As Tristan drove across the grassy field, Chloe peered through the rain flooding the windshield and battled disappointment. She didn’t see anything near the run-in. “Where do we go from here?” she asked.
“We’ll head north.”
As the windshield wiper in front of her swept past clearing away the rain, she spotted a small patch of yellow in the corner of the open structure with a low sloped roof. Philippa had said E.J.’s shirt was that color. “I see something!”
“Where?”
She pointed, hoping it wasn’t an illusion. “There...near the end on the left. See it?”
“I do.” Tristan sped up, and the patch of yellow took form.
“It’s him!”
Once he stopped the car, they both jumped out.
E.J. sat against the back of the partial enclosure, his thin arms wrapped around his knees that were pulled up to his chest. He looked up at them. Hints of apprehension filled his face along with relief, as if he expected to be scolded.
Tristan took off his jacket and hunkered down in front of him. “Hey, little man. You okay?”
Shivering, E.J. snuggled into the jacket Tristan laid over him. “I hurt my ankle when I tripped.”
“Which one?” Chloe knelt beside him. Lifting the hem of the jacket around his legs, she revealed his dirt-smudged sneakers.
E.J. wiggled his right foot and winced.
Tristan grasped his shoulder. “Can I take a closer look?”
He nodded and Tristan took off E.J.’s shoe. “It’s definitely swollen. You might have sprained it. I’ll carry you to the SUV. Then I’ll radio in to let your dad know that you’re okay.”
E.J. shrank away and blinked back tears. “Dad doesn’t care, he’s just mad at me.”
“No.” She and Tristan spoke at the same time.
From the stiff set of E.J.’s little shoulders, he didn’t want anyone to coddle him. Chloe patted his knee instead. “Your dad is really worried about you.”
“All he cares about is work.” Tears welled in E.J.’s eyes. “I wish we never came here. I didn’t want a stupid party.” His voice cracked. “I just wanted to be with my dad.” He dipped his head and started to cry.
Scooting closer, Chloe drew him into a hug and E.J. held her tight. Nothing in the hundreds of scripts she’d read in the past could help her find the words to comfort him. She swallowed against a lump in her throat. With all the effort his dad had put into the party, surely he loved him. E.J. shivered helplessly against her, and Chloe started to choke up even more as she held him a bit tighter.
Tristan bent down. He soothingly stroked her back as he whispered in her ear. “I’ll be right back.”
He went to the SUV and returned a moment later with the radio. “Mace wants us to sit tight. Your dad is coming with him.” He crouched down eye level with E.J. “And he wants to talk to you.”
E.J. wiped his eyes. “He does?”
Tristan handed him the radio. “Push this button on the side so he can hear you.”
E.J. pressed the button. “Dad?”
“E.J.—is that you? I’m coming. It’s okay. I’ll be there in less than a minute.”
“Dad... I’m sorry. I left my ball behind...the nice one you gave me last Christmas. I just wanted to find it.”
“I know. I should have let you know that I heard you when you told me that at dinner.”
The squawk from a siren drew their attention. A patrol car with flashing blue lights cut across the pasture.
As soon as it stopped, E.J.’s dad got out of the front passenger seat and hurried over to them.
Tristan stood to the side, out of his way, and helped Chloe to her feet. Pinpricks raced over her legs from kneeling in an awkward position. She leaned on him and he wrapped an arm around her waist.
As Mr. Harrold hugged E.J. his eyes closed as if he was saying a silent prayer.
“Dad, I’m sorry.” E.J. burrowed into his father’s chest. “I got scared.”
“It’s okay. I’m here now.” E.J.’s father scooped him up in his arms.
Seeing father and son holding each other as E.J.’s dad carried him to the patrol car filled Chloe’s chest with soft emotions. They clearly had some kind of bond. Hopefully, E.J. would find a way to tell his father what he told her and his father would listen.
Mace gave Chloe and Tristan a nod. “Good job on finding him. There’s an ambulance on its way to the guesthouse. I’ll see you there.” He hustled to his patrol car.
Suddenly, Tristan released her. “The soccer ball.” He hurried to the SUV, took it from the back seat, and handed what had led to the evening’s adventure to E.J. who sat in the back cuddled next to his dad.
They returned Tristan’s jacket.
Mace drove off with them.
Tristan came back to her. He slipped his jacket back on. “E.J.’s dad said to tell you thank you.”
The exhale that rushed out of her, as if she’d been holding her breath the entire time while looking for E.J., came with unexpected tears. She fanned her face. “Why am I crying? We found him. It’s over.”
Tristan tugged her by the hand, pulling her closer, then held her by the waist. “It’s been a rough hour.”
“It really has.” Needing more contact with him, she rested her forehead against his shoulder, not caring that he was wet from the rain. “I was afraid that we wouldn’t find him.”
“But we did.” He slid his hands farther around her and stroked up and down her back.
The soothing glide of his touch lured her into slipping her arms into his jacket and wrapping them around his waist. His shirt had gotten wet during the short time E.J. had had his jacket but he was still toasty warm.
As they breathed in sync, awareness built of how her breasts were pillowed against his chest. She could feel the tautness of his stomach, and her hips where aligned with his.
Was she the only one who felt it?
She eased back to look at him, and what she saw in his eyes confirmed he did, too. His palms gliding to her back and his slow lean in made her heart skip beats. Tristan’s lips touched hers and each coaxing brush of his mouth left Chloe suspended in anticipation for the next one. As his tongue swept over her lower lip, she opened up to him on a sigh.
Where their kiss at the restaurant raised more curiosity and “what if” questions, this one clarified exactly what existed between them. Undeniable desire as strong as the thunder shaking the ground underneath her feet. It dismantled the foundation of reason and obliterated warnings about obligations and responsibilities, and why she should be concerned about them.
Tristan pulled her flush against him and Chloe slipped both of her arms around his neck, losing herself in the slow, decadent, bone-melting heat unfurling inside of her as Tristan teased, explored and laid claim to every curve and hollow of her mouth. She sank impossibly deeper into him.
As he swept kisses near her ear, his unsteady exhale tingled over her cheek. “Chloe?”
He didn’t need to say more. The tone of his voice said everything. Tristan wanted her and needed to know if she wanted him just as much.
“Yes.” As he kissed her neck, she tilted her head, giving him better access. “But can we get out of the rain?”
“Yeah, definitely.” He pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. “Let’s go.”
She flipped up the hood of her jacket. Tristan took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, as they rushed to the SUV. He let go of her and she went to the front passenger door and he went to the driver’s side. Their eyes met before they got in, and what she saw in his face made her heart beat faster. And conveyed what was in her own thinking. She didn’t want to wait.
Without a second guess, she opened the back door of the SUV and he did the same on the driver’s side. She scrambled into the back seat with him, and as soon as the doors shut, Chloe willingly went into his arms. But their heated kisses weren’t enough. Despite the cramped space, she started to crawl onto his lap, but his grasp on her hips prevented it.
“Hold on.” Tristan reached around and tossed his phone in the driver’s seat. Then he pulled the side lever on it.
The seat fell forward, giving them a little more room.
Tristan’s phone buzzed with a message, but he ignored it.
Chloe straddled him, and in between all too brief kisses he unzipped her jacket, and she shrugged it off. Eager for the chance to run her hands over what she’d been dreaming about ever since that day at his cottage—his impressive chest and abs—she helped him take off his and reached for the hem of his pullover.
But Tristan’s deepening kiss, and his hand skimming underneath the front of her shirt and rising to cup her lace-covered breast distracted her. He flicked his thumb over her nipple and Chloe’s breath hitched. He kept stroking over the peak and desire spiraled down to her middle.
His phone buzzing several times and chiming with an incoming call made them both pause and look in that direction.
Everyone was probably wondering where they were. The realization cooled Chloe’s desire. “You should probably get that. Mace did say he’d see us at the guesthouse.”
Tristan slipped his hand from underneath her shirt. “Yeah, he did.” He laid his forehead briefly to hers. “And knowing him, he’ll come looking for us or send another deputy.” His phone chimed again with an incoming call, and he released a long exhale. “Can you reach my phone?”
She crawled off his lap, leaned between the seats and snagged the phone.
He accepted it from her and looked at the screen “It’s Philippa.”
As Tristan answered, Chloe righted her clothes, and slipped her jacket back on.
Wow. She’d rocketed from zero to the back seat of his car, tearing at his clothes in no time flat. She hadn’t been turned on by a guy enough to become that impulsive since when? College?
“Okay. I’m on my way back to the guesthouse now,” Tristan said to Philippa over the phone. “We’ll talk more about it when I get there.” He ended the call.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes. Everyone is relieved that E.J. is safe. Philippa and Mace want to talk about the security camera issue.” He paused and silence sat between them. “Chloe, I...”
Thunder boomed and shook the ground. Rain poured over the windshield.
His mouth flattened with a concerned expression. “We should go before it gets worse.”
She hopped out seconds before him, and by the time Chloe got into the front she was soaked and so was Tristan.
He swiped water from his face and blinked it from his eyes, then started the engine. His phone rang and he connected it to the SUV’s Bluetooth system before he answered. This time it was Blake—a part of the path leading from the stable to the arena was flooded because it wasn’t draining properly. Unfortunately, they couldn’t address it now. They’d have to wait until the rain let up, probably in the morning.
Tristan ended the call as they drove into the guesthouse parking lot. He pulled into a spot near the front entrance. “You ready to make a run for it?”
“I’m ready.”
They jumped out at the same time.
On the way to the steps, as she leaped over a puddle, Tristan caught her by the hand. He didn’t let go until they reached the steps to the covered porch where Mace waited for them.
Unlike at the bar, Mace was all business when he gave her a nod. “Thanks again for helping out, Chloe.” He turned to Tristan. “Got a minute?”
And just like that, her moment with Tristan was over. Stolen by responsibility...and a confusing reality. Avoiding distractions wasn’t the only reason she shouldn’t get involved with Tristan. She was really attracted to him, but was temporarily living another life. How many times in her career had she witnessed actor’s getting involved with someone living in the place where they were filming, only to have regrets or hurt feelings because things got unexpectedly complicated.
During the time she had left at Tillbridge, she didn’t need complicated, right?