Josie Day Is Coming Home (14 page)

Chapter Eight

For the fourth time since Josie had left the main house, one
of her crutches sank in the grass and got stuck. Expertly shifting her weight
to the opposite side, she steadied herself. She pulled. The crutch popped free,
its rubber tip coated with mud and a few strands of Bermuda. It was a good
thing she’d had a little practice with these things in the past. Maneuvering in
them was no problem for her.

She raised her head and got her bearings. Behind her lay the
house. Turning to view it from here, Josie could almost imagine the grandeur it
must have possessed once, in its golden age. She sighed, savoring the thought.

Well, okay—she could picture it if she squinted. But it was
still there someplace. She was sure. Which was part of the reason she was still
here and not trying to drag her stuff back to her convertible.

She looked around some more. To the sides, weedy lawn
greeted her, bordered with pine trees and the occasional scrub oak. To the
front, the squared-off carriage house stood—her destination. She set off again.

Male laughter burst into the stillness.

Huh? That didn’t sound like Luke. She hadn’t expected him to
be here working so early, either. Frowning, Josie paused.

An instant later, someone ran from the carriage house. He
came across the weeds straight toward her. She had just enough time to register
a man in a cartoon T-shirt, baggy jeans, and wild hair. She didn’t recognize
him. But she did recognize Luke in hot pursuit.

He had to be chasing the intruder for a reason. It didn’t
look as though he was going to catch up, either.

Josie steadied herself. This morning, she’d decided to stay
at Blue Moon—which made this her new home. She was finished being pushed
around. Whoever this guy was, she was ready for him. She stuck out her crutch.

Too late, the man saw it. His eyes widened.
“Whoa!”

He landed with a thud.

Josie raised her crutch, getting ready for a second burst of
action. After all, there was no telling how fast a runner Luke really was. He
might not get here in time. Tensed, she waited. At her feet, the man rolled
over on the grass.

He’d only tripped. She was going to have to whack him.

“Wait!” Luke yelled.

Good. She didn’t really want to whack him.

Luke grabbed the man by the shirt. Yelling something, he
hauled him up. They tussled. Uh-oh. Judging by the look in Luke’s eyes, he’d
tangled with this guy before. Judging by the goggle-eyed look on the man’s
face, he knew what was coming to him. It probably
wasn’t
a nice cozy
hug.

Josie crutched herself backward, staring. She wished she’d
brought her cell phone. But she’d only been setting out on a tour of those
outbuildings Luke had mentioned yesterday. She hadn’t expected to need to dial
911 on the way.

On the other hand, Luke looked kind of crazy. He was
babbling something about Aqua Velva.

“Hang on. Don’t hit him!” Warily, she held up both
hands, wanting to stop the impending fight but knowing better than to actually
insert herself in the middle of it. “I’ll go inside and call 911. You stay
here and hold him.”

Yeah, that was it. She was a woman with a plan. Feeling
proud of herself for helping apprehend the intruder—and helping prevent a
violent, action-movie-style fistfight—Josie turned around. She adjusted her
crutches, preparing for action.

“Hit me?” the man asked, scoffing.

“Hit him?” Luke asked, cheering up.

Clearly, the idea of hitting hadn’t occurred to either of
them.

Confused, Josie turned again. Something was going on here.
She glanced at Luke. “You weren’t going to hit him?”

“Nah. I’d say you did a pretty good job of that
already.” He glanced approvingly at her crutch. “Nice work. When in
doubt about the crazy guy headed your way, just whack him.”

“I didn’t whack him. I tripped him. There’s a
difference.”

“Yeah. Semantics.”

“It’s not ‘semantics.’” Affronted, Josie raised
her chin. “It’s a whole different thing. You’re making me out to be some kind
of bully, and I’m not.”

“I’ll bet TJ here would disagree. Right, TJ?”

“I landed on something vital,” the man muttered,
one hand on his forehead. “I think I have a concussion.”

“Vital?” Luke asked. “You landed on your
ass.”

They argued for a minute—in remarkably good spirits, given
the situation. Josie couldn’t listen.

“TJ?” she repeated. Uh-oh. “TJ? You
know
him?”

They both looked at her.

Luke nodded. “Yeah.”

TJ nodded. “Yeah.”

They went back to bickering—in that idiotic way men had of
relating to each other by slinging insults, swearing, and grinning like goons.

Sheesh. There was no help for it. Somebody was going to have
to act like an adult here. Josie put her thumb and forefinger in her mouth and
issued her standard whistle.

They both gawked at her, looking puzzled.

“Update, please,” she said.

“Right.” Luke released his grip on TJ.
“Josie, this is TJ. Championship crybaby—”

“Arrogant prick,” TJ muttered, his dark look aimed
squarely at Luke.

“—and a friend of mine from L.A. TJ, Josie.”

“Charmed, I’m sure,” TJ said, smoothing a
fist-sized wrinkle from the shoulder of his T-shirt. He summoned up a grin.
“Next time, let’s watch out for the knees, okay?”

Despite his smile, Josie was filled with remorse. She
levered herself closer on her crutches. Now that TJ wasn’t running like a
lunatic, he looked like a pretty ordinary guy. Or more accurately, like a
pierced, gelled, and cartoonified twenty-five-year-old man-child.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Really. I thought you
were one of the teenagers Luke told me about.” She glanced at Luke to
validate her story. He offered a brief nod. “The ones who come here to
vandalize the place.”

Awkwardly, she patted TJ on the shoulder. He felt nearly as
solid as Luke—which explained the
thud
he’d made when he went down. The
realization made her feel twice as bad.

“I guess my self-defense instincts took over.” She
indicated her crutch. “I took a class last year. I hope you’re okay.”

TJ grunted. He rubbed his shin. “Remind me not to meet
you in a dark alley.”

“Yeah,” Luke agreed. “I’m pretty sure she
could take you.”

Josie whirled on him. “I thought he was stealing
something from the carriage house! I swear I did.”

“That’s what I’m here for. I would have caught
him.”

She didn’t buy it. “Says you. He was miles ahead of
you.”

“Miles? Try two feet.”

“Dude, she’s right. It was
miles
.” TJ
grinned.

Luke shot him an aggravated look.

“I like you.” Josie patted TJ’s shoulder again,
then looked him up and down to assess his injuries. Her tour of the
outbuildings could wait, she decided. “I’m really sorry about tripping
you. Come on. Let’s go inside and get you an ice pack. We’ve got
tons
of
frozen peas.”

They started toward the house.

“Tons?” Luke trailed them, sounding aggrieved.
“Try four bags.”

“Dude.” At her side, TJ tossed back a wise guy’s
grin. “The lady’s always right.”

“We’re going to get along great, TJ,” Josie said.
“I can tell already.”

Josie made her way to the refrigerator in Blue Moon’s
decrepit kitchen. She felt keenly aware that she was technically entertaining a
guest—TJ—and the place was a wreck. In the light of day, the room looked even
worse than she remembered. Sure, the kitchen had all the basic
amenities—electricity, plumbing, and backup Ding Dongs—but it lacked a certain
charm. It also lacked countertops that weren’t cracked, cabinets that possessed
doors, and a floor that didn’t look like a fugitive from the grime police.

Oh, well. It wouldn’t be this way for long. Not if Josie had
anything to say about it. Forcing herself to look on the bright side, she
tucked a bag of frozen peas beneath her arm. She nudged the freezer door shut
with her shoulder, then turned.

Luke was there.

If possible, he looked even better than he had
yesterday—despite his whisker stubble, carefree wrinkled T-shirt, and old
jeans. Frankly, those things only added to his bad-boy appeal. And they were
all temporary. Changeable. The essentials were inherent—six-feet-whatever of
capable muscles, masculine intensity, and unbridled sex appeal.

She stifled a sigh—of, she had to admit, unbridled lust.

“We need to talk,” he said.

That
put a damper on her baser instincts. “Don’t
you think it’s too soon in our relationship for a ‘talk’?”

“I’m serious.” He took the peas.

“Hey! I need those to give to TJ.” She gestured
toward him. He sat in one of the mismatched chairs at the scrubbed pine
butler’s table, examining his knee.

“Okay.” Luke raised his arm like a quarterback.
The bag of peas sailed through the air.

“Thanks, dude!”

“There. It’s taken care of.”

Josie cast a worried glance at TJ. He seemed happy.

“All right,” she said. “What’s on your
mind?”

In answer, Luke put his hand on her arm. He helped her to
the hallway where they could have some privacy, taking time for her
crutch-using progress. Judging by his expression, this was serious. Once they
were out of sight of the kitchen, he backed her against the wainscoting.

Josie glanced up at him curiously.

“Comfortable?”

“Ummm.” She adjusted her crutches, wondering what
was up. “I guess so.”

“Then here’s what’s on my mind,” Luke said, and
lowered his mouth to hers.

Josie gave a little yelp of surprise. This wasn’t smart, it
wasn’t polite, it wasn’t…it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. At the
realization, she melted. She just couldn’t help it. The thrill of kissing Luke
overrode every other consideration—even the wainscoting gouging her butt.

Somehow, Luke’s kiss drove every practical thought out of
her head. All she could think about were his talented hands, gliding from her
hips to her rib cage. All she could sense was the hard-bodied length of him.
All she could want was…
this
. This, for a really long time.

Just as it had last night, Luke’s kiss started out slow. It
built to a seductive middle, ended on a passionate note, and promised lots more
to come. Caught up in it, Josie curled her fingers in his T-shirt and just held
on. His hand cupped the back of her head, his hip pressed her against the wall,
his warmth and strength surrounded her. She loved that he was big enough to
stand up to her height (which was tall), tough enough to silence her protests
(which were few), and gentle enough to make her yearn for even more…more,
more, more.

With an inner shrug, Josie surrendered completely. She’d
always been impulsive. Sometimes that quality had its advantages. Hanging on to
Luke for leverage, she threw herself into kissing him. The more the merrier.
The more the better? She couldn’t remember that saying right now and she didn’t
much care.

“I’ve wanted to do that since last night,” Luke
said, coming up for air.

Feeling equally breathless, Josie sucked in a gulp of oxygen.
“Me, t—”

But then he was kissing her again, cutting off her words as
though he simply couldn’t resist her, and Josie couldn’t help but go along for
the ride. She was rewarded with an even deeper kiss, an even more inventive,
more sensual, more amazing kiss than before. Enthusiastically, she kissed him
back.

She and Luke fit together perfectly, with none of the
awkward head-turning or nose-bumping that sometimes doomed otherwise good
kisses. They were meant to do this. Obviously. Josie wasn’t a woman who
believed in fighting fate. She decided it that instant. She also decided she
wanted more.

Unfortunately, Luke seemed wedded to his “take it
slow” philosophy. He ended the kiss, then leaned back just enough that
their foreheads touched. His smile felt endearing, sexy…intimate.

“Wow,” she breathed. “Who says men don’t know
how to communicate?”

“I’m available for a good conversation anytime. Day or
night. Discussion, chitchat, idle gossip…you name it.”

“I don’t usually talk this much with men I’ve just
met.”

“I’m the exception to the rule.” His grin widened
in a spectacularly macho way. “Why fight it?”

Josie didn’t want to. She’d never felt this way about any
man, especially not this quickly. Something about Luke just seemed to…
fit
with her. She was glad she hadn’t left town yesterday. Fighting her impulsive
instincts—every one of which had been screaming for her to bail out of
Donovan’s Corner—hadn’t come naturally. But she’d done it.

Well, she’d done it with a little “kidnapping”
help from Luke. But she deserved some of the credit, too. No one who knew her
would have believed she’d give a second thought to anything. Maybe there was
something to be said for not making snap decisions after all.

“Nice skirt,” Luke said, drawing her attention.

He lowered his hand to the hem of her pink terry cloth mini.
A look of unadulterated masculine appreciation lit his face. Her skirt might as
well have been transparent—he couldn’t possibly have looked any happier to see
her in it.

“It’s not as immodest as it seems. The panties
match.”

Okay, she was wrong. He
could
look happier to see her
in it.

“I mean they’re the kind that are designed to be seen.
Pink boy-cut shorts.”

Luke groaned. “You’re killing me.” He slid his
finger along her hemline, tracing it to the back of her skirt. “I’ll bet
you don’t look anything like a boy in this, no matter what kind of shorts
you’re wearing.”

She definitely
felt
all woman. Especially with his
heavy-lidded gaze traveling up and down her body like that, making her feel all
tingly and zingy and wonderful. But then Josie remembered what had been bugging
her about seeing Luke this morning, and that good feeling faded a little.