Kaleb (7 page)

“She’s
fine.” Her tone was clipped, but V half-smiled before she said, “I
really
didn’t come over to talk about that. So, how’d it go with Kaleb the other
night?”

Should
she tell V about what happened then or even today? Zoey wasn’t quite sure what
was going on, but sometime in the last week there had been a shift in her
relationship with Kaleb and the incredible friendship they’d established had
morphed into something intensely complicated. At least in the way Zoey felt for
the man.

“It
was weird.” Zoey said, watching V pour more wine into her own glass. Apparently
her statement startled V because she nearly knocked her glass over. With quick
reflexes, V saved Zoey’s carpet from a disaster before turning her attention on
her once more.

“Weird how?”
There was a sincere interest in V’s eyes, and Zoey decided she had to share
with someone.

“I
don’t know. We went to dinner, but something seemed off that night. Maybe it
was your fault with the whole fantasizing about kissing him bit, but for some
reason, that’s all I could think about.”

V
laughed before leaning back into the couch, getting comfortable. “I don’t think
I’m the one who put that idea in your head. You know as well as I do that you’ve
been fantasizing about that man for as long as you’ve known him.”

“Not
like that.” Zoey would admit to fantasies, but never had they consumed her like
that. She’d been overwhelmed by his intensity that night, as well as his sexy
good looks and his scrumptious smell, and well... him. “He kissed me.”

“Holy hell!”
V leaned forward, this time not nearly as lucky because she sloshed red wine on
the carpet. “No, don’t get up.” V exclaimed as she sat her glass on the table
and rushed to the kitchen. Her voice came from the other room, “You better tell
me about that kiss, you hear me?”

Zoey
chuckled. She still relived that kiss and the way it felt to have Kaleb’s hands
on her, even if
he  kept
them on her face, never
venturing to where she would’ve preferred to have them. In the past, they
might’ve danced a time or two when they went out with others, but she’d never
felt the possessiveness in his touch the way she did today.

“Ummm...
Still here.
Waiting.”
V
rattled as she wiped up the spill with cleaner and a towel.

“It
was the best kiss I’ve ever had.” Zoey blurted. “There, is that what you wanted
to hear?”

“Of
course it is.” V beamed. “And I know you’re not lying because you still haven’t
wiped that damn goofy grin off your face.”

No.
No, she hadn’t. And Zoey was beginning to think that grin was permanent.

♀♂

The
next morning, Zoey crawled out of bed wishing like hell she hadn’t scheduled
any house cleanings on a Saturday. Unfortunately, she and V were so overloaded,
they hadn’t had a choice, and now she had about fifteen minutes to get ready,
grab her coffee, and head out the door, or she’d be late.

Without
a second to spare, Zoey rushed through the house, pulling on her clothes while
waiting for her coffee to brew, then brushing her teeth and running a brush
through her unruly curly hair. Pulling it back in a ponytail, she managed to
look presentable enough to clean houses for the day. After one last stop at the
medicine cabinet for a couple of aspirin to ward off the wine hangover she
could feel looming, Zoey was on her way.

By
the time she was in her truck, she was feeling somewhat more human, and that
damn grin from the night before had returned. With the music up loud, she
rolled down the windows and drove as fast as she dared to Vanessa’s to pick her
up.

Thankfully
V was one of those women who insisted on being early. Sometimes that grated on
Zoey’s nerves, but that was only because she always found herself running late.

“Are
you glowing?” V laughed when she climbed into the truck. “You are! Oh my
goodness. Are you still thinking about kissing Kaleb?”

Yes,
damn it, Zoey was still thinking about it. Kaleb Walker had scorched her brain
cells with his soul stealing kisses, and she’d thought of little else ever
since.

“You’re
in love, aren’t you?” Vanessa crooned. “Zoey and Kaleb sittin’ in a tree...”

Zoey
turned up the radio, hoping to drown V out, grinning as she did. There was no
stopping Vanessa when she got started, and by the end of the day Zoey would
likely be on the verge of throttling her closest friend.

Figuring
there was no stopping her, Zoey didn’t even try. She had to focus on getting
the two appointments out of the way so she could get home. She had a party to
get ready for, and unlike any other party she had been invited to, Zoey was a
little nervous about this one. After what transpired yesterday, there was a
very real chance something might just happen between her and Kaleb. Despite her
fantasies, Zoey never seriously considered the real possibility, but now...
Well, now she had her fingers crossed.

In
fact, at twenty two, she’d all but given up hope that anything would happen
between her and her best friend Kaleb, and ended up marrying Jason Tribbons.
Their marriage lasted for five not so long years until one day Jason decided
he’d had enough.

Just
like that.

That
was an incredibly difficult time for Zoey because yes, she had been in love
with Jason. Yes, she thought she would spend the rest of her life with him,
having babies and growing old together. According to Jason, that wasn’t his
plan. He wanted to get out of their little town, explore the world, live life
to its fullest.

Without her.

So,
she’d done what Zoey was famous for. She conceded; never arguing, never begging
him to stay.

He
had packed up his things and disappeared from her life for good. She hadn’t
heard from him again.
At all.
As though the five years
they’d spent together never actually happened. Not hearing from him was
strange, but probably a good thing, as well. Rumors in their small town ran
rampant, and if he’d have stayed, Zoey wasn’t so sure she could’ve lived each
day hearing how great his life was without her.

That
was five years ago. Since then, Zoey lost her mother and was now taking care of
her ailing father while managing her booming cleaning service. After the first
year or so after her and Jason divorced and after the pain from losing her
beloved mother eased, Zoey had set forth on a new path.

No
longer was she the passive woman expecting life to come to her. She was making
her own path, exploring her own interests, and loving every minute of it. Her
business was thriving, and she was enjoying what time she had with her ornery,
yet loveable, father. With no expectations, she found each day was much more
promising by the fact that she didn’t expect anything from anyone. She’d become
independently successful and opposite from Jason, Zoey loved her small town.

The
only thing lacking was her sex life, but if she was lucky, that might all be
changing with Kaleb Walker. And at her age, rumored to be nearing her sexual
prime, Zoey wasn’t going to put any limits on what might happen between them
either.

For
the first time in her life, she wasn’t going to take a backseat. She was going
to go after what she wanted, and now, more than ever, she knew exactly what
that was.

♂♀

It
was six o’clock on Saturday evening when Kaleb finally managed to sneak out of
the office and head to his small cabin located on the Walker ranch. Each of his
brothers had their own except Brendon and Braydon, who shared the largest of
the six.

Lorrie
Walker, their very overprotective mother, insisted years ago that her boys
needed to stay close to home. Despite the fact that the main house was large
enough to hold every one of them comfortably, she knew very well her boys
weren’t at all excited about living at home. It wasn’t easy living in a house
with nine people, no matter how spacious it was.

Kaleb
had been the first to insist on moving out, which prompted Lorrie and Curtis
Walker to come up with a plan if they expected the boys to stay close to home.
That’s when Lorrie told her husband that it was time to start building. And
that they did.

Six
decent sized cabins were built on the Walker Ranch, scattered randomly about on
various sections so her boys would be close, but still have the privacy they
needed. That was his mother for you. If she had a say in the matter, they would
all live right there on the ranch for the rest of their lives.

Kaleb
didn’t see that happening, but for now, none of his brothers had an issue with
it. Well, except maybe Sawyer. But then again, Sawyer was rarely home,
apparently spending more time with his various women than he did anywhere else.

Since
their old man wasn’t the type to let them sit by and have things handed to
them, he insisted they were going to put in some blood, sweat and tears.
Which they did.

Bucket
loads.

Their
hard work resulted in six remarkably different structures, varying from the
typical log cabin, to the eclectic glass monstrosity that Ethan had designed
himself. Thankfully Kaleb didn’t have to see Ethan’s place from his.

Kaleb’s
tastes were the opposite of Ethan’s, running more toward the typical western
with strong oak and rustic iron as the main decor. It was home, plain and
simple. He slept there, he ate there from time to time, but most of all, it was
his place to get away when it all became too much to handle.

Spending
days on end with one’s brothers tended to wear on you after a while.
Especially when there were a total of seven, each very different
from the other.
When they had decided to go into business together,
they’d sealed their fate and invariably cemented the fact that they would rarely
get a moments peace.

It
was all worth it though. With Walker Demolition taking off, each of them was
immersed in what they loved to do the most. Thankfully a company as complex as
theirs required each of their different talents, so no one had been pushed into
doing anything they didn’t want to do. With more changes in the works
,  thanks
to Travis’ resort, they were all going to be
just as busy doing more than one job at a time.

Travis,
the oldest at thirty five was the money man for Walker Demolition and the man
behind the resort dream. He was moody and cranky most of the time, but he was
the sole reason they were making money. He guarded the accounts with his life,
ensuring every penny was accounted for and governing exactly how they spent it.
He was also the man who had found some investors from Dallas interested in
backing the resort.

Then
there was Sawyer, the second oldest at thirty three, although he didn’t act a
day over twenty one. When it came to his job – sales – he was top notch and no
one held a candle to the man when it came to wheeling and dealing and spewing
loads of bullshit.

Kaleb
was the third oldest, and at thirty two, he knew the best was yet to come as
far as he was concerned. Walker Demolition had been his brain child, his baby,
and even though they all contributed one hundred percent, most of the time his
brothers still looked to him as their leader. Being in charge of demolition
design and a few unwanted tasks, Kaleb loved what he did and wouldn’t have
changed a thing.

Next
were Braydon and Brendon, twenty nine year old identical twins, who managed the
construction sites as the head foremen on each job. They were also known as the
lovers, not the fighters in the family. They were inseparable, doing everything
together. And when Kaleb said everything, he meant
everything
.
Including women.
They were known to share their women
between them.

Ethan,
the second youngest at twenty seven was solely responsible for their commercial
equipment. He purchased and maintained every single piece they owned. Of course
,  Zane
was the youngest at twenty four, and he worked
alongside Ethan, but he was responsible for their vehicle maintenance. Both of
his youngest brothers were brilliant when it came to machinery, which had
gotten them through many a bind.

Kaleb
wasn’t sure whether his parents ever intended to have enough boys to maintain
such an intricate company, but they’d started out eight years earlier and
hadn’t slowed down since.

When
he reached his house, Kaleb parked his truck haphazardly near the front porch
before hurrying to get inside. He was quickly running out of time to get ready,
so it was a good thing he didn’t need much. He had to be at Zoey’s in less than
an hour, and he refused to be late.

Stripping
his clothes off and tossing them in the laundry hamper, he quickly shaved
before jumping in the shower. Just the thought of seeing Zoey again had his
cock hard and in desperate need of release, but again, he didn’t have time. Not
to mention, it wouldn’t help. His dick was in a constant state of awareness
whenever he thought about her, so being around her was likely going to push his
limits.