Cutter Mountain Rendezvous (20 page)

“The same.”

Kate looked from one to the other. “You two are so full of it. I mean, really, what did you say? Trey went from white to bright red.”

Carter maneuvered onto an exit ramp and glanced over his shoulder. “A warning. Nothing big. I told him to enjoy his visit with Lindsay.”

“Me, too,” Colton chimed in and caught Carter’s gaze in the rearview mirror. They shared a conspirator’s nod of approval before he noticed Kate was watching them. She raised both eyebrows at him with a questioning look. He couldn’t help but soften as he gazed into the depths of her eyes dark with worry.

He let his hand slip off his thigh to rest on the seat next to hers. When she didn’t pull away from the heat of his hand pressed alongside her own, he caressed her little finger with his pinky. Had her parents not been in the front seat, he would have gathered her into his arms and comforted her. He stroked her finger again. She pulled her hand away to wrap her arms around her middle.

It was a relief. Almost. Her sweet smell had reached him. Her warmth. The woman who definitely wasn’t his type stirred emotions in his heart he’d never experienced. And judging by the discomfort below the belt, he knew that part of his body would have no objection in offering Kate comfort.

“Great.” Her barely audible word was followed by a sigh.

“What’s great?” Eva asked over her shoulder.

“Nothing, Mom.”

“Nothing is always something.” Colton offered Kate’s own words spoken to him earlier.

“Colton’s right, Kate.”

Colton grinned and was rewarded with Kate rolling her eyes before turning her attention to the passing landscape outside the car window. She didn’t look his way again.

He was grateful for the country station Eva found on the radio. It helped cover the dark mood inside the car. Over the music, he listened to Eva chat with Carter about nothing. It made him realize how much he missed his own family. How much he felt a part of this one.

Waves of longing for a simpler time caught him unawares with memories of him and Mason quibbling in the back seat of their parent’s car until they were told to quiet down. Then the memory of the silent interaction between him and Mason, making faces at each other behind their parents’ back. His attempt to soothe Kate by stroking her finger without her mom and dad taking notice from the front seat felt very similar.

Again he listened to the idle talk of a married couple. Part of him wanted to return to Chicago and get back to what was familiar. The other part wanted to stay here on Cutter Mountain with Kate and her family.

It seemed the trip he intended to think things through had mushroomed with complication and a possible future he would have never been able to foresee without a change of scenery.

Maybe he should dig out the book his mother gave him—
The Road Less Traveled
. That road had definitely changed his life although he was sure the title meant a whole lot more.

“How about we stop and get a bite to eat? There’s a good barbeque place up ahead,” Eva said.

Kate didn’t respond. She was deep in thought about Trey. Wondering what had attracted her to him, when the very sight of him today was repulsive. Had she ever liked Trey in the way she liked Colton? And oh, that touch. Just a pinky, yet so sincere. It warmed her from the top of her head right down to her toes. Along with his eyes that were as smooth and welcoming as warm honey over a hot biscuit on a cold day.

“Don’t think I’m going to cook when we get home. I’m not up to it,” Eva announced, trying to get someone’s attention.

“It’s up to you guys,” Kate said sullenly.

“What about you, Carter?” Eva asked. He shrugged. “Colton?”

“I could eat.”

“Finally.” Eva brightened. “Someone who speaks up. Pull in, Carter.”

As Eva straightened in her seat to point at the wooden structure with a large screened porch nestled in a valley, Kate smiled to herself. Colton was always hungry.

Everyone in the SUV seemed to come alive, when the tires hit the parking lot filled with every kind of vehicle imaginable and with as many different license plates.

Neely’s BBQ was a family-run establishment that brought in locals and vacationers alike. The no-frills establishment boasted the best barbeque in eastern Tennessee. You got the basics at Neely’s: oval paper plates, plastic silverware in clear-plastic packets, long tables covered in red-and-white-checkered oilcloth, their matching long benches sat on worn wood floors. No-frills Neely’s brought serious barbeque eaters in droves. Kate sat forward and pointed. “Dad, there’s a spot by the smokers.”

“See it.”

Kate saw Colton’s chest expand. He breathed in the tantalizing smell of wood smoke and barbeque caught in the hollow where the restaurant had stood since 1954. At least that’s what the plaque advertised at its opened front door.

Once in line and their food ordered, it was set on a tray with an empty cup. Beverages were self-serve unless you ordered beer.

Spying a spot in the middle of the screened porch, they settled at a row table to eat. Kate picked around the edges of her massive sandwich and eyed Colton’s plate across the table. Ribs, barbeque sandwich, slaw, the two pickles he’d requested, a heap of potato salad sat on his oval plate in a mound. Next to his plate sweated a bottle of beer. “What? I’m not driving.”

“I’m not looking at the beer. I’m looking at the pile of food you’re devouring.”

“Best barbeque I’ve had in years. It’s just my luck to find the place when I’m about to leave.”

Carter chuckled. “We always bring visitors here. Folks don’t seem to notice the decor once they get a good whiff of barbeque up their snout.”

“Leads them inside like a Pied Piper,” Eva added.

“Did me.” After finishing off the half-rack of ribs, Colton gave Carter a side glance. “Any progress locating whoever’s sleeping at Tom Cutter’s cabin?” he asked, using six napkins to clean his fingers and mouth.

“It appears you two scared him off. No new signs anyone’s been staying there.”

“Did he leave behind the sleeping bag?”

“Nothing. No sign of him.”

Kate listened to Colton and her dad while she continued to poke at the meal before her without interest. “Where do you think he went?”

Carter rested his forearms on either side of his oval plate. “Home, I hope. I think you’re right. He was probably a runaway teenager that came to his senses.”

Colton wiped his mouth. “That or he’s taken up residence in Kate’s barn. Did you know there’s a tack room and loft in the barn?”

Kate’s mouth dropped open. “We’ve worked for days in the barn. What would make you think such a thing? That freaks me out, Colton.”

“Just saying. Maybe your dad should keep an eye on the barn. It’s a sight more livable than the cabin.”

“Excuse me.” Carter extracted himself from the bench seat and pulled out a cell phone. “I’m going outside to call Jerry to check out the barn while it’s daylight. Don’t eat my sandwich.” He shot Colton a stern glower followed by a grin.

“No, sir. There’s more here than I can handle.” He eyed Kate’s full plate. “You intend to eat that sandwich or disassemble it?”

“Why? You want it?”

“You need to eat, Kate.”

“I’ll take it home.”

Tomorrow would be a long, lonely day perfect for eating half the chocolate cake she’d made with nervous energy that morning. Ha! Nannies do not hold their employer’s hand, she thought.
Whatever.
The ordeal left her with a whole chocolate cake. She would need every bite come morning.

Chapter Seventeen

Night had fallen by the time Kate’s parents dropped them back atop Cutter Mountain. In Kate’s eyes, the inn looked forlorn sitting in the glow of a full moon and dark inside. The barn was even less cheerful in the shadows of the woods. Perfect for a runaway to hide despite her dad’s report Jerry found no sign of a trespasser. Finally, the outside lights popped on.

Her parents wished Colton well on his return to Chicago and made her remember he was supposed to leave today, after Lindsay. An unwelcome shiver of unknown calamity skittered down her spine. Lindsay would be safe, she told herself.

Once inside under the bright foyer lights, they waved from the doorway.

“Why do I have the distinct feeling your parents suspect I’ll be getting into your pants tonight?” Colton said under his breath.

Kate sucked in a breath and raised an eyebrow. “Because you’re delusional?”

He barked out a laugh. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“What does that mean?”

“Maybe since they think we’re going to do it, we should. Come on, I’m teasing. I’ll check out your place or I won’t sleep a wink.” Colton made a move for her door.

“I wish you wouldn’t have planted the thought of a runaway lurking in the barn.”

“Keep your gun handy when I leave. Better yet. Go stay with your folks until they catch the kid.”

“You forget Lindsay and I were out here almost six months before you came along. I’ll go back to wearing my sidearm if it makes you feel better.”

It did. He also remembered her wearing it the night he’d managed to get his hand under her shirt only to find she worn the pistol in a holster over her T-shirt and no bra. The thought still turned him on. That, and the fact they were home alone. Really alone.

They stood for an awkward moment outside Kate’s kitchen door. Colton put his hands on his hips. “I wasn’t looking for permission, Kate. I’m checking the place out, then I’ll leave.”

“Do you want a nightcap?”

“Does that mean you bought beer?”

“Maybe.” She unlocked the kitchen door. Tinkerbelle greeted them with a meow before he rushed over to his empty food dish.

“I’ll feed him,” Colton said.

“You just can’t stand that cat is still skittish around you, can you?”

“Nope. I’m using food to get back on his good side.” He gave her a dimpled grin as he opened a can of cat food and wrinkled his nose. “Don’t know how you eat this stuff.” He frowned at the cat, prancing and meowing at his feet, until the dish was placed on the cat’s mat. “You ever try the dry stuff on him?” He turned on the faucet and washed his hands.

“He won’t eat it. He’ll only eat the canned.” She opened the refrigerator and Colton reached around her to grasp two bottles of beer by their necks. “I don’t want a—”

“I know you drink beer, Kate. Let’s go sit in the rockers on the front porch and have a few beers. Talk. Get a little drunk. Tomorrow, when I’m gone, you can be sober.”

“Boy, that’s an understatement. Lindsay’s never been away for longer than a weekend. Its weirdin’ me out.”

“A beer will help relax you so you can sleep.”

“Fine.” She accepted it and trailed after him out to the porch. Tipping the cold bottle to her lips, she took a swallow and let her gaze wander over his broad shoulders, lean hips, and long legs. His easy gait and comfort in boots only made him more appealing, if that was possible.

His earlier comment lingered in her mind. So? What if she slept with Colton? It wouldn’t be the end of the world. Would it? It wasn’t as if it would mean anything to him—other than getting laid. The screen door slammed behind her.

Colton dragged a spare table in front of him to prop up his feet, crossing one boot over the other. “Ah, this is the life. Folks will love this place.”

“I hope. What time are you taking off tomorrow? I’ll make breakfast before you leave.”

“Whenever I wake up and feel like leaving. Thanks for letting me store Bessie in the barn. I’ll send a flatbed to haul her back to Chicago.”

“No rush.”

He gave her a sideways glance. “How about I go inside and get that guitar? You can play me a song. The one you’re going to dig up for Trace.”

“I’ve not played in years. I doubt I could find the chords. Besides, you said you weren’t giving me the guitar unless I asked nice and said
please
.” She purposely over-enunciated the word as a joke, forgetting Colton always delivered more than she asked in return.

“Great idea.” He gave her the most mischievous grin and stood. “This will be fun.”

She rushed to her feet. “Colton. Don’t. I was teasing.” She pushed into his chest harder than intended. The force made him step off the porch. He grabbed hold of her wrist and didn’t let go. The drop off the porch brought them face to face. The light from inside the house turned his topaz eyes to warm, dark honey.

When their lips came together, she was pretty sure she made as much a move as he. The kisses were like those in Bessie’s truck bed last night—soft and gentle.

He encouraged her arms around his neck and pulled her against him to deepen the kiss. The slick tease of his tongue over the crease of her lips gained him entrance. He murmured and their kiss turned hot and greedy. Their tongues tangled with the taste of beer. One of his hands held her butt tight to his groin and the other slipped under her sweater. Desire pooled deep in her belly as his hand stroked her skin and sent a shiver of raised flesh over her back and arms.