“You’re a loose cannon.”
“I am not!” Roberta shouted back, shoving a chair out of the way and making for the front door. In the small cottage, their voices bounced off the walls and rang around her head.
Nate grabbed her by the shoulder, swinging her back to halt her progress. “Yes, you are. We stick to what we agreed to with Bob.”
“I didn’t agree to anything.”
“Well, you didn’t disagree with Bob’s concerns that maybe there should be a third person around. You have no idea what to expect, and having a witness might come in handy.”
It was just after dinner, and Roberta had intended to leave alone. The last thing she wanted to do was entangle Nate in her mess. Prepared with the white sapphire in a buttoned pocket of her brown cargo pants, she planned to collect Bob on the way and drive over to Billy’s family farm.
“You’re only thinking of yourself, Roberta. Look at it from Bob’s perspective. He’s already done jail time once. I doubt the memory has faded over the years. If this visit goes horribly wrong, he won’t want to go through all the heartache again.”
“Oh, fuck.” In her quest to upstage her mother, she had to keep reminding herself how this entire saga continued to crush Bob’s life. She certainly wanted no extra harm to come his way.
“Come here.” Nate’s voice softened, and he opened his arms to her, inviting as all heck. “You’re getting all worked up. I get it.”
She remained rooted to the spot. How did he read her so bloody well all the time? She was agitated and nervous, but they couldn’t keep doing this. She was getting way too comfortable with Nate. It fogged up her brain when there was so much to filter through. Not to mention what being near Nate did to her sanity. “I can’t, Nate,” she whispered. By now, all the oomph had escaped her and she couldn’t tear herself away from his blue-lake gaze.
“Then, I’ll come to you. It’s just a hug, Roberta.”
She groaned at the same time his arms wrapped around her, infusing her with everything Nate. The earth, the forest and his all-male scent with the power to turn her on when she didn’t have the headspace to focus on it completely. “It’s never just a hug with you,” she mumbled against his chest.
Nate squeezed tighter before pulling back, tucking strands of her hair behind her ear. “Tonight, it is. I’ve got your back, Roberta. I got you into this mess; I’ll get you out.”
Confused, Roberta took a step back. “You did what?”
Nate’s arms dropped to his side. “I gave you permission to dig up the stone. If it was still buried, none of this would be happening.”
Roberta huffed, the feel-good effect of the hug dissipating into the ether. “I did not need your permission. You don’t own the forest, and I would have done it anyway.”
“Are you serious?” Just like that, the dynamics between them swiftly changed. They stood facing each other like lifetime warriors about to go into battle one more time. Merely inches away was the unforgiving line of his jaw as he clenched it, clipping each word. “Not only do I run the teahouse and cruise business with my sister, but I’m also employed by National Parks. So yes, my job is to ensure the forest surrounding the lake is protected at all costs. Trust me, if I didn’t think your digging around the twin trees was a good thing, there’s no way you would’ve got anywhere near them. If you tried, it wouldn’t be without a hefty fine or jail time if I believed the damage done was significant. Trust me on one thing, Roberta, I’ll protect this rainforest with my life.”
Roberta glared back, appalled they were back to this comfortable place they went so often—shouting at each other. She never meant any harm to his rainforest, but no way would she keep quiet. Not this loud-mouthed, no-filters chick.
“And you’re very experienced with haggling with the law, aren’t you? Treading the dark line between what’s right and wrong and risking doing time yourself. You might just end up behind bars yourself one day, so don’t go acting all authoritarian on me, thank you very much.”
Nate’s eyes turned to tiny slits, his lips forming a straight line. God, that mouth. She’d kissed it and loved it, but why was she thinking this? She groaned, breaking eye contact and walking away. “Fine!” she threw over her shoulder. “I’m taking my car, and you can drive.”
Outside the cottage door, she stopped and turned, waiting for Nate to lock the door. Tripping over something in the dark was a real possibility with so many obstacles between the cottage and the top car park: steps leading up, flower beds everywhere and some uneven concrete paths. She was being sensible-Roberta for once until she was more familiar with the layout.
A sliver of moonlight flashed its luminosity over Nate, and as he turned the key, she could have sworn his mouth was curved slightly up. What the? How did he flick the switch so fast? Man, if she got riled up, she could make it last for days—and this might be one of those moments.
“What is it with you?”
Nate let out a chuckle that only served to bug her even more.
“I’m sorry, it’s you, me, this—” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t get it either, but I think I’m enjoying it.”
Roberta’s scowl tugged deeper, intensifying the threat of a headache if she didn’t calm down. This was so screwed up. Just as fast, the magnetic force changed when Nate cupped her cheek in his beautifully muscled hand, turning her to mush.
“Don’t Nate,” she pleaded, on the verge of crumbling. Except it came out all breathy and girly, so not how she wanted it to sound.
“I can’t help it. You’re like the forbidden fruit, and I want it so—”
She didn’t hear his last word. Was it ‘badly’? She wasn’t sure. Didn’t care. When his warm breath fanned over her skin and the hint of earth filled her nostrils, her body came to life with a vicious roar and the real magic began at the soft touch of his lips.
Everything about the way his mouth moved over hers awoke her like a spring rain. When his tongue delved deeper, she whimpered. When his arms cradled her in their hold, pulling her in closer, she craved more. He was seeping into her bones at the same time a raw need slammed into her chest. Instead of pulling back and doing the sensible thing of walking away, she kissed him back, pressed her mouth harder against his, and enjoyed a ripple of satisfaction when his moan reverberated against her.
Until she remembered Bob was waiting. She tore herself away, panting, too afraid to look into his eyes in case she fell into them. “We need to go,” she rasped.
He held out his hand.
“What?” she grumbled, shaking herself out of the trance. If she wanted to meet her grandparents, they couldn’t keep going on like this. Not now! But hell, if she didn’t have Bob waiting or grandparents to meet, she’d do so in a heartbeat, even at the risk of repeating her mother’s history.
The reminder of her mother’s mess had her cussing. How many times had she mentally berated her mother for her foolishness all those years ago? This got her moving.
“The car keys.”
Oh Lord. She’d imagined a thousand other scenarios in a single beat when all he wanted was the bloody keys. A fool, girl, that’s what you are. She almost fell back against the large terracotta pot to rest her jittery legs but didn’t want to look so weak. Plucking the keys out of her pocket, she passed them over.
His warm hand enclosed hers, and he held on a fraction longer before she tugged away, pressing her fingers into her palm.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not. Now can we go?” she huffed back, hating that she was losing control when her mind should be elsewhere.
Despite her angry and rude tone, Nate gently took her hand in his and interlocked their fingers. It didn’t stop the avalanche of desire storming and pooling its way down below her stomach. It didn’t stop the absurd desire to lay naked with this man, come hell or high water.
She must be her mother’s daughter after all.
* * *
Moving to the back seat of her small Mazda after giving up the front passenger seat for Bob, she shuffled bits and pieces neatly aside. A hat, umbrella, a couple of empty takeaway coffee cups, an old road map her dad had kept in his office and a spare wet weather jacket. Not a complete neat freak, but they laid haphazardly on the backseat after her road trip.
Not that it mattered, but she never expected to be sitting in her car’s backseat. If anything, it kept the roiling nerves in her stomach at bay. She scrunched her brow, worried she hadn’t had time to think this through. She had no idea of how to approach her grandparents. With her frown deepening, she went there—the worst-case scenario. They were older adults, after all. If she ended up with a second heart attack case on her hands in as many weeks, well, at least she was a nurse.
Bob and Nate spoke in hushed tones in the front of the car, but she’d tuned out to work through possible introductory lines. Hi Gramps and Grandma, it’s me, your long-lost granddaughter. Nah, that wouldn’t work. Hi Grandad and Grandma, I’ve come to show you what Dad gave Mum the night before he died.
Bugger! Neither of those options sat well with her. She fiddled with the small box in the thigh pocket of her cargo pants. Anything to prevent her entire dinner from finding its way up her throat. Swallowing hard, she tried to calm down, to settle her nerves.
“You ready for this?”
Lost in her private thoughts, she hadn’t noticed Nate had pulled up outside her grandparent’s farmhouse. It was too dark to see a lot, but a glance outside the window showed thick trunked trees with leafy canopies looming over the gravel drive. They’d stopped short of the house where she could make out neat shrubs and garden beds.
With their arrival, the security lights flicked on, casting bright light across the driveway. When she opened her door, the distant barking of dogs filled the air.
Nate stood beside her, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “You still okay to do this?”
“I … ah … yeah, sure.”
“I’ll wait here by the car,” Bob offered as he leant against the passenger door with his arms crossed.
The house’s front door opened, and a tall, middle-aged man came out onto the patio. As the patio light flickered on, Roberta had a moment to take in the pretty pots and flower beds adorning it. But her gaze was drawn to the man, a striking older version of the photo of Billy she’d seen earlier that day. Okay, so yep, he’s my grandfather.
“Can I help you?” It was a woman’s voice, sounding a little uncertain.
So taken by Billy’s father, Roberta hadn’t seen the woman who followed him out onto the patio. Petite, yet robust, her grey hair framed a friendly face and a welcome smile when she’d spoken.
“What’s the thieving bastard doing on our property?”
Her grandfather was looking past her and had spotted Bob leaning against the car. Roberta looked over and saw that Nate had come around to Bob’s side, leaning against her car too.
Roberta turned back, coughing to clear her throat. “Ah … it’s Roger and Janice, right?”
Now both her grandparents scowled. Needing to act fast, Roberta blurted, “I’m Roberta, your … ah … granddaughter.”
Roger instinctively grabbed hold of the supporting verandah post, his knuckles turning white with the strain. “What bullshit are you talking about?”
Roberta fumbled with the button on her pants. It was a miracle she didn’t drop the small box when she got it out. “Billy proposed to my mother and gave her this gift the day before he died.”
She snapped open the box, flashing the star-shaped glittering stone under their noses.
They gasped in unison, almost causing her to laugh out loud. That was her sadistic side coming out, which was ridiculous because the threat that her dinner would start moving up her throat became real. Frantically swallowing, her throat moved in overtime, hoping to calm everything down.
“So, did the thieving bastard come up with this story? He’s had the bloody thing all this time, hasn’t he?”
“Stop it, Rog,” her grandmother pleaded. She latched onto his arm with a grip of steel Roberta felt from where she stood.
Roger shook away his wife’s hand and stepped off the patio. “Give us back Billy’s stone,” he demanded.
Roberta stood mute, not computing the anger and hate this man exuded. She was their granddaughter, for God’s sake, whether they liked it or not. Didn’t it mean anything to them? Yet, he refused to move past his blind stubbornness. In less than three minutes, Roberta already had enough of this man. Family or not, she straightened her shoulders, snapped closed the box and shoved it back in her pocket, digging deep for the meanest glare she could muster. In her frame of mind, it wasn’t hard to do. “Your son gifted this stone to my mother. Hell will freeze over first before I give it back to you.”
She turned away with every intention of leaving but stopped short and spun back around. “And you wrongly sent a man to jail. I hope that sits well with you for the rest of your days, Grandpa.”
She stalked off, still finding space in her confused mind to question why she’d put herself in this situation. She couldn’t blame her mother, not this time, and for one moment there, she was Team Mum against this mean-spirited man.
“You’re no granddaughter of ours.”
The barb of her grandfather’s words knifed her in the back, and she stumbled. She wasn’t expecting rejection to hurt so much. Why hadn’t her grandmother stepped in to soften it? Nate’s muscular arms caught her in time and cradled her against his chest, her mind blanking out.