Sizzling Summer Nights Read online

  “You can’t leave it like that,” Woody said to Seth. “Tell her the rest.”

  Seth took a sip of his beer first. “Four of us used to take turns being the designated driver. Bobby, who was supposed to be it that night, had been drinking at the party we’d just left. He was on a football scholarship, which he could’ve lost if he was convicted of a DUI. So he convinced me to switch places with him.” Seth shook his head. “I wasn’t really that drunk, so I should’ve known better. When the deputy got there, I registered slightly over the legal limit, so I spent the weekend in jail.”

  “Is there a conviction on your record?”

  “No. The judge reduced the charge to reckless driving. I’m sure it helped that he knew my family and I’d never been in trouble before. And me being barely over the limit probably counted for something, too.”

  “Hell, you were one of the smartest students who ever graduated from Twin Creeks High,” Woody said proudly. “That couldn’t have hurt none, either.”

  “Yet stupid enough to take the rap for his buddy,” Nathan pointed out with a shake of his head.

  To Hannah’s relief, Seth took it well. In fact, he and his brother both laughed.

  “Wait. Did you ever tell anyone you weren’t the driver? Like the judge?”

  Seth slowly shook his head, took another sip of beer. “In hindsight I should have,” he said quietly, his tone taking a melancholy turn.

  “Mr. Brilliant here only told the family a few months ago.” Nathan bumped Seth’s arm with his elbow.

  “Okay,” Seth said. “This conversation has run its course. Let’s drop it.”

  He managed a faint smile but Hannah got the distinct impression he regretted saying anything.

  The waitress stopped and set down a small bowl of pretzels, then grinned at Woody’s forlorn look. “Sorry, honey, that’s all we got,” she said, then patted his shoulder and moved on.

  “We’ll grab a meal at the diner, then take home something for Beth.” Smiling, Nathan glanced at his watch. “We should make it home before her post dinner feeding time.”

  “How is Beth?” Seth asked, then glanced at Hannah. “His wife. She’s pregnant.”

  Assuming they were talking about a horse, Hannah let out a laugh. Then she couldn’t help smiling along with Nathan. The fondness in his expression was just so sweet.

  “What I wanna know is who the hell you are, little girl.”

  The loud slurred voice came from behind, startling Hannah.

  “Speaking of lushes,” Nathan muttered, as she glanced back. “Too bad a year in jail didn’t teach him a lesson.”

  It was Avery, Jasper’s partner in annoyance. “I saw you taking them damn notes,” he said, staring straight at her as he wobbled a few feet away. “You a reporter?”

  Nathan scowled at the man. “Get out of here, Avery.”

  “Go home and sleep it off,” Seth added, tightening his arm around her shoulders.

  “Or mebbe you’re one of them government spies.”

  “Yep, that’s it,” Hannah said. “You found me out. Mind spelling your name for my report?”

  “So, you’re confessing?” Spittle spewed from the old man’s mouth.

  “Look, if you miss your jail cell,” Nathan said, “I’m sure a drunk and disorderly charge will give you a night to get reacquainted.”

  Avery glared at him, then at Hannah.

  Seth pushed back his chair. “Be happy to escort you to the sheriff’s office.”

  Hannah clutched his arm. “I won’t goad him anymore. He’ll stop.”

  The man’s loud belch nearly sent his thin frame toppling over. He turned around, muttering curses while weaving his way back toward the bar.

  Seth took another pull of beer. “I don’t remember him being this obnoxious. What was he locked up for?”

  “Theft. After his wife passed he was in a bad way—drunk every night, stealing things, just so he could blame it on the Sundance guests.”

  “Too bad,” Seth said quietly.

  Woody snorted. “Woulda been easier to feel sorry for him if he’d treated the woman with some decency when she was alive.”

  After a minute of silence, Seth turned to Hannah. “Well, I think I’ve had enough fun for one night. How about you?”

  “I’m ready.” She searched his eyes for a gleam, a smile, any hint that their night hadn’t been ruined. Giving up, she looked at Nathan and Woody. “Thanks for the beer, and I’m so glad I got to meet you. Despite the circumstances.”

  “Thanks, bro, and tell Beth I’ll come by to see her next week,” Seth added, getting to his feet. “Woody, I hope you get something in your belly soon. I can hear it rumbling from here.”

  He didn’t take her hand. Not as they left the table or once they were outside on the sidewalk. She hoped it had nothing to do with anything she’d done or said. But she had the most awful feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  12

  “WHERE DID YOU PARK?” Seth asked.

  “Nowhere near your truck, of course.” She jerked her thumb in the opposite direction.

  He smiled and shoved his hands into his pockets as they started to walk. She almost told him he didn’t have to escort her, that they could meet at the motel, but it felt like a good opportunity to lift his mood. And find out if she’d done anything wrong.

  As they headed for her rental, she sent him quick glances. “I’m sorry the conversation got so personal,” she began, his pain and regret nearly as tangible as his arm brushing hers.

  Seth shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s better now that we can talk about it and laugh.”

  “Thank God you had an understanding judge.”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute. “He gave me forty hours of community service along with the fine, which wasn’t bad, considering. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Jasper, that bastard, made out as if his loss was huge. That old shed of his had one piece of decent equipment that was damaged and the rest was nothing but junk, but my parents ended up paying through the nose.”

  “Didn’t anyone go out to verify the claim?”

  “I’m not even sure, but whatever they did, it cost big. Bobby, the idiot who convinced me to lie for him, swore up and down that he’d pay every penny back.”

  “Which I’m assuming he didn’t do?”

  “Got that right. I wasn’t about to let my folks eat the cost. That was a big part of why I went into the air force. Although it ended up being good for a lot more than that.”

  A couple approached, and while Seth pulled her closer to the building, he nodded, and the guy nodded back. Once they were alone again, Hannah stepped in a little closer so their hands brushed, not just their shoulders. “It sounds like you got the short end of the stick from the moment you got in that car.”

  Seth grunted. “I didn’t know then that Bobby wasn’t just a passing college alcohol abuser. He blamed me for him being a drunk.”

  “Uh...”

  “He’s been in and out of rehab for seven years. And according to him, because I’d covered for him, he hadn’t been able to hit bottom. So I’m responsible for him failing for the rest of his life.”

  “Tell me you aren’t still friends with that ass.”

  “Nope. I severed all ties as soon as I wised up.”

  She finally gave in and threaded her fingers through his, giving his hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I may not have known you for long, but I’m absolutely certain you didn’t deserve that run of rotten luck.”

  He slowed. Gave her a smile that almost reached his eyes. “The worst of it was the ripples, you know? Jasper never missed an opportunity to run me down. In fact, he took a great deal of pleasure trashing the entire Landers family—past, present and future. For way too long I kept up the pr
etense, lying for Bobby, foolishly mistaking stupidity for honor. I still can’t believe I chose that jerk’s scholarship above my family. Jesus. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself for that.”

  “Tell me something,” she said, her chest aching with what he’d been through. “If this had all happened to Nathan or Clint, would you have forgiven him?”

  Seth tensed. Even his hand tightened around hers to the point of almost being painful. She’d clearly asked the wrong question, although she couldn’t believe Seth was the kind of man who would hold a mistake over his brother’s head.

  Instead of letting it go, which would have been the easy thing, she held on tighter. “What happened? What am I missing?”

  The way he looked at her, it was as if he wasn’t sure what to make of her or her nosiness, but dammit, she wanted him to let this thing out. She would be leaving soon, and whatever he told her, his secret would leave with her.

  “Look, it’s all in the past. My folks know what happened, I fessed up to everything, and I’ve been working hard to do my fair share, so—”

  “I’m sure that’s all true. But...?”

  For a long second she thought he might tell her to mind her own business, but then his shoulders relaxed, his eyes stopped being so wary.

  “Did I tell you I spent the weekend in jail?”

  She nodded.

  He struggled for a second, and just when she thought he was going to let it all out, he shut down. Not completely. But she could see there was something he wasn’t going to say, and she’d done enough pushing.

  “Well, that sucked,” he said.

  “I imagine so.”

  Just before they reached her rental car, he pulled her into a long, heated kiss. As far as distractions went, it worked pretty well.

  “See you at the motel?” he said.

  She nodded, her chest still tight, despite the kiss, as she watched him head back in the direction they’d come from.

  Half a car length away he stopped. “By the way, why were you taking notes?”

  A shadow obscured most of his face. If he’d wanted to hide his expression, he couldn’t have planned it better.

  “Habit,” she said easily. “A symptom of my job. You’d think I could turn it off for a week, wouldn’t you?”

  She could see a little of his smile. What she couldn’t tell was whether curiosity or suspicion had prompted the question.

  * * *

  HANNAH COULDN’T HAVE felt more relieved to see a smile on Seth’s face as he waited for her near the motel’s entrance. They’d only been apart for five minutes, but that was plenty of time for him to decide he didn’t believe her explanation for taking notes. But there was no point in telling him when she had no idea if anything would come of it.

  He was holding a small duffel bag in his left hand and gestured with his right. “After you,” he said.

  Unable to resist, she brushed against him, and got a quiet grunt as she stepped into the motel lobby. “This is so—”

  “Small?” Seth said, as the door slid shut behind them.

  “Charming.”

  He raised his eyebrows, and she wished they were in the room already. Both of them naked. And her with the certainty she hadn’t given him cause for alarm. She really had to shake the guilt. By asking questions and taking notes, she hadn’t harmed him or anyone else. But she had lied to him, and that bothered her.

  On the short ride over she’d decided she would not, under any circumstances, think about Jasper, grazing permits or her family. So she dropped the small lie in the same mental box with the other don’ts and locked it tight.

  “Come on. This beats the heck out of having to be quiet,” she said, determined to enjoy the night ahead. “Or getting bug bites on the behind.”

  “Did you?”

  She shrugged. “Might have.”

  Seth’s laugh eased the last of the tension in her shoulders. Didn’t make her less nervous about tonight’s main event, though. She really wanted them to mesh between the sheets the way they did in every other respect. Somehow, the day they’d gone skinny-dipping didn’t really count for her. And not just because it had been a quickie, although having a whole, uninterrupted night would be far more revealing.

  Since they didn’t have to stop at the front desk, she checked out the small lobby area, which consisted of a pair of burgundy club chairs and a brown loveseat with a coffee table between them. A beige lamp and flared magazines sat on the table. Against the wall behind the chairs was a console table, with a matching lamp and a stack of brochures.

  Seth guided her toward the elevator, his big hand splayed across her lower back. “They have a continental breakfast down here from seven to nine. Coffee, muffins and cinnamon buns.”

  “I doubt we’ll be up.” She hit the button for the top floor. As soon as the doors closed she pressed up against him. “I mean we’ll be wrecked after having sex all night long. Right?”

  He lifted one dark brow at her, amusement making his face come alive. Any lingering ghosts from the past had disappeared.

  “Hey, I’m not the one with the pocket full of condoms,” she said.

  “When you’re right, you’re right.” He took her mouth in a very promising kiss, which came to an undignified halt when the elevator lurched to a stop.

  Of course their room was at the end of the corridor. By the halfway point, they were speed walking. He used the key card, the door swung open, and there it was. A king bed with four pillows, a comforter and a lime-green quilt folded at the foot. “This room is perfect.”

  “The only thing you’ve seen is the bed.”

  “Is there a bathroom?”

  He did something behind her, but she was preoccupied with testing the bounce of the mattress.

  “Yep. Shower-tub combo. Sink. Mirror.”

  “Then I’m good.”

  He dropped her bag and his own duffel on the floor and picked her straight up into his arms so their eyes met. “This is the best possible end to whatever the hell today was.”

  “It is, isn’t it?”

  “There are only a couple of things I can think of that would make it better.”

  “What, pray tell, would those be?”

  “Well,” he said, taking a quick nibble at the curve of her jaw. “Removing your clothes, for starters.”

  “I think we can handle that. Although, you’d have to put me down.”

  “Really? I like having you like this.”

  She kind of liked it, too. Framing his face with her hands, she kissed him soundly.

  The second she pulled back to catch her breath he loosened his hold so she slid down his body. “I can’t decide whether I want to strip you or watch you strip for me.”

  After rubbing against that solid chest of his both choices sounded exciting. “Rock-paper-scissors?” She held up her fist, ready to play. “Winner chooses?”

  Grinning, he brought his own fist up. “I’m pretty good at this,” he warned.

  “I’m pretty good at what happens after.”

  He opened his mouth. Nothing came out. He lowered his hand and dropped his chin. “You win. I’ll agree to anything you say.”

  “Ooh. The possibilities are endless,” she said, although she’d made up her mind before the game had even begun.

  “Remember this,” Seth said. “Once I have you naked, I intend to take my time. I’ve been thinking about this for too damn long. And, for the record, I couldn’t care less if someone complains about the noise.”

  A yummy shiver ran down her spine. “I’m going to strip.” She cleared her throat, her mouth gone dry from the way he looked at her. “I want you to strip—”

  He had his shirt halfway unbuttoned before she’d finished the sentence.

  “What happened to takin
g your time?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Time. Patience. Too many clothes.” He yanked his shirt out of his jeans, then motioned for her to hurry up.

  Who was she to argue? She whipped off her cocoa-colored top, struggled with her stupid belt and finally managed to unzip her capris, but he was way ahead of her. In fact, he’d taken off almost every stitch—including his boots—all but his dark blue boxer-briefs.

  “Oh, jeez.” After wiggling her way out of her capris, she still wore her matching leopard-print bra and panties, leaving her to tease him with the final unveiling.

  “You,” he said, taking a step toward her, “are gorgeous.”

  She smiled as coquettishly as she knew how, but that felt awkward, so she just reached behind her back and undid her bra without letting it fall. Then she turned around, giving her butt a little wiggle. She felt like a dope and almost started laughing. But no, she would see this through.

  Looking over her shoulder, she pushed off one strap, then the other. And in what she hoped was a sexy move, she held her bra out to the side and after a couple of beats, let it fall.

  “Well, damn,” he said, the words all gravel and need. When she turned around it was clear he’d been...inspired...by her performance, even though she wasn’t finished.

  Closing the distance between them, he whispered, “Let me take it from here.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Seth’s nostrils flared, which was way sexier than she ever could’ve imagined. The hunger in his gaze was so primal it made her tremble.

  “Finally,” he murmured, in a low rasp that stroked her skin. His fingers threaded through her hair as he eased her into a kiss that had her head spinning.

  Touching her both tenderly and with restrained strength, he teased the seam of her lips with his breath and tongue, then let her take a breath only to kiss her again at the exact right moment.

  Hannah wanted to climb into his arms and never leave.

  She moaned, only realizing after that she’d been moaning all along. They more than fit, right down to their toes.