Kaleb (8 page)

Fifteen
minutes later he was dressed and quickly straightening the few things that were
out of place. Not that he had any intentions of bringing Zoey back to his
cabin, but he had to admit, if she was game, he couldn’t make any promises.

Damn.
He was in such a
hurry,
one would’ve thought this was
his first date.

♀♂

Zoey
was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, something she very rarely
wore, when she heard the truck pull up in front of the small cottage that had
acted as a guest house and until about four years ago, hadn’t had a guest in
quite some time.

When
she originally came back home, Zoey hadn’t lived too far away from her parents,
but since the house she had been living in belonged to Jason before they got
married, she opted to let him have it. For the first few weeks after she came
home, she lived in the main house, but she felt like she was imposing on her
father, and she was pretty sure he felt like he was stepping on her toes, as
well. So, the two of them had worked to get the guest house ready for her and
here she was.

It
was a quaint little house, no more than a thousand square feet, but completely
doable for just one person. With a bedroom, a lavish bathroom which she had
paid to have remodeled, a living room and one small half bath off of the
kitchen, Zoey had more than enough space for her and her things. And quite
frankly, she’d grown comfortable there.

She
was pretty sure her father liked the idea of having her close as well, but also
not having to give up his privacy though he often complained about rummaging
around in such a large house all by himself.

The
rapping of knuckles on the screen door had her tossing her lip gloss back in
the drawer before heading to the living room while gargantuan butterflies
started up a ping pong match in her stomach.

There,
standing on the wide front porch was the object of her wildest fantasies,
looking striking in tight jeans and a short sleeve polo shirt that hugged him
tight across the chest and arms, accentuating every hard plane and angle of his
torso. The man made her mouth water.

“Hi.”
Zoey greeted when she came closer. “Come in.” Years of friendship and a comfortable
existence alongside this man disappeared entirely as she stood before him now.
Never had Zoey cared what she looked like, or what he thought about her
appearance until this moment.

“Damn.”
Kaleb whispered, “You look beautiful.”

His
words made her blush, but she didn’t turn away. Zoey had destroyed her closet
trying to find the perfect outfit to wear when she’d finally settled on one of
her favorite sundresses. It was strapless and flirty and made her feel feminine
so she’d figured it was just what this night warranted. Since she was more
inclined to wear jeans and boots, she was self-conscious about it, but his
reaction helped.

“Thank
you.” She said when she finally found her voice. “I just need a minute.”

“Take
your time.”

She
fought the urge to sigh like a damned school girl. His voice was rich and dark,
sending chills over her skin while those beautiful eyes sparkled with heat. She
clearly wasn’t the only one who felt this attraction fizzling between them.

She
couldn’t help but wonder how this had come about. Maybe it was in the water.
What with V and Zane hooking up and all – although Zoey was hoping what was
going on between them was more than a hookup, but knowing Zane, she was a
little concerned.
Not that V couldn’t handle herself.

Zoey
rushed back to her bedroom, spritzed her favorite perfume behind her ears and
on her neck, before taking one last look in the mirror. She was as ready as
she’d ever be.

Once
back in the living room, she found Kaleb still standing by the door, glancing
out at the wide expanse of land encompassing what was left of the Stranford
farm. There wasn’t much left, other than the acres of land that sat barren
after years of farming the rich soil and a large barn that had seen better
days. The crops were all gone, as were the horses, which had Zoey still
wondering why her father was hanging on to it.

She
was fully aware of the Walker’s desire to purchase a vast amount that straddled
their own, and if it were up to her, she’d have done it by now.
Only because her father needed the money more than he needed a
couple hundred acres of dead grass.
But that wasn’t public information
and Zoey was working double time trying to figure out what she could do to
resolve the financial strain.

“Ready?”
Zoey asked, interrupting Kaleb who looked to be far away as he peered out the
screen door.

Turning
his head back to her, he smiled and those piercing blue eyes lit up with
promises left unspoken. She stepped out onto the porch, shutting the door
behind her before following him to his truck. When he stopped to open her door,
her heart melted just a little.

Kaleb
Walker, as well as every other Walker man, was a gentleman to his very core.
For as long as she could remember, he’d opened her door for her, although they
were only friends. Their mother had raised them to value women, although Zoey
happened to know that they sometimes valued them a little too much. The Walker
boys might be gentleman, but they undoubtedly weren’t saints.

Once
inside the truck, Zoey put her seatbelt on, waiting for Kaleb to climb in. A
minute later they were turning out of her father’s driveway and onto the main
road that would lead around to the entrance to the Walker ranch.

“Do
your parents know about the party?” Zoey asked as they drove.

“It’s
a surprise, actually. Don’t ask me how Travis and Sawyer pulled that one off.”
Kaleb laughed. “They’ve been working on it for at least two months, and it took
some creative manipulation to get my folks out of town for the last couple of
days so they could get everything set up.”

“Are
they home yet?”

“They
should be back any minute now. Dad called and said they were on the road and
running a little behind, which turned out to be a good thing.” Kaleb turned the
truck onto the dirt road that led to the Walker’s house and Zoey found herself
mesmerized by the muscles working in his arms. “They had a problem setting up
one of the tents and that pushed all of the set up back. Everything seems to be
back on schedule though.”

Zoey
turned away, glancing out the window as they approached the house and the
various cars and trucks that were parked in several lines down the side of the
house. There had to have been at least a hundred or so parked haphazardly along
the main drive.

Kaleb
pulled the truck a little farther out, probably to ensure he wouldn’t get
blocked in, before turning off the truck. “Don’t move.” He warned her as he
exited and walked around.

Zoey
sat patiently waiting for him to open her door, which she knew was what he
insisted on doing. Again, her heart turned over. She loved that about Kaleb,
how genuinely sweet he
was,
and it had been something
she hated to see him dole out on other women over the years, but Zoey would’ve
never mentioned it. Not to him, not to anyone. But it was a definite turn on.

She
expected him to open the door, so when she turned to slide down, she wasn’t
expecting him to grip her waist and pull her closer, pressing his impressive
body against hers. His cologne tickled her nostrils while his warm hands sent
chills racing down her spine.

“I
can’t wait.” The seductively dark voice slid around her, captivating her as she
zeroed in on his mouth as he moved closer.

Zoey
braced herself for the impact of his kiss, knowing if, like last time, she’d
very well have to force herself not to fall into him. When his lips met hers,
his brawny hands gripping her waist, she instinctively brushed her hands over
his smooth cheeks before sliding her fingers into his silky hair.

Lost
to the sensations, the rest of the world fell away, leaving them standing just
outside of the truck, the open door blocking anyone else’s view, but not
providing nearly enough privacy for what she wanted. When he pressed his hips
against hers, she felt the rigid length of his erection between her thighs, and
she couldn’t hold back the moan as she pulled him closer.

It
was as if her body had come to life over the course of the last couple of days,
a renewed hunger building inside of her, acknowledging there was something
she’d been missing for five incredibly long years. The touch of a man should’ve
been foreign, having gone so long without it, but with Kaleb, it felt... Well,
it felt familiar.

A
horn honked, stunning her and causing Kaleb to gently pull away. Zoey realized
five years were a damn long time to go without a man’s touch, to go without sex
period, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, she was putting an end to her
abstinence just as soon as Kaleb was willing.

Friends
with benefits, she thought to herself.

Why
hadn’t she ever thought about that before?

♂♀

The
party, Kaleb knew, would undoubtedly be classified as a success. An hour into
it and he was still busy greeting people, some he hadn’t seen in years, but had
known all of his life, and others he had the pleasure of seeing nearly every day.
The Walker’s had a large extended family, with Curtis, their father, having
four brothers and three sisters, and Lorrie, their mother, having five sisters
and three brothers. And thanks to all of them, Kaleb had close to forty
cousins. Yep, they were a veritable small town, all on their own.

And
tonight, Kaleb was in charge of greeting all of those family members and
friends as they poured in by the masses. Thankfully Zoey was acquainted with a
lot of his cousins, having grown up in their small town, and she knew many of
Kaleb’s aunts and uncles thanks to the number of hours she’d spent around his
house. Although he was pretty sure she was having a hard time putting names
with faces, she was doing a phenomenal job keeping up.

For
the last hour, Kaleb kissed so many cousins, hugged just as many more, and
shook hands with more people than he could count, all while Zoey stayed close,
reminding him exactly what he’d prefer to be doing. He tried not to dwell on
how responsive she’d been to him by the truck because the all too familiar hard
on she inspired was not appropriate with all these people around.

Had
it not been for someone honking their horn, Kaleb wasn’t sure how far he
might’ve taken that little make out session by his truck, nor would he have
guaranteed they’d be at the party right now.

For
the life of him, he couldn’t figure out how they’d managed to ignore the
apparent chemical reaction that occurred when they touched. Not that he’d
expected anything from her tonight, other than her company, but the way she
kissed him spoke of salacious promises and he was having a hard time ignoring
them.

“Kaleb!”
A familiar voice sounded from somewhere behind him, and Kaleb turned. He slid
his hand into Zoey’s, linking their fingers and holding her close because that
was the most natural thing to do.

The
woman approaching them, aside from being the equivalent of ice water on his
balls, looked so out of place, and Kaleb suddenly wondered why she was even
there.

“Regina.”
He couldn’t hide his distaste, but he didn’t figure she cared.

When
she went to reach in for a hug, Kaleb pulled Zoey closer, using her as a shield
because the last thing he wanted was Regina touching him in any way.
Immature?
Maybe.

So fucking what.

“Why
are you here?” He asked bluntly, taking in how she was dressed.

Wearing
those spiked heels he’d thought intensely sexy at one time, he wondered how she
didn’t get stuck in the grass; the image of her fighting to get loose almost
made him smile.

Almost.

The
fact was
,
nothing Regina Hollingsworth did or said
would ever make him smile again. Not after the hell she put him and his family
through.

“Travis
invited me.” She said, glancing around as though she were looking for Kaleb’s
older brother.

“Bullshit.”
He barked, glaring back at her. He knew damn good and well Travis never would
have invited the lying, scheming bitch, nor would any of them actually have
wanted her there. It had been several years since he’d last seen her and as far
as Kaleb was concerned, it could be several hundred more, and it wouldn’t make
a damn bit of difference to him.

Regina
pretended not to notice how pissed off he was, when she turned her attention on
Zoey.

“Who’s
your little friend?”

Kaleb
hated the way Regina talked down to everyone she met and above all else, he
couldn’t fathom what he had ever seen in the woman. Aside from being
attractive, she was as shallow as the water in their drought riddled stock
tank.

“Cut
the crap, Regina. You know damn well who I am.” Zoey spoke up. Was it his
imagination, or did she take a step closer to him?