Heaven Beside You (10 page)

Cori’s face froze. Her hands were suspended over the scanner holding a Healthy Choice meal. Kady snorted, clapping her hands over her mouth, and then disappeared behind the office counter. Cass turned away, biting her tongue. At least now she knew what it looked like when Jason wasn’t interested.

“That’ll be fifty-one seventy-eight. Oh here, let me.”

Cass spun around in time to see Cori pluck Jason’s credit card out of his hands and run it through the machine. Then she held the card against her lip as she pressed the appropriate buttons without looking. No doubt her gaze was supposed to be a seductive, but the duck lips she’d pulled ruined the effect. She ripped off the slip and handed it to him with a pen. Jason took the pen and slip without touching her. When he handed everything back she used the pen to write her phone number on the back of the receipt.

“You can give me a call if you change your mind,” she said, tucking a loose lock of bleached-blond hair behind her ear. In the last thirty seconds, she’d acquired a faint Southern accent. She still had the credit card in her hand and close to her mouth. It had to be a plan.

Cass reached across the belt and snatched away the card. “Thanks, Cori. Say hi to your mom for me.” She held the card out to Jason, expecting him to take it back. Instead he closed his fingers around hers and raised her hand to his lips.

“Thank you,
cherie
.” His eyes held hers as he pressed his lips to her knuckles and slid the card from between her fingers. Cass thought she heard one of the girls gasp. This was going to be all over town by dark.

Jason straightened and flashed a professional smile at Kady and Cori. “It’s been nice meeting you,” he said. Then he pressed one hand into the middle of Cass’s back to propel her out of the store. As they walked through the front doors, “Slut,” came from behind her, but she had no idea who it was directed at.

Her head started to throb in time with other parts of her body.

“They were fun,” Jason commented as they hurried across the parking lot to the truck. At least she was hurrying, he didn’t seem bothered by the fact that it was twenty degrees out.

“Fun?”

“Sure. It’s fun to watch those kinds of girls lurch around.” He grinned.

“I see. You weren’t interested at all.” She parked the cart next to her truck.

“No, not once I knew what was going on. They took me by surprise at first, but I’m not into little girls.”

Cass lifted his last bag into the bed of the truck. “I didn’t realize they were little girls.”

“They aren’t women yet. I’m interested in women exclusively.” He put his hand under her chin to make her look at him. “Grown women.”

Funny, wasn’t it cold a few seconds ago? “So is that why you kissed my hand?”

“Maybe.”

The parking lot of the grocery store, she reminded herself. Right next door to the diner. A more public place could not be found this side of live television. At least not in Potterville. “Maybe you should take the cart back while I start the truck and get the heater going.”

Jason released her and grabbed the cart.

Cass leaped in and started the engine. She pressed her forehead against the steering wheel. Kady and Cori had gone into a feeding frenzy over tourists before, and caused a few screaming fights between husbands and wives in the parking lot, but they’d been in rare form today.

And Jason had dismissed them. However, Angela, who could be found in the dictionary under the headings low self-esteem and wallflower, he had put his arm around and kissed. After a couple of murder mysteries, Cass would have assumed Jason was a predator looking to take advantage of Angela’s weakness, but that didn’t fit when the beauty queens were throwing themselves at him. Was he just being nice? Did he sense Angela needed a boost, and if he could give it to her in return for a meatloaf dinner, what was the harm? So how did that explain the attention he’d been lavishing on her? Did he sense she needed a boost or was he really interested? Nothing in his press ever talked about his interest in the emotionally less fortunate.

“So the accountant, what was his name?” Jason asked, opening the door and climbing in.

“Finn Runningwater.” She sat up. Her box of mail was in the bed of the truck, leaving the seat open between them.

“Interesting name.”

“He’s a very nice man.”

“I’m sure he is.”

Why did she have to defend Finn to Jason? He was leaving in a few days. Finn would be here forever. Jason would forget all of them. She lived here, and liked it, even if the town was populated with kooks.

“He didn’t seem to like me much.”

“You noticed?”

“Am I interrupting something between you two?”

“You’re a guest.”

“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t think I’m cock-blocking him. Am I?”

A snort escaped before she could stop herself.

Eyebrow raised at her, he said, “That’s some answer.”

“You just don’t realize what a question it was.” She shifted into reverse.

“So tell me.”

The possibility was, this would lodge in Jason’s mind and become a song. Finn would never hear it, though. He only listened to light jazz. “Finn has had a crush on me since seventh grade, but I never felt more than a low-grade friendship with him. I like him well enough, just never could summon up any passion for him.”

“You make that sound difficult.”

She glanced at him. “Summoning up passion for Finn?”

“No, summoning up passion.”

“That’s pretty easy in the right circumstances.”

“And what are those?” he murmured.

She’d wandered into deep water, and wasn’t sure she remembered how to swim. Her heart pounded, and she had trouble focusing on the road. Jason would be leaving. She didn’t mean anything to him. Might even be a charity case. She wasn’t the kind of girl who hung on the arm of the actor at the Tonys. Or who had flings with the award-winning actor.

Musician, she corrected herself. Go to the Grammys, fling with the famous musician.

Fling with the famous musician?

Her mouth went dry. What would it matter? Up on the mountain alone with him. No one would ever need to know except her and the walls, and the walls hadn’t revealed any secrets yet.

“Finn said there was a storm coming through,” she said.

“What does that mean?”

“Depends on how bad it is. Regular bad, we’ll be plowed in for a day or so. Real bad, you might not be able to get out of the cabin. Make sure you take in lots of firewood tonight.”

“I did notice the change of subject, Cass.”

“Did you? That’s nice.”

His low, husky tone tickled the hair on the back of her neck. “What are you afraid of, Cassandra?”

“I’m kind of leery of spiders. Not really afraid exactly, but I don’t like them. Especially the ones in the firewood, but if you give the cord a good kick they usually make a run for it.”

“You know what I meant.”

He’d twisted sideways against the seatbelt and sat studying her with those dark eyes. All the hair on her body tried to stand on end in the hopes he would want to smooth it down. She felt herself getting warm and slick. It had been so long, so very long, since anyone looked at her with desire. “Why are you flirting with me?”

“Because you’re a beautiful woman.”

“That’s all it takes?”

“My standards are very high.”

“So it’s a compliment?”

He reached over and brushed a lock of hair behind her shoulder. “I can see that you’re attracted to me and you’re not involved with anyone else.”

A shiver skittered over her skin. “How do you know?”

“If your accountant, who you have had no interest in since seventh grade, is chasing you so hopefully, then there must not be any one else.”

Her chest tightened. “I need to pay attention to the road.”

Jason turned back in his seat, folding his hands in his lap. “The fire has gone out in my cabin. I must not have done a very good job of tending it.”

“I forgot to tell you how to bank it last night. I’ll show you how to build one when we get back.”

“And I still owe you a lunch since I didn’t get to pay for today’s.”

“That’s okay. You can send me a gift certificate later. You have the address.” Wasn’t he going to pursue it any further? Why not? One look out the window might have made him decide she did need to watch the road. On the passenger side, a low stone wall separated the road from a sharp drop. Her margin for error wasn’t great.

Only two weeks wide.

When she’d pulled into the garage and shut off the engine, he turned to her again. “You are a beautiful and intriguing woman, Cassandra Geoffrey.”

“Thank you.” Intending to flee into the house, she took the keys out of the ignition.

“I hope you’ll give me the opportunity to know you better.”

She kept her eyes fixed on the wall at the back of the garage. Just like she’d read the subtext of Finn’s possessive comment at the diner, now she could hear the invitation in Jason’s. What would happen then? Jason reached across the seat and touched her chin, guiding her face to his, paused inches from her lips. “Will you let me?”

The question left too many openings. Her body screamed,
Yes!
not caring what the real question was. Her brain locked up and refused to budge. He took her lack of answer as agreement and leaned forward, brushing his lips across hers.

Her whole body felt the kiss. Every inch of skin seared with contact. Everything else melted away, leaving only the light touch of his lips on hers. Her mind spun in senseless circles, unable to form thought, let alone reason out why this was happening. And she didn’t care why, only wanted it to continue.

* * * *

Jason pulled away. He wanted to devour her. To pull her across the seat into his lap and kiss her dizzy and breathless. Pick her up, carry her into the house, lay her on the floor in front of her fireplace and make love to her while the firelight played across her creamy skin.

If he hoped to do any of that, he had to give her space now.

He sat back. She looked blissfully dazed, which was how he wanted to leave her. “Thanks for the ride,” he said, stepping out of the truck. He scooped up his grocery bags and headed for his cabin. When he stopped to unlock the door, he glanced over his shoulder. She’d gone inside, but left the garage door open. She’d mentioned needing to cut down a tree tomorrow, maybe she wanted to get started today. Or, in her daze she’d forgotten to close it. That was promising.

He went in and put away the groceries. His body felt pleasantly tight, but needy. He hadn’t wanted a female this much since high school, and that cheerleader had been better in fantasy than in reality. Which is why he’d kissed Cass now. He needed to know if fantasy would match reality. So far so good. Listening to them talk in the diner only increased his desire. Watching her deal with Angela and the girls in the grocery store had nearly led him into a fatal error. She was clever, creative, mature and sexy. The first three had been in short supply in the women he met. The girls at the store highlighted that nicely. Even Stella had been more shrewd than clever.

He poured himself a shot of whiskey and carried it to the living room window. No sign of her yet. Her place had been so warm and inviting last night. He could have stretched out on the couch and fallen asleep, if he hadn’t wanted to climb into her bed so much.

It even looked warm and inviting from the outside. He walked away from the window to stop torturing himself by staring at her house, and gazed out the back window. The snow wasn’t very deep under the trees, but it lay on the branches like white velvet. The forest stretched on forever. Where was the pasture they were talking about? Further this way or on the other side of the road? How much land was it? How much would it cost? What would she say if he offered to invest with her, to give her the money to buy the land? He didn’t know anything about running a campground, but she did, and it would give him an excuse to linger in her life.

Which would give him more time to seduce her.

He went back to the front window. The garage door was closed. Maybe she wasn’t coming out again today. Frustration clawed at him. Only two weeks. One more night seemed too long to wait. Not knowing how to start a fire on the cold hearth was a perfect excuse to call her, but it felt like cheating. He wanted her to come on her own. Knocking on his door, dark eyed and breathless. His ego was out of control. He turned away from the window and poured himself another shot. Still no music. He’d forgotten about it in his pursuit of Cass. If he wanted any, he’d have to make it himself. The silence rang through the house. She was right about needing a fire. The cabin had a chill about it. Or maybe he was overheated.

* * * *

A chainsaw roared outside. Jason lunged out of bed. He hopped into jeans and a sweater as he crossed the bedroom headed for the living room window. He hadn’t slept well. Visions of Cassandra kept invading his dreams until he was too hot even without the fire. She stood at the foot of the tree she’d been looking at yesterday in her parka, hacking at the base. He grabbed his coat, pulling it on as he rushed outside.

Snow dropped on her as she worked, but she didn’t pay any attention. She’d tied back her hair and put on a pair of plastic work goggles. They made her seem very cute and small, like a child playing with her father’s tools. After a few minutes, the tree cracked with a sound like a gunshot and fell along the road, blocking it.

Without shutting off the saw, she worked her way up the trunk, cutting it into foot long pieces. By the time she stopped and turned off the motor, she had only the top section. When the thunderous sound faded, Jason clapped.

She didn’t react.

Jason stopped, wondering if she was ignoring him, but then she took off her goggles and pulled out earplugs. Smart woman. He clapped again.

Cass spun around, alarmed. Her face glowed pink. “Did I bother you?” she asked.

“No, I just have a thing for chicks with chainsaws.” Jason grinned. He didn’t yet, but if they looked like Cass, he could develop one pretty fast.

She blushed a deeper red. Coils of bright hair stuck to her forehead. He wanted to brush it back and keep going until his fingers tangled in those skeins of fire. “I’m done with the loud part.” She propped the chainsaw against her shoulder. “I’ll clear the road.”