Her Last Love (Small Town Hearts Trilogy #1) (17 page)

“I'm glad you're here. I've been trying to find something to do to occupy my mind, but nothing's working.” 

“Yeah, I've been doing the same.” 

“Can you stay awhile?” 

“As long as you need me to.” She gave him a small smile before reaching down to pick up her purse. Lynn took off her jacket, laid it over the arm of the nearby chair, set her purse on top of it. 

“Come on.” He took her hand and led her to the couch. When he sat, he pulled her down next to him to snuggle into his side. With a heartfelt sigh, he relaxed. “Much better.” 

He was half-laying on the couch, one leg stretched along the cushions, the other foot resting on the floor. Lynn lay curled against his side, head on his shoulder, hand on his chest, his arm around her. They lay for a few moments, just enjoying the nearness of each other. She leaned into him, drawing in his heat and scent. Here is what she'd been needing tonight, the closeness and comfort of someone she cared about, and who cared about her in return. 

“So.” Carter's voice rumbled under her ear. “Before everything went to hell this afternoon, how was your day?” 

“Excellent, actually. My boss pulled me into her office for my sixty day evaluation before we left today. It's standard procedure, apparently. Anyway, she said that I was doing an outstanding job and that she’s pleased with my performance so far.” 

“That's awesome. I knew you'd be good at that job as soon as you told me about it.” 

“It’s surprising, but I'm really liking it. I thought I would struggle more to adapt to a civilian job after working in a military office for so many years.” 

“When I got back and started driving for the mines, I was the same way. My job's okay, but it's very different from working aboard an aircraft carrier.” 

Lynn nodded, questions wanting to be asked laying on the tip of her tongue. After a few minutes of silence, she asked the most pressing one. 

“Carter?” 

“Yeah?” 

“How did it go over at the Murray's this evening?”  

“About as well as could be expected.” He sighed as he toyed with the ends of her hair. “I've known the Murrays for a lot of years, so it was hard. I stayed a while after the rest of the guys left, and I sat talking with Pat. That's Kyle's dad. Ruth had gone to lie down, even though it had taken a sleeping pill to get her there.” 

“I can't imagine how they must be feeling.” 

“Crushed. Kyle was their only child.” 

“I know. Michael told me after we got the news.” 

“Pat and I sat in the kitchen, talking and drinking coffee. They’ll make the arrangements in the morning.” Carter sighed again, ran a hand over his face before letting out a soft, short laugh.. “Then, somehow, we got to talking about when Kyle and I were kids. The things that man remembers.” 

“Like what?” 

“Oh, like the time we climbed the tree in their backyard. We must have been... eight, maybe nine. We made it up the tree just fine. It was the trip down that gave us a few problems. We got stuck in that tree for almost an hour once we saw how high up off the ground that bottom branch really was. We just sat there until Pat came looking for us. He had to get the ladder from the garage so we could make it the rest of the way down.” 

Lynn chuckled as she pictured two young boys sitting on a thick branch, feet dangling, waiting to be rescued. 

"We were always finding something to get into, the two of us," he recalled fondly. "Then we got to high school and teamed up with Mike and Tony. Things got a little crazy then." 

"How so?" 

"Oh, like the time when we drag raced up and down the old flats." He referred to a wide, abandoned stretch of dirt road on the outskirts of town. "Or when we would go shopping cart racing in the parking lot of the strip mall downtown late at night." 

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what exactly is shopping cart racing?" 

"I'm not sure I should tell you," he chuckled. "But basically, we would find two or three shopping carts that had been left out after the stores closed. We'd tie a shopping cart to the back of somebody's car or truck. One person would ride in each cart, and someone would drive, pulling the carts so the riders raced each other." 

"Oh, good grief." Lynn shook her head at the mental image his story had created in her mind. 

"Yeah, Kyle was the best at it, and always had the most fun, but I think Michael came up with the idea for that one." 

"Sounds like something he would do." Lynn paused, then asked, "Do me a favor?" 

"Sure." 

"Don't tell the boys about that particular pastime until they're grown? I have the feeling they'll come up with enough scary ideas on their own." 

"You're probably right." He was quiet for a minute, then spoke again in a low voice. "Kyle is the reason you and I met. Did I ever tell you that?" 

"No, you never told me that." She tilted her head back to study his face. He seemed far off as if he had gone back to that day in his mind. 

"I'll never forget the day he told me about you. You and I were at work, and he had gone through your department on his way to come see me in mine. His first words to me were 'who is the redhead working over in hardware?'. When I told him I didn't know who he was talking about, he made me take my break and dragged me over to where we could see... well, you. You were mixing paint and chatting with the customers while they waited. Kyle nudged me and told me then I was lucky he had a girlfriend. Because he would totally ask you out and beat me to it. When I told him I wasn’t sure if I would ask you out, he called me an idiot." 

"So that's when the flirting started." 

"Of course. I couldn't let him be right." 

"Who could have known that day would be the start of something that would change our lives forever?" 

"Not me. At least not right then. After our first date, well... that's another story." 

Lynn shifted, then curled back into Carter's side. Memories of various dates they'd gone on, too many to count, ran through her head. 

"How many dates do you think we went on when we were together before?" 

"Wow. A lot." Carter puffed a breath out as he considered. "I never realized just how many before now." 

"Which would you say was your favorite?" 

"The day we spent at Holiday World, just the two of us. Hands down. That day was a blast. You?" 

"I'd have to say the same. It was a great day, away from everyone and everything. Just us, hanging out together and having fun." Lynn stopped for a minute, thinking. "I think I still have the pictures somewhere of that day. I'll have to see if I can dig them up again." 

"Let me know if you find them. I'd like to see them." 

"If I find them, I'll make copies." 

Carter nodded, and the two of them sat in silence again, reminiscing. The clock ticked away the seconds, then gonged as it reached the top of the hour. The last of the notes faded, and the ticking took over again.   

"Do you remember that night I took you to the lake?" Carter asked, breaking the quiet.  

"A night at the lake? We went to the lake so many times, Carter. Remind me."  

"Well, we had spent some time with my dad and his family. As a matter of fact I think it was the first time you met them. Anyway, we had decided that enough was enough, and it was time to get away. Remember that?"  

"Oh, God, yes. I remember. I'm sorry, but your dad creeped me out so much! There was something about him, but I was very uneasy. I hated when you left the room, it was like losing my lifeline. I was so glad when you asked if I was ready to go. I don't think I could've said yes fast enough."  

Carter squeezed her a little closer, just a small way to reassure her he understood, before relaxing his grip again.  

"Yeah, I could see it in your eyes, and could tell it was only a matter of time before the redhead in you came out and you said not-so-nice things. So, I figured it was time to go, and as we were driving down the road, I got this idea to go the pier at Lake PeeWee. Thought it might be good to have a little breather out in the air."  

"Ah, yes. It's all coming back to me. That part of the night was perfect. I remember the sky being so dark and clear, we could have counted stars for hours. And the moon! So big and bright. It bounced light off the water so we saw every ripple when the breeze blew." Lynn pulled back, curling her arm to lay it on his chest, resting her jaw on it so she could look up at Carter. "I remember sitting there, on the end of the pier, thinking how romantic it was. How lucky I was to have a guy who could give me a little romance."  

Carter reached up, looking into her eyes as he gently brushed her auburn hair back from her face with calloused fingers. She closed her eyes at the sensations, the awareness, that the touch of his fingertips on her skin gave her. She opened her eyes when he spoke again.  

"Do you know what else I remember from that night?" he murmured.  

"What's that?"  

"That this is how I slid my hands under your hair to cup your face." He demonstrated, used his thumbs to caress her cheeks. "And how I kissed you in that moonlight, under those stars. Like I'm going to kiss you now."  

11

With those words, he gently pressed his lips to hers, his thumbs caressing the sides of her face. At her sigh, he changed the angle, the pressure of the kiss, using his tongue to coax her lips open to sample her flavor. She met his tongue with the tip of hers, then drawing back just enough to nip at his bottom lip with her teeth. From there, it became a competition to see who could drive the other crazy the fastest. Her hands, fisted along his ribs, grabbed the soft fabric of his shirt as he pulled her to lay on top of him. 

His heart thundered against hers as she settled into a comfortable spot, her heart pounding as hard as his. Carter gripped the back of her thigh with one hand and tugged as he plunged the other into her hair to hold her in place while he thoroughly kissed her. She ran her hand along the hem of his shirt, skimming her fingers along the skin above the band of his jeans. She skimmed her palm over abs that became rock-hard as she lightly touched them. Giddy that she could make him feel as he was making her feel, she continued to move her hand upward over warm, smooth skin until she reached his pecs, and then worked her way back down again. Teasing touches, light scrapes of her fingernails had him letting out a slight hiss and pulling back from the kiss to look her in the eye. 

"That's not playing fair."

"I know." She grinned. "But that's also not the way you kissed me then, either. So I think we're even." 

"Oh, not even close." He slid out from under her to sit up. She moved off of him to sit beside him. That was all he needed to stand up, scoop an arm under her knees, and pluck her up from the couch. 

"My, my, aren't we strong?" she said in her best southern belle as she fluttered her lashes at him. "And where might we be going?" 

"Well, now ma'am," he replied in kind with an exaggerated, deep-south gentleman's drawl. "I do believe that we shall retire to the master bedchambers, if the lady doesn't object." 

"Oh, no." She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "No objections whatsoever." 

He kissed her again as he made his way down the narrow hallway. Careful not to hit body parts on the door frame, he stepped into his room and set her on her feet. 

Carter’s room was sparse in decorations, but still had his stamp on it at every turn. The walls were a dark tan, the color of a dark coffee heavy with creamer, and dotted with large pictures of the places he'd traveled, each encased in a thick black frame. The closet filled most of the wall to her right, its bi-fold doors opened a fraction to show her peeks of his different shirts lined up on plastic hangers. The dresser, its dark wooden surface matching that of the bed's headboard, was littered with pictures of his boys, a pocket knife, his wallet, and a scattering of change. A king size bed, with its navy blue comforter tugged neatly into place, dominated the room. 

"It's not much," he started, looking around. 

"Carter." She placed a hand along his jaw, ran her fingertips of the day's worth of dark stubble. "As long as you're here with me, it's perfect." She slid her hand to the back of his neck, the ends of his hair tickling the backs of her fingers as she pulled him down to kiss her. 

"Take me to bed," she whispered against his mouth. 

Those words broke his restraint. He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and yanked her close, fisted a hand in her hair. Tongues battled for dominance, the rough kiss causing her lips to feel wonderfully assaulted. Hearts were pounding; breathing was quick, shallow attempts for air. When Lynn reached for the hem of his shirt and began to tug it off, Carter pulled back and put his hands on her wrists. She looked up at him in confusion, her ivory face flushed, lips swollen, eyes wide. 

“No, I don’t want to stop.” His breathing was labored as he reassured her. “Just want to slow it down a little, make it worth taking a little extra time.” Once again, he smoothed her hair back, cupped her jaw in his palm, and began languidly kissing various parts of her face. Soft, tingling kisses to the eyelids that had fluttered close at his touch, trailing pecks down her temple to her cheek, a whisper soft brush of the lips at the corner of her mouth. All the while, Carter had set the two of them into a slow sway that had them inching towards the edge of the big bed. Lynn felt the comforter brush the side of her leg, the pressure of the mattress. As she wound her arms around his neck, Carter lowered them both in slow motion, until they were lying side by side on the firm surface. He slid his knee between her legs while grabbing behind her knee to pull her closer. The kissing intensified, and Carter's hand moved from her knee to the sensitive skin of her back just above her jeans. His touch was feather light as his hand worked its way around to her side to graze her breast, drawing a low moan from Lynn. 

To give him better access, Lynn nudged Carter onto his back to straddle him. The feel of him under her created a myriad of thrills throughout her body. The hands that now gripped her hips were gentle while still being strong. Riding the high she was feeling, she tugged at his shirt once more, helped him pull it up and over his head before leaning down to kiss him again. God, she wanted to kiss him everywhere... his tan neck, his broad chest, the ridges of his abs. 

Her kisses, her touch, were slow torture for Carter. He was doing everything he could to keep things slow and steady, but it was an exercise in restraint. The peach scent of her hair tickled his nose as she kissed and caressed his chest. That, alone, was almost enough to undo him. He moved his hands up the smoothness of her back and down again, wanting to touch everything he could reach. Wanted to see all of her, in all her glory. He pushed her back just enough so he could whip her shirt off, followed by her lacy bra. He took a moment to take her all in; her auburn hair flowed around her shoulders, wild from his hands. Her skin was like ivory, so pale and flawless and pure. The sight of her left him breathless and filled him with the single thought of wanting her. 

"God, you're beautiful," he whispered in a reverent tone, before rolling them over so that their positions reversed. In an instant, he filled his hands with her, gently squeezing, before running his fingers along her collarbone, her neck, her shoulders. Carter echoed the trail of kisses she had left on him, making a detour of his own now and then. Her hands in his hair, he ran his tongue around her navel with light flicks, causing her to gasp and arch her back in response. As he continued to spread wet, open-mouthed kisses across her abdomen, he flicked open the button of her jeans. 

Lynn watched as he slid off the bed to stand, pulled her jeans and panties down her legs and onto the floor where the rest of his own clothes soon joined them. Her eyes never left his as he kneeled between her legs, placed his elbows on either side of her shoulders, and brought his face to hers. As her eyes drifted closed, she felt his weight as he settled in, his hands in her hair as he kissed her. Her heart felt as though it would pound out of her chest. She ran a foot along his leg, her hands roaming over the muscles of his firm butt. She arched again when his kisses made their way to her breast, his hand to her thigh. The pressure was building to the breaking point. 

"Carter," she whimpered. "I don't know how much longer I can wait. Please. Now." She arched against him, wrapped her legs around his waist. 

He pulled back until they were face-to-face again, his hands tangled in her hair as he cupped the top of her head. He pressed his lower body against hers, causing them to both moan. 

"Open your eyes, Lynn. I want to see you when I take you. And I want you to see me when I do." 

When her long lashes lifted, revealing wide hazel eyes blurry with passion, he slid into her, reveling in her gasps and moans, as he took them both over the edge of sanity. 

* * *
 

The next morning brought with it bright rays of sunshine slanting through the blinds and an empty space next to Lynn on the bed. They had dragged each other to the bed the night before, and each had taken turns throughout the night reaching for the other. She ran a hand over the pillow where Carter's head had rested; the smooth indent of pillow was cold to her touch, telling her that Carter had been up and about for quite some time already. She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her and looking around the room. There was no sign of Carter to be seen but the smell of coffee brewing downstairs told her he was still in the house. Sure enough, she could hear his faint footsteps coming down the hall towards the room, and he came through the door bearing a tray loaded with two mugs of coffee, and a plate of fresh fruit and toast.  

"Good morning." He smiled, as he came into the room and realized that she was awake. "Got a little something here for you. I would've gotten you croissants, but the bakery's not open yet." 

"Carter, you didn't have to do this. I would've been fine with just coffee, and you didn't even have to do that." What sight he was though, bringing breakfast to bed wearing nothing but his boxers, all those muscles on display. 

"I know," he replied, "but I was up early and I wanted to do something nice for you. I remember you rarely like eating as soon as you wake up, but I hope you're a little hungry at least." He sat down on the bed, placing the tray on the covers in the space between their legs, and, careful not to knock over the coffee leaned over to give her a kiss. Carter leaned back, swung his legs onto the bed and, coffee in hand, leaned back against the headboard. 

"So, what do you and the family have planned for Thanksgiving? I know you guys used to do the big get-together with the extended family." 

"Still do." She confirmed, nodding as she reached for her coffee. "It's gotten bigger as the cousins have gotten older, and they've almost all gotten married, had a kid or two." She took a sip of her coffee, then another. "I'm glad you mentioned it, though. I talked to my mom yesterday, and she told me to tell you that if you don't have any plans for Thanksgiving dinner, and want to bring the boys, that you are all more than welcome." 

"We are planning on doing dinner at the house, just the three of us. My mom almost always joins us, but she and her fellow travel agent friends have the chance to take a trip, so that's where she'll be. And I have to admit, trying to do a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the boys - because that's what they'll expect, and no less - scares the bejeezus out of me." 

"Is that a yes, you'll come?" she asked, laughing. 

"That's an 'I absolutely accept.’”  

"Good." She nodded, smiling. "I'll let her know to expect a few more people." 

"Should I bring anything? My guys are little eating machines, so I feel I need to." 

"She'll tell you no, because that's how she is, but it never hurts to have an extra pie." 

"Pie it is, then. When you talk to her, please tell her thank you for thinking of us." He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before settling back against the headboard again. 

"Speaking of plans," he started, taking a quick sip from his now half-full cup. "What are your plans for today?" 

"Nothing much. Just planning on hanging out at the house, reading, catching up on some things that need to be done. You know, puttering." She laughed.  

"Maybe you can putter another time and spend the day with me and the boys?"  

"Well," she began, going through her to-do list. It only took a matter of seconds for her to conclude that every blessed thing on it could wait until another day. "Sure, I'd love to spend the afternoon with you guys. What are the plans for the day?" 

"I told the boys we'd go to Bounce Around," he told her, referring to the place where kids could play on inflatables. "Have lunch, maybe some mini golf."  

"Sounds like fun." 

"Great. They'll be thrilled. They've been asking when they'll get to see you again." 

"Really?" Lynn's heart melted a little at the thought.  

"Yeah. I think they like hanging out with you." 

"That's pretty sweet."  

"Yeah, I taught them well." He winked at her before glancing over at the clock. Noticing the time, he turned back to her. "I have to be over there to pick them up from Hillary's before long. How about I drop you off at your house, so you can get changed and all that, then I'll pick you up on the way back through?" 

"Um, sounds good." 

"I'd take you with me." He tipped her chin up with his finger so they were eye-to-eye. "But given I have to go to Hillary's, I'm afraid of the scene she'll cause in front of the boys if she sees you with me to come and get them. And seeing you at her house? She'd go ballistic." 

"I understand." 

"You're sure?" 

"Positive," she replied, a small smile on her face. "I wish it didn't have to be that way with her, but I understand." 

"Okay then." He patted her leg as he slid off the bed. "Let's throw some clothes on and I’ll go get my hooligans." 

* * *
 

All thoughts of Hillary vanished the moment Lynn climbed into the truck after Carter had picked up the boys. They were so excited about their day, and that she was joining them for it. The boys chattered all the way to Bounce Around; when they weren't asking Carter and Lynn multiple questions about everything, they were chattering at each other. By the time they were pulling into the parking lot, Lynn's ears were ringing.