Chapter Twelve

Reggie stood underneath the hot spray of the shower. She didn’t know what possessed her earlier. After Josh dropped her off, she paced for what seemed like an hour. She checked the window several times, thought about going out to get a burner phone, but if she called Dom again so soon, he’d be worried. It’d complicate things. No. She just needed to keep her head down, make sure to stick to the job and the bunkhouse. She didn’t need to draw any more attention to herself. A few more days and Reggie’s truck would be fixed. Then she’d drive off and never look back.

The anxiety that gripped her washed down the drain with the water, at least part of it, and Reggie let her mind wander to other things. To Josh, standing in the sprinklers with her and getting stuck in the mud. An ache of desire pooled between her legs. Her breasts throbbed, nipples going hard as Reggie imagined Josh standing in the shower behind her. His hard, muscular chest pressing against her back as his arms wrapped around her belly, pulling her closer against him. The smell of earth, of something masculine and safe, washed off him and encompassed her. Reggie didn’t know if he actually smelled like that, felt like that, but it’s what she imagined, what she needed to get rid of the cold and the fear that pooled in her belly just above the scar on her abdomen.

She closed her eyes, letting her head fall back. She used her hands to wipe the suds off her skin, but pretended it was Josh touching her, igniting desire in her core. Sliding her hand down her belly, Reggie let out a soft gasp, letting her touch go lower, finding the wet heat between her legs. The pleasure heightened as she touched and caressed the most intimate part of herself. It grew and mounted, and all too soon, Reggie found release. Her body shuddered, and she leaned against the cool tile of the shower wall, the mix of heat and cold adding to the climax.

Letting out slow breaths, she forced herself to stand and finish her shower, missing the warmth of real arms wrapped around her. It’d been a long time since someone held her. Sometimes, Reggie wanted that more than sex, but she couldn’t give herself over to someone—not like that. She couldn’t let herself be vulnerable, let someone shield her from the world, because the world always won.

After washing up, Reggie got out of the shower and pulled on a pair of blue flannel shorts and a black tank top. She preferred sleeping in panties and a t-shirt, but Josh had kids running around and she didn’t want one of them walking into the bunkhouse and catching a glimpse of her anatomy. Too many questions would arise, and she definitely wasn’t in the position to answer them.

The sun set, and even in the dark, the humidity clung to her damp skin. She added extra leave-in conditioner to her hair and pulled a brush through it, working through the tangles and rough ends. Grabbing a tie, she swept it up in a messy bun and sat on the edge of the bed, dropping her face in her hands. With everything that happened, she should have been exhausted, but energy thrummed through her veins. Reggie’s fun in the shower eased the ache, but she wanted more, wanted to be filled deep inside, sated beyond thought.

Beyond thought.

Reggie just wanted to not have to think, to not have to worry. For once, she didn’t want to have to run, but she knew that would never happen.

Reaching over the side of the bed, Reggie grabbed her duffel and reached into the side pocket. The cool feel the of the plastic picture eased into her fingers and she pulled out the sonogram. She laid back on the thin cot, holding it up. Her eyes roaming over every shadow and groove. Then she kissed it and laid it against her chest, closing her eyes, imagining what she’d look like today.

Before she could imagine much, someone knocked on the door. She shoved the sonogram back in the duffel and sat up.

“Yeah. Come in.”

The door creaked open and a blond guy peeked his head inside.

Reggie stood, stepping away from the bed into the clear space of the room. “Who are you?”

He grinned, looking out from long bangs with gray eyes. “Relax Warrior Woman. I’m Trevor. Josh is my buddy.” He stepped all the way in, holding a six-pack and a plastic bag with foam containers inside. “I come bearing booze and chicken wings.”

“Not hungry.” She didn’t move, but her stomach growled. In all the excitement, she’d forgotten to eat today. She hadn’t actually been hungry till she smelled the food. Her stomach betrayed her.

“Right,” Trevor cleared his throat. “Well, if you change your mind, we’ll be up at the house.”

He walked out, leaving Reggie alone with her thoughts. In the quiet of the night, with only crickets and bull frogs crying out, they seemed loud. She shook her head and jogged out after Trevor barefoot.

“Hey, wait up.”

He stopped and turned around. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist Mac’s wings. Best in Merrydale.”

“Uh, seriously, who came up with that name?” Reggie wrapped her arms around her belly and walked beside him toward the house.

“I’m not a historian,” Trevor said. “Just a lawyer.”

“If that line was to impress me, it didn’t work,” she said.

He gave a dramatic sigh. “Damn, and here I thought the ‘L’ word would make you fall right into bed with me.”

“Right.” They walked up the front porch steps. “You must have some desperate women around here.”

“I wish,” Trevor said. He gestured to the door. “You mind? I got my hands full.”

Stepping forward, Reggie knocked and then leaned against the door frame. “Maybe you should try going over to Baton Rouge, then. I hear they got plenty of ladies at a fine price.”

“Oh, how you wound me,” Trevor said. “Think I can’t get any on my own?”

Reggie clucked her tongue and shook her head. “Ya know, I have a hard time believing you could with that game.”

The front door opened, and Josh stopped, his hazel eyes roaming over Reggie.

She shifted from foot to foot. “Uh, your friend, Trevor—“

“I invited her.” He pushed past Josh inside. “You need a night of not thinking and clearly, considering the way you gawk, your brain shuts down when you see her.”

Reggie quirked a brow and then looked at Josh. “You have interesting friends.”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah. That’s a mild term.” Stepping back, he held out his arm. “Come on in.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“He’s sure!” Trevor called out.

Josh shook his head and smiled. “You heard the man.”

Wiping her bare, dirty feet on the mat, Reggie stepped inside, taking in the place. It had a rustic feel with mismatched furniture and chipped wood tables. Pictures of the twins and Josh littered the wall in various places. Trevor stood at the kitchen table, unpacking food.

“You should probably wear shoes out here,” Josh said, closing the door behind her. “A lot of plants come through here, gravel, and mulch and everything else. You might step on something.”

She shrugged. “I only have my boots. I didn’t feel like putting them on.”

He smiled. “Well, just be careful.”

“Hey, chatterboxes,” Trevor said. “Come have a beer.”

Pulling out a bottle, he tossed one to Josh and another to Reggie. She caught it and twisted the top off in one smooth motion.

“Hey, you’re good at that,” Trevor said.

“Where are the kids?” Reggie asked, ignoring his observation.

“At my sisters,” Josh said, opening his own.

“So, what’s the occasion?” She sipped the beer, the bitter taste flowing over her tongue.

“Crazy ex stuff,” Trevor offered. “We need to keep Josh’s mind off it.”

Josh choked on his beer and held his arms out. “Trevor!”

“What?” He shrugged. “It’s true.”

Reggie smirked and shook her head. “Like I said. Interesting friends.”

The last person Josh expected to find at the door was Reggie, but it was a welcome surprise. Now, if he could just get Trevor to stop running his mouth, things would be a lot better. Josh hadn’t felt so embarrassed since the time his mother opted to show naked baby pictures to his girlfriend in high school. He made sure the baby albums were hidden when they had company from then on. He wondered if Trevor was trying to sabotage him. He had a thing for pretty faces, and Reggie was definitely one of those.

Josh felt a tinge of jealousy. He didn’t want Trevor to go near Reggie. Something primal and deep inside him gave Josh the urge to step between them and glare at his friend until he backed off.

It surprised him. Normally when they went out to the bar, he didn’t mind Trevor stepping in, taking the hot woman home. It was just his nature. Having two kids made it difficult to bring women back to his place, anyway. Not that Josh had been celibate the last three years, but he didn’t take a one-night stand home on the mass scale Trevor did.

All it had taken was one look at Reggie walking toward him from Dave’s truck. The way her hips swiveled and the way her disheveled hair blew in the wind and his dick practically became his primary brain. Josh couldn’t deny the attraction, or the strength of it, and that scared the hell out of him.

“Maybe we can talk about something other than my ex,” Josh said. “Since we’re supposed to be getting my mind off of it and all.”

Trevor pointed the neck of the beer bottle at Josh. “That’s probably a good idea.” He grinned. “So, Reggie! What’s a sexy thing like you doing in a place like this?”

Josh bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning. “Really?”

Reggie went over and pulled a chair out, sitting at the table. “Truck broke down. Josh gave me a side job to help pay for the part.” She leaned her elbows on the chipped wood. “And if you make a comment about sexual favors in trade for money, you might find that bottle shoved up a place of your anatomy that makes it hard to sit.”

Trevor sputtered his beer, holding out his hand to catch the raining drops. Josh laughed and sat down next to Reggie. Smiling, she raised her beer in salute and sipped.

Josh liked to see that she could hold her own with Trevor. He knew she had beauty and brains. Adding the wit into the mix just made his dick try to take over that thinking thing again.

Wiping his mouth, Trevor smirked and shook his head. “Hell, Josh. It’s about time you hired someone that wasn’t afraid to speak their mind.”

Leaning forward, Josh’s elbow brushed against Reggie. Something rushed through him at the warmth of her smooth skin. Just that small, intimate touch made him want to tell Trevor to leave. Reggie could do a fine job of making him forget his woes all on her own.

“Where you from?” Trevor asked as he reached around the wall into the kitchen to grab the paper towels on the edge of the counter.

“Chicago,” Reggie said. “Haven’t been there for a long time, though.”

“Why not?” Trevor asked as he wiped the beer from his hands.

“Long story and not enough booze to tell it,” she smirked and sipped her beer.

“So where do you lay your head when you’re not driving?” Josh asked.

She dipped a shoulder and the strap of her tank top slid over her arm. Josh’s hand tightened around his beer bottle.

“Wherever I park, my rig is home,” she said. “At least for a while.”

Trevor finished cleaning up the mess and sat down across from them. “Wild child. I bet your parents love that.”

Reggie spun the bottle in her hands, rotating it slowly on the edge of the heel. “I’m happy with what I do. Let’s me see new places, meet new people.”

Josh couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt like she left something out. “I haven’t been far out of Merrydale, except to Baton Rouge and New Orleans every now and then. Trevor’s the one who went for the degree.”

“Why yes,” Trevor said. “Yes, I did, and it’s because of that degree, I can buy top shelf whiskey.” He reached into the brown bag and pulled out a bottle of amber liquid.

Josh sat back and shook his head. “No friggin’ way, man. I’m not having a drunken frat night with you. I need to pick up my kids tomorrow.”

And figure out what he was going to do about Sonja. No doubt she would come this way, trying to get back into their lives. He didn’t know if she was sober, if she’d already gone back to the pipe, or if she was somewhere in between, but he had to play interference to keep his kids safe. It wasn’t just their physical bodies, but their minds and souls. Sonja had torn them apart enough.

Himself included.

“You need to not think,” Trevor said.

“I could do with some not thinking too,” Reggie said. She leaned over and grabbed the bottle from Trevor.

She twisted the top off. The plastic crinkled as she broke the seal and tipped the bottle back to her sensual lips, already moist from the beer.

Josh’s mouth went dry as her throat worked, sucking down the liquid. The bottle came away from her lips with a pop and his hand tightened on the table. Trevor grinned at him knowingly. Josh narrowed his gaze in warning.

Reggie set the bottle on the table and slid it over to Josh. “Look alive, cher.“ She grinned at him.

“Cute,” he said as his fingers wrapped around the whiskey. “Ah, what the hell?”

Closing his eyes, Josh took a deep swig, letting the slow burn warm him from the inside.

Trevor clapped his hands together. “Let the party commence!”

Trevor drank himself into a drunken stupor and passed out on the couch. Josh didn’t drink nearly as much. He didn’t bother to cover Trevor with a blanket. He was a firm believer that if you’re gonna be dumb, you gotta be strong. Trevor could fend for himself. Josh walked out to the front porch where Reggie leaned against the rail, staring at the sky. Her knee rested against the wood, her toe pressed to the ground, as she swayed her leg lazily back and forth. A beer bottle rested in her hands. She, Josh noted, hadn’t drank much either, despite her big words. She’d paced herself, ate in between, and let Trevor take the bigger swigs, despite his drunken protests that they were no fun.

“Not what you expected on your second night?” Josh asked as he walked over to her.

Turning her head, she smiled at him over her shoulder. “It was fun.”

“Really?” He gestured at the door. “That drunken jerk is fun?”

Reggie laughed. “Yeah. Why not?”

Most women would run from Trevor’s antics. Josh didn’t blame them. There was a reason his best friend was single, and part of it, Josh was pretty sure, was because Trevor didn’t want to grow up. It had to do with a woman Trevor knew in college, but he never wanted to talk about it. Josh never pushed him. Since he’d been home, Trevor never had a monogamous, serious relationship.

Josh shook his head and leaned on the rail. “You have a lot of patience for crazy.”

She sipped her beer. “He seems like a good friend. Wanted to get your mind off whatever’s going on.”

He couldn’t deny that. If nothing else, Trevor had always been there for him, watching his back, taking care of things. “He is a good friend.” Josh let his gaze rest on Reggie’s soft features. “You seem like you’re a good one too.”

She smirked and tucked a curl behind her ear. “I’m here for purely selfish reasons.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Free booze, free food. The eye-candy isn’t bad either.”

He laughed and stood up. “Is that your way of saying I’m hot?”

Setting her beer on the railing, Reggie turned toward him and put her hand on her hip. Tapping her chin, she gave him a pensive look. “I’m not sure.” Pushing off the railing she walked a slow circle around him, as if he were standing on an auction block. “I mean, you’ve got some good features. Great arms, nice chest—love the ass.”

Reggie’s eyes darkened as she sized him up. Something primal stirred inside of him. He turned to face her. “You’ve got a pretty nice ass yourself.”

“Aren’t you sweet to say so.”

This was a bad idea. As a rule, Josh never got involved with his workers. Not that many women came through for the season, but some did, and some had hit on him before. It could complicate things. The last thing he needed was a lawsuit.

Groaning, Josh hated his sense of moral responsibility. “Reggie—“

Smiling, she shook her head and took a step back. “Relax, Josh. It was a good night. Thanks for the drinks and the food.” She finished off her beer and threw it in the outside trashcan near the front door. “I should go.”

She squared her shoulders and rubbed the back of her neck.

Damn it! He hadn’t meant to make her feel like he was brushing her off. “I didn’t mean—“

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “What time do we start tomorrow?”

He let out a breath, deflating and opting not to push the awkward moment. “We don’t. It’s Sunday. Day off.”

“Cool,” Reggie said, starting down the front porch. “I’ll see you Monday then. Thanks again, Josh.”

“No problem.”

She disappeared into the darkness, and Josh hung his head, letting out an exasperated breath. “Way to go,” he said to himself.

Josh didn’t understand what it was about Reggie that drew him to her. He could gaze upon her for hours, watch her walk away for days, and thinking about her naked body made his cock twitch. Rubbing his face, Josh let out a frustrated groan and went back inside.

He needed a cold shower before he went to bed.