Let Me Love You (9 page)

Would he be taking Lucy there?

The rain picked up, increasing from a soft pitter-patter to a lion’s roar. Dane’s and Dad’s voices were barely audible over the downpour. There was no way they’d be able to patch the hole now, at least not from the outside. They’d have to do damage control from the inside and—

“Dane! Watch out!”

Joey darted around the register and into the back room just in time to see a four-foot section of ceiling come crashing to the ground. Water dumped in a flood, soaking Dane, who’d been standing just beneath the now-collapsed ceiling. It wasn’t a total catastrophe, but it was a freaking mess that probably could’ve been avoided.

If they’d shown up a few hours earlier, they could’ve patched the roof before the storm rolled in and none of this would’ve happened.

Why did he always seem to be a few minutes late, a few moves behind the curve? He was always one step behind, one decision away from averting major disaster.

“You two okay?” Joey slid over the floor, channeling Tom Cruise in
Risky Business
. Only he wore pants and he’d left his glasses in his truck. “What the hell happened?”

“What d’you think happened?” Dane snapped, peering into the ceiling’s waterfall. “Mother Nature’s taking a freaking piss in my store!”

Dad moved in, letting himself get drenched. “Haven’t you been up in the attic to check for water damage before now?”

“Yes, Dad,” Dane said, shaking his head. “I’ve done all the necessary inspections.”

“We’re going to be here for hours cleaning up this mess.” Dad closed the door to the main store, grabbed towels from a rack against the employee counter, and shoved them beneath the door. “Joey, grab those buckets!”

He did as he was told, jumping into action. They grabbed tarps and towels, drop cloths, buckets, and trash cans. Anything to stop the water. By the time they organized a solid offensive against the storm’s invasion, water trickled from the ceiling. The rain had slowed.

Mother Nature must’ve been laughing her calculating ass off.

Joey checked the time. “Hey Dane, it’s five thirty.”

“Yeah?” He tossed a rag at Joey that hit him square in the chest. “Thanks for being my personal stopwatch.”

“No, you idiot.” Joey grabbed a mop and started sloshing water toward the drain in the bathroom. “You were supposed to meet Lucy at the cavern at five.”

Dane knocked himself in the side of his head with his fist. “Damn it.”

He’d seriously left Lucy at the cavern? Alone? Anger lurched in Joey’s middle, but he forced it to cool when Dane pulled out his cell and dialed. A few seconds later, Dane stared at the screen, brow furrowing.

“Went straight to voice mail,” Dane mumbled. “She must already be inside the main building. They’ve got shit for cell service in there.”

“Call the front desk,” Joey offered.

Simple solution, he thought.

Dane punched a number into the phone, seemingly from memory. Had he been spending a lot of time there lately? Joey didn’t spend enough time with his twin to know for sure, but if he’d memorized the number, it was for a reason.

“Hey, I need a favor,” Dane said into the phone, and disappeared deeper into the back of the store.

Joey and his father mopped up the floor, gathered the soaked towels, and tossed them in the bottom of the front desk trashcan. As Joey grabbed a ladder and propped it against the wall to check out the damage in the attic, Dane rushed around the corner.

Joey paused, his foot kicked up on the bottom rung. “Did you get a hold of her?”

“No, but she’s there waiting. I told someone at the front to relay the message that I’ll be a few hours late.”

“A few hours?” Joey’s voice kicked up. “You expect Lucy to wait there for you for a
few hours
?”

Dane folded his arms and leaned his shoulder against the wall facing Joey. “No, actually. I expect her to wait an hour or so and then go home. I’ll fix the roof, and meet her at her place.” He winked, and a grin began to form. “Might work out for the better. Now, how’s the attic?”

Joey gaped, thoughts reeling. He was going to let Lucy stay at Whipside without knowing when Dane would show, if at all? She’d second-guess leaving, wondering if Dane would arrive late and find her gone. Then he would meet her at her studio—after she was dressed for bed, of course. He’d apologize and appear sincere, as only Dane knew how. They’d probably tussle and tumble until morning.

And then there was no way Joey would be able to ask her on a second date.

The anger that’d been simmering in Joey’s gut before was replaced by a churning bitterness. He may’ve been grabbing at straws, imagining bullshit scenarios, but his thoughts couldn’t wrap around the next move in Dane’s game.

“Dude,” his twin said from beside him, hand on the ladder. “Let go. You’ve got this thing in a death grip.”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Joey released the rung and backed away from the damage. “Listen, I’m going to run by the station.” Wasn’t a total lie. He
would
run by the station. In fact, he’d drive right by it on his way to the cavern. “The chief might need an extra hand tonight.” Again, not a total lie. The chief could probably use the extra man on staff. But it wouldn’t be Joey. Not tonight. “Is that all right?”

Dad patted him on the back approvingly. “Go, son. Do what you need to do. We’ve got this.”

“Yeah,” Dane snapped, climbing into the attic. “We’ve got this. Thanks for the help.”

Without another word, Joey left the store and headed straight for Whipside Cavern. He’d have to break the news to Lucy that Dane wouldn’t be coming. He couldn’t just leave her stranded there for a few hours, waiting for a date who didn’t plan on showing.

He loved his brother, but there were certain things you just didn’t do to a woman; leaving her high and dry was one of them.

It didn’t take Joey long to reach Whipside, even in the storm. He turned off the freeway east of town and dipped down a narrow road that jogged over a bridge. A gray ribbon of murk weaved in and around rocks lying in the riverbed, splashing up on either edge of the bank. Once across, Joey turned off the main road. The Whipside Cavern sign pointed the way, complete with a picture of a man giving a thumbs-up while dropping into a black void.

Joey had never spelunked before. It wasn’t his kind of thrill. Flying the skies, streaming through clouds and banking around a steep mountain pass…that sounded
amazing
. Dropping into the center of the earth, into its suffocating heat, not so much. The mere thought made the collar of his T-shirt tighten.

After giving a solid yank on his shirt, Joey pulled into the lot and checked the time.

The clock on his dash clicked over to six thirty.

Would she still be there? She’d have been waiting nearly two hours already.

When he glimpsed the back of her emerald-green Jeep, parked in the closest stall to the building, Joey exhaled heavily and parked beside her. She wasn’t in the vehicle; must’ve still been inside the main store. The rain had picked up, smattering his windshield with fat drops. He threw on his hood, tucked his keys into his pocket, and then darted out into the rain.

Yanking open the door to the store, Joey strode inside and glanced around. The room was no bigger than his living room, with a circular clothes rack displaying Whipside Cavern apparel in the center. Stuffed bear and elk heads were mounted on the far wall and the one closest to the register. On the edges of the room, bookshelves full of used maps and guidebooks were covered with a layer of dust. A woman with chestnut-brown hair perked up behind the counter, shoving her phone in her back pocket as he approached.

“’Bout time you show up,” she said, giving him a showstopping smile. “Thought you’d never get here.”

Damn, if she wasn’t forward. Had she been expecting him?

As he opened his mouth to ask, thoughts of Dane and the way he’d quickly recalled the cavern number flashed through his head.

She thought he was Dane…

People who knew them well could detect their subtle similarities. Although she’d apparently met Dane before, she must not have paid that much attention. When she found out he wasn’t his twin, would she make him pay to get into the back room to see Lucy? No harm in pretending to be his brother for a spell, right?

“Sorry about that,” he said, doing his best Dane impersonation. He glanced at her name tag. “You know how it goes, Chloe. I can’t keep to a schedule to save my life. Hey, I’m looking for Lucy Stone. Is she in back?”

Her smile fell a bit. “Yeah, she’s been suited up and everything. She said she was waiting for you…is she a friend of your brother’s or something?”

Chloe had a thing for his twin. It was written all over the pout of her lips, and the blush spreading from her cheeks down to the base of her neck.

Joey didn’t want to lie or ruin Dane’s chances with the cavern worker. Even though his twin was supposed to be on a date with Lucy—a date he wasn’t going to take seriously and therefore didn’t deserve—Joey couldn’t in good conscience destroy any relationships Dane might’ve had with other women.

Without answering her question, Joey winked, channeling some of the charisma Dane was known for. “Mind if I go back?”

“No.” She blushed. “Not at all. Do you need me to escort you to the hole?”

“I’ll find my way,” he said, moving toward the door on the left side of the shop. “Thanks, Chloe.”

“No problem!” she called, though he’d already entered the hallway leading to the back.

The hall was dark, with a cord of lights running along the floorboard on either side of him. The hall opened up into a larger room than the first, and a small hole had been carved into the center. Rocks lined the edges and ropes dropped inside. Ahead of him, voices echoed.

Two male, one female.

Lucy.

Joey ran through what he was going to say:
Dane can’t make it, though he sends his apologies.
No, the sucker’s not that considerate.
Dane can’t come. He sent me in his place.
No, that didn’t sound right either. He didn’t want to
replace
his brother in her mind. He wanted to be in the forefront.

As he strode into the spelunking room, he spotted Lucy crouched near the hole, staring into the center. The space was dimly lit, with shadows in every corner, but when her gaze met his, her face lit up.

“Dane!” She said the words on a laugh, and then stood to meet him, embracing him in a bear hug. “You’re here!”

Dane?
The poor lighting must’ve affected Lucy’s vision, too.

Her hair tickled his nose, but it smelled like the ocean wind, so he breathed in. Before he knew what had happened, his arms wrapped around her dainty waist, and he tugged her against him. He wanted to tell her why he was there. Spit out the words before he let this go too far.

But she felt too good in his arms, her body warm against his.

Mustering every last iota of strength in his body, Joey pulled back to tell her and—

“How’s the store?” She paused, stunning him with the tiniest curl of her lips. “Any damage from the storm?”

Tell her the truth. Tell her Dane can’t come. Tell her you’re not him.

“It’s fine.” He shook his head as the warmth from Lucy’s body spread through him. “We took care of it.”

Coward.

Liar.

“That’s great.” She adjusted her harness and moved toward the gaping hole in the ground. “You ready to do this?”

“Ah…” Hell no, he wasn’t ready. He had absolutely no plans to strap up and drop into that pit. “I was thinking we could talk first.”

“Talk?” She adjusted her helmet and shuffled to the edge of the pit. “I thought we were going to do this?”

He didn’t come to spelunk; he came to tell her the truth.

“How about a rain check,” he said, holding out his hand for hers. “Come on.”

“What the hell, Dane?” The bigger of the two workers spoke up, propping his foot over the stone rim of the hole. “You’re just going to leave her hanging? That’s not like you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you back down from nothin’.”

“Look! His boots are shaking,” the smaller of the two chimed in.

Lucy giggled and then covered her mouth with her hand.

Joey checked his shoes. Tennis shoes. No boots.

Lucy punched him playfully in the shoulder. “Are you really going to drag me out here in the storm, make me wait two hours for you to show up—not that I wasn’t perfectly entertained by these two—and then reschedule? That’s fine.” She crawled over the edge and tested the rope before leaning back. “But I’m going.”

Shit.
“Lucy, I’m not—”

“I didn’t come all this way to go home,” she snapped, lowering herself a few feet into the dark. Did the woman have no fear? “You can do what you want. But if you come down with me, there might be a kiss waiting for you at the bottom.”

Oh, hell yeah.

Thinking about nothing but the softness of Lucy’s lips, Joey snatched a helmet off the wall, strapped into the harness, and latched on, handing the rope to the sturdier of the two workers. He stepped into the dark, one foot at a time, and sucked in a clipped breath as he leaned back, putting all his trust in the rope. He adjusted his hands and focused on calming his racing heart.