Second Chance at the Sugar Shack (11 page)

“Looking where to put the jack. As you can see, I have a flat.”

“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to crawl under a car that isn’t secure?” He extended his hand to help her up. She eyed him warily before she placed her cool palm in his. When he gave a gentle tug, she came up and into his arms. For several heartbeats she stood there looking up at him through those smoky green eyes while he looked down at her, resisting the urge to lower his head and kiss those full, seductive lips.

The idea was not only bad, it bordered on insane. He broke the hypnotic hold she held over him, picked up the tire iron, and set it by the flat. “I take it you’ve never changed a tire before.”

She stepped back. “No. I have roadside service on my insurance.”

“Of course you do,” he said, reaching inside the car to set the emergency brake.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

When he walked toward the back of the car, she stood in his way, arms folded. He could have stepped around her but what would be the fun in that? So he cupped his hands on her elbows, lifted her, and set her aside.

“That means that you’re going to learn how to change one. Just in case your roadside service is too busy playing Texas Hold ‘em or something.”

“Oh.” She looked at him like she didn’t believe that was what he meant. And she was right.

He kneeled on the asphalt. “Come on. Get down here.”

She knelt beside him with the knees of her jeans digging into the pebbled surface. “Aren’t you afraid you’re going to get your uniform dirty?”

He laughed. Shook his head. He’d love to get dirty. But not the way she was thinking. “Take this . . .” He handed her the tire iron. “. . . and loosen the lug nuts.”

She gave one a good attempt then looked at him with despair in her smoky eyes. “It’s too tight.”

“Let me help,” he said.

She held out the tire iron.

“Uh-uh, Hollywood, you’ve got to learn to do it yourself.”

He scooted behind her, wrapped his arms around her until his hands were on top of hers, and realized he’d made a big, big mistake. Not only were his arms framing the sides of her luscious breasts, but his crotch was pressed against her warm backside. And chances were in about two seconds she’d know she didn’t exactly turn him off.

She swiveled her head and said with a smirk, “Is this the way you help
everyone
learn to change a flat?”

“Nope. Just the pretty girls. The boys are on their own.” Holding her between his arms was torture. Heavenly torture. His only distraction came in the form of helping her loosen the lugs one at a time.

Once that was accomplished, he handed her the jack and showed her where to place it under the car. She grunted a little but managed to get it in the right spot. Then he handed her the tire iron again. “Put this in that slot and use it to pump up the jack.”

“Ooh, I love it when you talk dirty.”

He shook his head. She had no idea. Or at least she didn’t remember.

She gave the jack a go with about as much success as the lug nuts. After several unsuccessful attempts, she looked over her shoulder at him, batted her eyelashes, and said in a very Mae West voice, “A little help would be soooo much appreciated.”

Before he knew it, his arms were wrapped around her again.

The jack wasn’t the only thing she raised.

Trying to keep his erection under control was a ridiculous feat. Especially when she smelled like sugar and vanilla and all he wanted to do was lick her all over.

When the spare was in place and he’d survived the torment of having her in his arms, he tossed the flat and the jack in the trunk. And while every ounce of common sense told him to give her a wave, get in his car, and get the hell out of there, his legs carried him forward. Toward her. The queen of his fantasies for too many years. Hell, even with tire grease on her forehead and road dirt smudged on her cheek she turned him on.

He opened her door and watched while she slid onto the seat. He waited until she started the car before he started to walk away.

“Matt?” she called from the open window.

He stopped.
Do not turnaround.
Man, were his feet
ever
going to listen to him? He retraced his steps and found himself, once again, beside her door like a big dumbass.

She looked up at him, smiled, and crooked her finger. With his testosterone churning and his common sense on temporary leave, he leaned down.

“I just wanted to thank you for your help,” she said, then leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

Her lips were warm. Soft. And everything inside him shattered. She wasn’t the girl he’d fallen in love with. She was the woman who’d walked away without even a good-bye. He had a life planned. And it didn’t include her.

“I would have helped anyone,” he said, breathing back the pain lingering in his chest. “Tonight it just happened to be you.”

K
ate watched Matt stride back to his patrol car. He held his head high, his shoulders straight, and his message couldn’t have been any more clear.

Tonight it just happened to be you
translated to
you’re no different than anybody. You mean nothing to me.

She turned the key and the engine kicked over with a groan. Once Matt was in his car, he started it right up and drove off. Kate watched as his taillights disappeared around the corner.

Seemed like all she ever did was watch his taillights disappear.

He didn’t have to stop and help her. She would have figured it out eventually. But even as much as he appeared to dislike her, Matt Ryan had a chivalrous streak in him a crater wide. He smiled at crabby old ladies. Helped pregnant women cross the street. He’d even stepped in to help her parents when she’d left. Everywhere she turned it seemed he was coming to the aid of someone even when he wasn’t wearing a uniform. The town adored him.

Something light and fluttery danced through her heart. He was a freaking pain-in-the-ass knight-in-shining-armor she couldn’t help admire. Still, if she could just chisel away at all that wonderfulness, she was sure she’d find something rotten. Even if it was that he only flossed once a week.

With a sigh she released the emergency brake and put the car in drive. Half a block later Tom Jones invaded the radio.
It’s not unusual. . .

Oh dear God.

“Well that went spiffy.”

Kate braked and turned in her seat. Her mother frowned at her from the back. Her normal golden glow looked a bit more chartreuse. Kate wanted to laugh. She was starting to enjoy her mother’s little intrusions. And wasn’t that weird? “Are you eavesdropping on my life?”

“No, dear. Just your poor attempts at a love life.”

“I’m not looking for love, Mother.”

“Well, honey, there’s your first mistake.”

O
n Sunday afternoon, her only day off, Kate stood in the middle of the empty shop she’d rented. Her imagination whirled like pixie dust as she planned out how to decorate it on a shoestring budget. And where would she find the time? Seriously. Between interviewing applicants for the bakery job, working eight to ten hours alongside her father and trying to keep her Hollywood clients happy, she barely had time to sleep.

Five months. She was going to be here for five months and even as busy as she might be, she was still bored out of her mind. She needed to fill every hour of every day to keep the gremlins from sucking up the part of her life she’d worked so hard to put together all these years. To keep her from choking on the lingering guilt. To keep her from falling in step with the other six thousand residents of Deer Lick, Montana.

She breathed in the musty air and had to admit that even though she probably had a screw loose for taking on extra projects, she thrived on a good challenge. Even if it killed her. So while her back and leg muscles ached, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Chelsea Winkle.

Within half an hour, Chelsea and her cheerleading squad were standing in the middle of the vacant space while Kate explained what needed to be done and how much she would pay them for their work.

“Who’s the artistic one in the bunch?” she asked.

Both Chelsea and a brunette named Madison raised their hands.

“Okay. I need both of you to create the sign that will go out front. Nothing too over-the-top. Something whimsical that will catch the eye of every teenage girl in Deer Lick. And it’s got to withstand brutal weather.”

“Can we use pink?” Chelsea asked. Her ponytail swung as she cocked her head. “I really, really love pink.”

“Of course, but try to stay away from loud colors,” Kate said, smiling. “We’re not going for in-your-face. We’re going for fantasy.”

Chelsea and Madison looked at each other and grinned. “Definitely pastels.”

“As for the rest of you, I need someone to make a trip to the hardware store for the wall paint, and I need the rest to hit the thrift shops for some tables, maybe a desk, even something that could be used as a front counter. Use your imagination. We’ll paint everything white so don’t worry about the color.”

“This is going to be so much fun,” Brandy, a too-thin girl with dark hair and braces squealed.

“Do what you can today, then meet me back here tomorrow after six. We’ll have to work fast. My assistant will be sending the first shipment out in a few days.”

Kate stood back as the girls went out the door giggling like the teens they were. She remembered that youthful exuberance. In fact, she felt a little tug of it now in the center of her heart.

Chelsea stuck her head back through the door.

“Forget something?” Kate asked.

“I forgot to say thank you.”

Ah, small-town politeness. The teens in her adopted hometown of L.A. rarely put their cell phones away long enough to say thank you to anyone. “You’re welcome, Chelsea.”

“Kate?” She used the name timidly. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you going through all this trouble when you’re only going to be here for a short time?”

Kate gave a little shrug. “I remember being your age.” She glanced out the big bay window and watched a mother kneel and hug her small child as they stood outside the dentist office across the street. Unexpectedly, Kate’s heart went a little squirrely. “I guess this is payback for all the good times I had.”
And for all the hell she’d raised.

Chelsea gave her a smile. “Well, I hope you’ll change your mind and stay. I like you.”

Kate smiled back. “I like you too.”

And she did. Something about the girl reminded her of herself before Hollywood dug its claws in and jaded the youthful enthusiasm she’d had when she’d first arrived. Not that Hollywood was all bad. Just that Deer Lick was a complete one-eighty.

When the door banged shut behind Chelsea, Kate glanced around the empty space again, seeing, in her mind, how it would look by this time next week. A tingle of satisfaction rippled through her just before a hint of panic slapped it down. Her one day off was almost over and she wondered if she’d bitten off more than she could digest.

A wave of fatigue rolled over her head. She needed something to get through the coming week of insanity and sore muscles. Maybe she could go home and take a nap, or watch an old movie on TV with her dad. Or bake some cookies. Or . . .
cookies?
What was she thinking? She locked the shop door and crossed the sidewalk to jump into the Buick and head . . . somewhere. She started up the car, pulled away from the curb, and shook her head when Tom Jones started to sing.

“You look awfully satisfied with yourself,” came the comment from her invisible backseat driver.

“I am,” Kate said. She didn’t want to tell anyone of her newest venture. She’d even made the girls swear to secrecy. She had no desire to look like a fool if she couldn’t pull it off. But since her mother knew she’d downed three Guinness the night Matt had handcuffed her, she probably didn’t have any secrets. Nothing like a nosy ghost. She smiled.

“What are you up to?”

“Don’t you know?” Kate asked.

“No. I try to give you a little space now and again.”

“When did that start?”

“Hey, I gave you a sheet across your room so you could have some privacy from your sister, didn’t I?”

“Why, yes. Yes you did. I’m not sure I ever thanked you for that.”

“You didn’t.”

“Well, I’m thanking you now. I really appreciated your understanding that we needed a little space to ourselves.”

Her mother was silent.

“Mom? Are you okay?”

“Obviously not.”

“I didn’t mean
that
. I meant—”

“I know. You’ve just never been big on thanking me before.”

Kate swallowed. “I’m sure I did when it was appropriate.”

“No. What you did was argue every point until I wanted to stab my eyes out with a toothpick.”

“I guess I didn’t realize . . .”

“There’s a lot you never realized, Katherine. That’s one of the reasons I’m still here.”

“I know. I know. The eternal love thing.”

“That too. But more importantly . . . the day you ran away I made a promise to myself that before I died I’d make sure you understood all those things I said to you back then.”

Kate’s neck muscles knotted. “I understood.”

“No, honey, you didn’t. And when I found myself looking up at that beckoning light, I knew I couldn’t cross over until I kept that promise.”

Kate swallowed again past the lump lodged in her throat. Memories of screaming at her mother and her mother screaming back made it hard to breathe. “Mom, I don’t want to be the reason you can’t enjoy eternity. Everything is okay.”

Her mother shook her head. “I can’t tell you what it was like the day I held you in my arms for the first time. You were such a small, sweet little thing. And from the moment I looked into your eyes, I hoped you’d be the one.”

“The one?”

“The one who’d want to stay close to me and your daddy. The one who’d inherit my love of this town, of doing things for the community, of realizing that nothing is greater in life than the love of the right man and raising a family of your own.”

The lump in Kate’s throat grew and slid down into her chest. “Mom, I—”