Touch of Amber: Hot Rods, Book 7 (3 page)

This time she didn’t argue and surprised the hell out of him by bridging the gap between them and hugging him tight. Sure, it was only for an instant. But it counted.

For once, when she whispered, “Okay. Thank you,” he felt like he’d gotten something right.

He’d like to do it more often.

Chapter Three

Amber waved meekly as she entered Dave and Kayla’s log cabin past Gavyn, who held the door for her. He’d been surprisingly well behaved since she squashed his boys in a knee-jerk reaction. Literally.

She barely had time to say, “Hey,” before her mom attacked her, fussing over the blossoming bruise that was doing a fairly good impression of a black eye.

“Seriously, it’s nothing major.” She hugged her mom quickly, understanding the sheer terror a car accident of any sort infused in the woman considering her husband had been killed in one, scarring her for life.

“You’d say that no matter what,” Willie scolded, then turned to Gavyn. “Did you go in the examination room with her?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered truthfully. No matter how much Amber had tried to get him to stay put, he had followed anyway, convinced—and correct, she might add—that she wouldn’t have waited patiently more than two minutes for the doctor before walking right back out again.

“I’ll hear it from you then, please.” She turned to Gavyn.

Thankfully Amber had anticipated this and coached him on what to say. How to ease her mother’s panic without lying outright.

“She’s going to be fine. Some bruising. Needs to be a bit careful until it heals, that’s all.” He carried it off perfectly, failing to mention the hairline fracture in her cheekbone. There wasn’t anything to be done to treat it, though Gavyn had promised the doctor she’d take it easier than she’d intended with the weddings happening in less than forty-eight hours.

Which guaranteed they’d be spending most of the next week together. She had no choice but to accept his help on the setup and teardown now. Already she felt sleepy and drained when normally she’d have several more good hours of working before getting fatigued. Damn the timing!

Doubly so because she was afraid Gavyn would be twelve parts distraction to one part assistance.

With him holding her hand at the doctor’s office and giving her the broad expanse of his shoulders to lean on for the ride home, he’d offered her comfort and a chance to be a little less…independent than she was used to. Or was that solitary?

In any case, he was overloading her senses and she had to break free before she lost her mind entirely. Because on the short walk to the house, she’d wished they were out of sight long enough for her to ask for a do-over on his earlier kiss. One where she’d engage and respond by meeting him caress for caress instead of smashing his boys.

That longing was far more dangerous than some tiny crack in a bone.

And could hurt her way more.

She straightened her spine and tried to hold her chin up, though her face did hurt a bit, when she walked into the living room. She hugged her sister and then made the rounds of the entire Powertools crew, belatedly saying hello and thanking them again for all they’d done to prep the site for the event.

Joe, Eli’s cousin, greeted her with a big old hug. He was good at them, making her feel safe and cared for even though she was clearly the third wheel…or fifteenth…in this arrangement. “Glad you’re all right.”

“Thanks,” she murmured. “Now, where’s that kid of yours? I want to see how big he’s gotten. Cuter every time I see him on the videochat.”

“Playing with Abby, where else?” He laughed as he jerked his chin toward the two toddlers causing a ruckus on the floor of the living room with a plastic workbench. Abby—Mike and Kate’s daughter—held a giant red hammer while Nathan clutched a yellow screwdriver. They were giggling hysterically while banging at random. The floor, the toy, each other. They didn’t discriminate.

Happy for an excuse to rest, Amber sank to the floor, her legs tucked to the side to accommodate her skirt. Abby rushed over and gave her a loud smacking kiss, transferring the hammer to Amber.

“For me? Thanks.” She grinned until it hurt, adoring the little girl who was growing up surrounded by so much affection and adoration. What would it have been like to have that kind of support? If she ever had a family, she would want it to be like that.

Whoa
. Where had that thought come from?

Amber had never considered herself the settling type. But it was hard not to be envious of the outpouring of love, sexiness, flirting and the more lasting loyalty she sensed every time she was around either the Powertools crew or her sister’s own Hot Rods gang. Those bonds were responsible for these children—innocent and full of potential.

She wasn’t sure she was up for the wild sexcapades of those groups—the sharing and everything—since she tended to be a lot more possessive and jealous than her sister, but the idea of an extended family…well, that was growing on her.

Good thing she was going to have a niece or nephew to spoil in a few months, huh?

Nathan stood up long enough to pile into her lap too. Instead of giving her his screwdriver, he pointed it over her shoulder. “Unc Gav. Play.”

Great. Matchmaking kids too? Couldn’t she catch a break?

Apparently not.

She looked up in time to see Tom and her mother grinning, along with Morgan, Sally and Devon, who gossiped over glasses of wine. Some of the guys had wandered into the kitchen or maybe onto the deck to grill dinner. Those who were left seemed to be entirely too interested in a couple of kids playing for her peace of mind. The last thing she needed was a bunch of rumors or speculation.

Well, actually…the
very
last thing she needed was to give in to the open invitation Gavyn had issued. A wedding affair was worse than a wedding hookup. She refused to be the desperate older sister of the bride. Even if a whole bunch of parts of her were voting in favor of no-strings release at the moment.

It’d been a crazy day, full of adrenaline and scary moments that drove her to seek reassurance. She refused to let herself cave to nature.

Still, when Gavyn sat beside her, it was hard to ignore the long, thick thighs that tucked against her or how enormous his hands looked when he cupped the baby’s toy and showed him how to twist the matching plastic screws into the holes made for them.

Overall, he was gentle and kind despite his asshole tendencies.

Exactly the kind of man she stayed far away from. One that tempted her to try things she should know better than to devour like her cravings for dark chocolate ice cream despite her lactose intolerance. She’d pay for that indulgence.

Occasionally, it was worth some suffering.

Amber snuggled Abby, rocking her and nuzzling her soft baby hair for a while longer before the dread inspired by her mile-long to-do list overshadowed her joy.

“I’d better get to work.” She set Abby down and got to her feet, looking around for her tablet.

“I put your things in your cabin,” Dave told her. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were planning to do stuff tonight. Maybe you should take a break given the—”

“I can’t.” She cut him off then winced. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. There’s still a lot to get done. I have to edit the programs and print them tonight so the vellum has time to dry before I assemble them tomorrow. I also need to unpack the crates from the bus and sort them so I can hit the ground running in the morning.”

“I’ll get the boxes for you,” Gavyn said quietly from where he’d come up behind her. “You’re not supposed to exhaust yourself while you’re healing, remember?”

Dave glanced at her with wide eyes. “Is it worse than you said? I know a thing or two about recovering from an accident. Don’t push yourself or you’ll make it worse.”

“It’s nothing like what you went through.” Amber couldn’t help herself from squeezing the giant man. Imagining someone as tall and strong as him mangled and unable to fend for himself was nearly impossible. Or at least it would be if it weren’t for his pronounced limp and the cane he sometimes still used.

“Still, I’m going with Gavyn on this one. There are a shit ton of dudes around here with nothing to do except shoot the shit and play video games. Let us help. We’ll have it taken care of in no time. You just direct.”

Gavyn stared at her until she relented. “Okay, fine.”

“As soon as dinner is done,” Dave promised.

She nodded, her rumbling stomach reminding her that she’d worked through lunch.

Despite her inner boss clamoring at her to get down to business, Amber couldn’t deny that she enjoyed every second of huddling around the giant fire Mike, James, Eli and Holden built for them in the stone pit at the center of the deck while they devoured burgers, hot dogs and homemade potato salad. Being full didn’t prevent her from finishing off the meal with the most delicious strawberry shortcake ever, courtesy of Morgan and her bakery, Sweet Treats.

Content and stuffed, she sat around for five more minutes. When she shivered, Gavyn scooted closer and draped his leather jacket over her shoulders. It was warm and smelled amazing. Like man and the mountain air that had rushed over them as they wound their way up to the resort earlier.

From her other side, her sister winked at her before nuzzling into Kaige’s chest, where she was smothered in his embrace. It did feel sort of nice not being the only solo attendee. Even Quinn had Buster, her mom hung out with Tom, and Abby played with Nathan.

Roman sat beside Gavyn, and they kept talking as if it were no big deal that he had made it his business to care for her. Maybe she was overreacting. Or at least that’s what she thought until she peeked around the fire and found her mother staring intently at the spot where Gavyn’s hand rested on her shoulder. Huh. When had that happened?

Amber shook her head no at her mother, hopefully subtly enough that no one else noticed in the commotion of their sidebar conversations, storytelling and general socializing. No one but Sabra, who had her camera pointing in Amber’s direction. Oh jeez.

That was as much as she could handle.

“Sorry to be the buzz-kill, but I’ve got to get those boxes. You guys stay here and catch up.” She knew how rare it was that the gaggle of friends got to see each other, never mind simply enjoy each other’s company.

“Like hell,” Gavyn growled at her.

In the end, he was right. What would have taken her close to two hours took the Hot Rods and Powertools together less than ten minutes. Plus it resulted in an impressive display of muscle that the women fully appreciated.

“This was a great idea,” Morgan whispered conspiratorially to Amber. “Maybe tomorrow it will be hot enough for them to work with their shirts off. Something to consider.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle.

Thinking about all they had yet to accomplish made her realize she still had to finalize the programs. Besides, Tom and her mother had already headed off to their separate though adjoining cabins, taking Quinn and Buster with them.

So when the rest of them went back toward the fire pit, Amber knew she would only be intruding on the private time they probably wanted to spend together. For whatever…
stuff
…they had planned. Or some spontaneous revelry, she supposed.

“I’m heading to my bunk,” she announced.

“Come on. I’ll walk you.” Gavyn took her elbow and she didn’t have the energy to shrug him off. Not when the warmth of his hand and the stability he lent her were so comforting.

“Night, sis!” Nola blew kisses and waved along with the rest of their friends.

“See you tomorrow,” Amber called back before wandering away, still smiling.

For a while, they strolled along the moonlit path in silence. She was glad for Gavyn’s quiet company, realizing that although there were motion-sensitive lights that illuminated her way as she approached, it was still a hell of a lot darker out here than she was used to in Middletown. Plus, it was a mountaintop. With bears and bats and who knew what else roaming around.

Obviously familiar with the grounds, he steered her unerringly toward their cabins, suspiciously next door to one another.
Thanks, Kayla.

Gavyn broke the silence when they crossed a small bridge made of planks with no handrails. “This is one of my favorite spots. Want to sit, just for a minute? I feel like I should say something about what happened…before.”

“That’s not necessary,” she said.

“Okay, then let me show you this because I want to.” He tugged her arm and she didn’t resist, curious about what could be better than the lovely flower beds they’d already passed or the glorious view of the lake she knew would be visible off to their right once the sun rose.

When he led her to a koi pond covered with netting, she asked, “What is this? Something to keep the birds from eating the fish?”

“Maybe it does that too.” He grinned. “But no, it’s a giant hammock. Take your shoes off so you don’t drop them in. I heard Neil giving Dave shit about losing his engagement ring for Kayla in here when he proposed.”

She laughed as she thought about that. “I guess that’s a hazard you don’t have to consider much at a naturist resort, huh?”

“Probably not.” He chuckled with her, the sound low and sexy as hell. “I’m willing to try it and see if you want to get naked.”

“Chilly tonight for that, I think.” She refused to blush at his teasing.

“I’d keep you warm, Amber.” He sounded dead serious.

“I already have your jacket,” she reminded him.

“There are much better ways.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked as she crawled to the middle of the netting and lay facedown to examine the flashes of gold made by the fish circling below them. Gorgeous. Mesmerizing. She could stare at them for hours. Some of the tension leached from her.

“Hitting on you?” He stretched out beside her, resting his stubbled chin on his stacked forearms. “Because you’re fucking hot. That’s not news to you, is it?”

She laughed. “Whatever. Nola got the looks in the family. I mean, I’m okay, but come on. Is it because of all these freaking couples? Does it mess with your mind to be the only one not part of a pair…or trio…or more?”

“Sounds like that’s a question for yourself, love. Not me.” He shifted until they were pressed together from toes to hips to shoulders.

“Or wait…” A horrible thought occurred to her. “You don’t…you know…with them. Do you?”

“Gross, Amber. And see my kid sister naked and getting it on? I don’t think so.” He grimaced. “That’s a boner killer for sure.”