze filled with uncertainty. “Is there anything I should know before we go inside?”
“About the taco bar?”
“About the people I’m going to meet.”
Not only hungry. Nervous. “You’ve met Carly, Zoe, Hannah and Leanne.”
“And Bill.”
Unfortunately. Cullen wasn’t too happy with Paulsen right now. “Jake Porter, Sean Hughes and Christian Welton, if he’s not on duty, will be here. I’m not sure about Hannah and Garrett Willingham or Rita and Tim Moreno, since they need babysitters. You never know who will show up. But no worries. Everybody will make you feel right at home.”
An older couple holding hands exited the brewpub. Sarah stepped aside to let them pass. Cullen did the same.
Sarah glanced at the door to the brewpub as if it were a black hole. “I’ll make sure I don’t embarrass you in front of your friends.”
“You’ve never embarrassed me.”
“That time I danced on the bar at the hole-in-the-wall dive near Joshua Tree.”
The taste of tequila shots with lemon and salt rushed back. He remembered the way she’d moved to the pulse-pounding music. “I was turned on, not embarrassed. I would have preferred a private performance without the other men leering at you. Then you could have taken it all off and not just undone only a couple of buttons.”
“Well, then—” she flipped her hair behind her shoulder in a seamless, sexy move that nearly cut him to his knees “—I guess I have nothing to worry about tonight.”
She might not, but Cullen couldn’t say the same thing. He had a feeling he would be worrying for as long as Sarah was in town. Maybe even after she left.
Being out should have perked up Sarah’s spirits and energized her like a toy bunny with brand-new batteries. But as soon as she stepped inside the brewpub, the smells of hops and grease assaulted her. Her stomach churned, not with hunger, but a severe case of nerves.
Rock music played, but the din of conversation drowned out the lyrics. Servers dressed in jeans and black T-shirts carried pitchers of beers, pint glasses and sodas.
“They’re in the back,” Cullen said.
She had no idea how he’d found his friends among all the people, but she followed him, weaving around crowded tables and past jam-packed booths. She ignored the strong impulse to grab his hand.
That would be a bad move. Just like kissing him back and coming here. Sarah should have stayed at the cabin, locked away in her bedroom, where she wouldn’t be so hypersensitive. She didn’t know if it was aftereffects of his kiss or the anticipation of meeting more of his friends or…
Yours is a happy ending.
Yeah, that was what had gotten her panties—make that thong—in a twist and turned her insides into a quivering mess.
Sarah wanted a happily-ever-after of her own. Once upon a time she thought she’d found hers with Cullen. But she should have known it wasn’t meant to be. As a child, she might have dreamed of living a storybook-type life, but she’d learned the chances of happily ever after were slim to none. She accepted that reality, though she hated it.
You were no longer a part of my life. I could start over in Hood Hamlet with a clean slate once the divorce was finalized.
She’d thought the same thing about living without him before her accident. Now she wasn’t so sure.
Cullen had found the perfect place to spend the rest of his life, to fall in love, get married again and raise a family. She would return to the institute, work until her grant was over then find another job at a volcano somewhere else in the world. That adventurous way of life had always appealed to her.
Until now.
What was she thinking? She loved what she did. Work fulfilled her. It was her life.
The confusion, envy and dissatisfaction had to be from the concussion and her injuries, tiredness and hunger. Once she ate, she would feel better.
Cullen motioned to a long table with attractive men sitting on one end and beautiful women on the other. “Looks like most of the crew made it.”
Bill sat with two men Sarah hadn’t seen before. Cullen fit right in with that bunch of eye candy.
Zoe Hughes waved. She wore a colorful sleeveless shirt with ruffles on the front. A sparkly clip held up her hair with stylish, artfully placed tendrils around her face. “Leanne said we might see you tonight. I’m so glad you came.”
Sarah wasn’t used to people being so happy to see her. It felt good. “It took some convincing, but the good doctor finally relented.”
Cullen raised his hands. “I know when to surrender.”
Zoe’s blue eyes twinkled. “Proud of you, Doc.”
Introductions were made and a pitcher of Jake’s handcrafted root beer ordered for Sarah.
Leanne shooed him away. “Go sit with the guys, Doc, so us girls can chat.”
Cullen pulled a chair out for Sarah. “Let me know when you’re ready to eat. I’ll go with you to the taco bar. It’ll be hard for you with one hand.”
With a nod, she sat.
He pushed in her chair, then joined his friends a few feet away.
Carly pushed her long blond hair behind her ears. “Cullen is so overprotective of you.”
Leanne nodded. “I always knew there was more to him than met the eye.”
“It’s so sweet.” Zoe sighed. “I can’t imagine what Sean would be like if I was injured in an accident. I doubt he’d let me out of his sight or want me to do anything, either.”
As if Cullen loved Sarah that much. A lead weight settled in the bottom of her stomach. He might care, he might be concerned, but not the way a devoted husband would be if something happened to his beloved wife.
Sarah glanced his way.
Tenderness filled his gaze.
Her heart bumped. Flustered, she looked away.
“You have more color than this morning,” Leanne said. “Feeling better?”
Sarah might still be flushed after being kissed so thoroughly. Or it could be embarrassment. She cleared her throat. “I went for a walk today with Bill. Got some fresh air.”
“And now the brewpub,” Carly said. “That’s more excitement than you’re used to.”
Especially when you added in Cullen’s kisses. Sarah nodded.
The server placed a pitcher of root beer and a glass on the table. Cullen already had a beer in his hand. Carly filled the glass and gave it to Sarah.
“Thanks.” She took a sip. Thick and rich with the right amount of sweetness. “This is great.”
Carly grinned. “Jake makes the best root beer in Oregon.”
Leanne grinned. “The two of you are so cute. You act like newlyweds, even with a baby.”
“Nicki is officially a toddler now,” Carly said.
