Wounded (An Aspen Series Novella) (Prequel to Relentless) (7 page)

Kimber picked that moment to appear, and it
couldn’t have come at a better time.  “Fine.”  He shifted his gaze to her.  “Twenty
bucks for every ball I throw.  Apparently, it benefits
your
foundation. 
Whatever the hell that is.”

*        *        *

A warning tingle crept up Kimber’s spine as Jerry
stared her down.  The crowd around them had focused on her as well.  She couldn’t
very well refuse to support her own charity, could she?

“It’s a foundation meant to help military
families.  We have a support group for those left behind.  Get-togethers for
spouses.”  She swallowed.  “And fiancées.  Groups of volunteers to help support
the family while their loved one is serving.”

He stared at her with an incredulous look.  “Nice.” 
But he didn’t sound nice.  More sarcastic in her opinion.  “So, are you getting
up there or what?”

She didn’t have a choice, and maybe this was one
of those opportunities Noelle spoke about.  Better yet, maybe he would toss a
couple of balls at her and miss on purpose, earning some money for her
foundation.

Something dark in his gaze told her that was
unlikely.

“How can I refuse?”  She smiled even though she
felt a little sick inside.  After she’d almost drowned as a child, she’d hated water. 
No, the dunk tank didn’t hold enough water to hurt her, but the thought of
slipping and possibly going under freaked her out.

“Don’t do it, man,” she heard Milo warn Jerry in
a low voice, but there was no going back for her.  He was either supporting
her, or hell bent on some sort of retribution.

Either way, she was in for the long haul.

She climbed the ladder and scooted her way out
onto the narrow board, taking care not to lose her balance and fall in.  When
she was settled, she met his gaze through the chain link barrier between them. 
Dark, hard eyes burrowed into hers, and she shivered.

He handed over a twenty-dollar bill to the
volunteer managing the game, never taking his eyes off her.

The tiny ember of hope that had sparked when they’d
kissed might as well have been dunked all ready.  She smiled, hoping to break
through his hard shell, but she came up against an impenetrable wall.

She tried to force in a calming breath.

His gaze narrowed imperceptibly.  He raised his
arm to throw the ball, and Milo bumped into him, causing him to miss his mark.

Jerry cursed, and the crowd laughed at Milo’s
antics.

Kimber tried to breathe.  She’d thought for sure
she was a goner the first time around.

Jerry paid for another ball, and then warned Milo
to keep his distance.

Oh God.  She glanced down at the water with
uncertainty.  It wasn’t
that
much water.  She could just hold her breath
until she managed to get her feet under her.  For all she knew, she would land
standing up.

He glanced at her once more before shifting his
gaze to the target.  She sucked in a deep breath.  He lifted his arm…and threw
the ball.  She squeezed her eyes shut.  A metallic sound rang through the air
before her world fell out from beneath her.

Water covered her, and she grasped for the
surface.  Her feet seemed to tangle as she tried to get them beneath her.  She
panicked and released her breath.  Then tried to reclaim it before she realized
her mistake.

Her hand hit the little step in the corner, and
she grabbed it, pulling herself up, choking and sputtering.  Mortified, she
looked out at the crowd who watched with surprised and concerned expressions.

Then Eric stepped forward.

“Are you okay?” Eric asked, generating a fair
amount of heated resentment inside Jerry.  The emotion warred with a double
helping of shame from the distress he’d caused Kimber.  The sight of her
struggling doused his anger, leaving him feeling every bit the jackass.

Kimber wheezed and nodded.

“There’s a step in there,” Eric said.  “Put your
foot on it.”

She wiped her eyes as she looked down into the
water.  When she pulled herself up onto the step, Eric grabbed her and hauled
her from the pool.

“Way to go,” Milo whispered and elbowed Jerry.

“How was I supposed to know she’d react like
that?” he whispered back.  Oh shit.  He’d forgotten her fear of water.

How would he ever fix this?

Milo rolled his eyes and shook his head like he
was talking to the biggest idiot in the world.  Perhaps he was.

He’d just given his enemy the perfect excuse to
rush to her aid.

Hell.

Eric set her down, and Kimber gripped the side of
the tank for support.  He pounded on her back as she coughed.  It took a few
moments, and then she seemed to breathe a little easier.

“You’re not supposed to drink the pool,” a man
offered, and several others laughed.  He was sure the man had meant to revive
the lighthearted atmosphere since it was the town’s celebration, but it wasn’t
funny.

Kimber nodded, but she didn’t look up.  If he
knew her, she was probably mortified and wouldn’t want to face her friends and
neighbors.

“You okay?” Milo asked Kimber as he grabbed Jerry’s
arm and pulled him forward.

She tried to clear her throat.  “I’m good,” she
said, her voice raspy.  Her clothes were soaked, her lacy summer tank top
plastered to her skin.  She blinked rapidly as she gave them a quick glance,
and Jerry was sure the moisture in her eyes wasn’t from the dunking pool.

“I got this.”  Eric moved between them, spiking
Jerry’s temper.

He hadn’t been able to fight for Kimber while he’d
been gone, but he’d be damned if he was going to let Eric come between them
now.  Not until Jerry was certain there was no hope for them.

“No one asked you to get anything, Eric.”  Jerry
stepped forward, pushing Eric’s shoulder, forcing him to turn his stance or
fall down.

“Keep your fucking hands off me.”  Just as he
finished his sentence, Eric swung at him.

Jerry had been prepared for the retaliation and
leaned to the left just in time.  He followed with his own counter-attack, his
fist plowing into his opponent’s gut.

Eric grunted.  He bent forward, before tumbling
backward.  Milo caught him before he hit the ground.

“Oh God,” Kimber said, pulling her dripping hair
away from her face as her expression contorted with greater embarrassment.  She
pushed past Jerry, making a beeline for the edge of the town’s square.

Oh hell.  Now he’d really done it.  He glanced at
Milo who nodded toward Kimber.  He and Luke would handle Eric.  Jerry needed to
get to Kimber before she decided she’d never talk to him again.

He’d been mad at her.  With good reason.  But it
was time they worked things out like adults.

Why did it always take him so long to figure that
out?

“Kimber.”  He called to her as he hurried to
catch up.  Despite the fact she was quite a bit shorter than him, she could
move at a fast pace when she wanted to.  He didn’t want to run too fast because
it made him limp, but it was obvious she wasn’t going to cut him any slack.

When he finally caught up to her, she wouldn’t
look at him.  Instead, she bit her bottom lip and kept walking.

It was obvious she didn’t want to talk to him
right now.  He should have realized his prank would frighten her, and that it
was a totally juvenile thing to do.  Man, it had backfired.  Big time.  He
slowed, half tempted to give her time to cool down.  Then again, something told
him that would be a huge mistake.

“Wait,” he called again.  He stepped up his game,
grabbing her by the upper arm, forcing her to stop.  “Can you hang on just a
second?”

She met his gaze, the mascara puddled under her
eyes making her look pissed and pitiful at the same time.

Concern and regret ate at him.  “I’m sorry.”  He
pushed her bangs to the side of her forehead.  How did he explain this?  “I’ve
been on edge since I got back into town, but I shouldn’t have been such a jerk. 
I forgot you didn’t like water.”

“No big deal,” she said as she pulled from him.

That was a lie.  It was a damn big deal.  “Kimber,
please.”

She turned once again, vulnerability shadowing
her eyes.  A half-laugh laced with sarcasm slipped from her mouth.  “You know, I’ve
been trying to talk to you since you returned home.  But I’ve changed my mind. 
I really don’t want to talk to you right now.”  She paused, her wounded
emotions painted across her face.  “Maybe not ever again.”

That was the one thing he feared the most.  “You
don’t mean that.”

“Maybe I do.  Maybe I’ve been pining after a man
who’s been gone for too long.  Maybe Eric was right and time and distance have
taken too big of a toll after all.”

“No.”  He wished Eric would keep away from Kimber
and keep his fucking mouth shut.  “Please.  I’m really sorry.”  He shook his
head, trying to straighten his thoughts.  He couldn’t remember when things had
turned south between them.  He’d been struggling after his first close-up kill
and hadn’t emailed like he should have.  But then she’d backed off, too, and
the next thing he knew, he’d received her fatal email.  “I knew it would be
hard to come home and see you, but I never meant to come across as vindictive.”

“No.  I deserved it.”  Her words might have
seemed conciliatory except for the sorrow dripping from them.  A slight evening
breeze blew through town, and she ran her hands over the damp skin on her arms. 
“You deserved better.  I should have had faith in you.  I screwed up.”  She met
his gaze with resolve.  “But I’d hoped you’d give me a chance to show you that
I am better now.  That I’ve changed.”  She coughed.

He’d changed, too, and not for the better.  “Maybe
we both have.”  But she was still there talking to him, so maybe they had a
chance.  “You’re freezing,” he said as he unbuttoned his shirt and removed it.

Her gaze slipped to his bare chest, warming him
against the chill of the approaching evening.  She allowed him to slip the
shirt around her, and it took all of his restraint not to crush her against him
and tell her how much he missed her.

 “Can I drive you home?  I’d feel much better
talking if you weren’t shivering.”  Even if their time as a couple had passed,
they both had things that needed to be said before they could move on.

He was relieved, if still nervous, when she
nodded her consent.

*        *        *

Kimber’s house was in shadows when Jerry pulled
in front of it.  He opened the car door for her and held out a hand.  When she
latched onto his fingers, her touch warmed a cold and lonely spot he’d held
inside for far too long.  He kept hold of her hand as he walked her to her door,
unwilling to let go of her so soon.  The ember of anger simmering inside him faded
with each passing second.   Despite everything, he
wanted
to forgive
her.

“I always liked seeing you in my shirt,” he said
as they climbed the porch stairs.

She laughed, and it was a balm to his wounded
heart.  “Do you want to come in while I change?”

He wanted to say he’d help her remove her
clothes, but they were still on tender ground, and she might not appreciate his
joke.  “Sure.”

She flipped on the lights and let him enter
before she shut the door.  The house looked much as it had before he’d left. 
He wished he could say the same for him.

“I’ll be right back.”

It only took her a few minutes to switch from her
soaked clothes, to another pair of cutoff jeans and a light pink sweater that
hugged her curves like he wanted to.  She’d pulled her wet hair back into a
ponytail and removed the black smudges from beneath her eyes.

As she approached, he noticed she carried two
shirts in her hands.  “I always liked seeing you out of your shirt, you know.” 
She smiled after delivering a comeback to his previous comment.

His heart melted a little more.

“I’m sorry I got your shirt all wet, but I do
have another you could borrow.”  She held out a folded dark blue t-shirt, and
he took it.

 He shook it open, revealing the numbers of his
favorite racecar driver.  It appeared more worn from use than when he’d let her
take it.  “This is
my
shirt.”

“Not anymore.  If I let you borrow it, you have
to promise to give it back.”

Oh hell.  He was in deep shit.  He thought of her
wearing it with nothing but a pair of panties, the soft cotton rubbing against
her bare breasts.  Had she thought of him much while he’d been gone?  The wear
and tear of his shirt hinted she had.

He slipped it over his head, catching a whiff of
her perfume.  “It smells like a girl.”  And he loved that.

“That’s because it belongs to a girl.”  Her lips
turned up in the sassy smile he’d first fallen in love with.  “Take it or leave
it.”

He met her gaze and held it.  “I’ll take it.”

The laughter in her eyes turned serious.  Then
she blinked and looked away as though to avoid his discerning gaze.

Could he trust her again?  His heart pleaded yes,
but something in his head still held him back.

“Do you want to talk in here?”  She indicated the
couch.

He looked at his watch.  “I was kind of hoping we
could drive up to the ridge and watch the fireworks, if that won’t complicate
things too much.  We can talk on the way, and it’s been far too long since I’ve
watched fireworks burst over American soil.  I’ve missed it.”

“Of course.”  She snagged a folded blanket off the back
of the couch.  “We can sit on this.”

They hardly spoke a word on the drive.  Jerry wasn’t
quite sure where to start and apparently Kimber wasn’t either.

When they reached their destination, he pulled
his Camaro off the side of the road.  “I hope you don’t mind walking a little
bit.  This car’s not up for much four-wheeling.”

“I don’t mind.”  She grabbed her blanket as he
helped her exit the car.  He took a chance and reached for her hand again.  His
heart warmed another notch when she didn’t pull away.