Chapter Thirteen

“We need to talk.”

Lacey emerged from perusing her Collier notes to find Jack leaning against the door to her office. Talk some more about the kiss? She thought her apology the night before had sufficed. Apparently not.

“I want to hear about your meeting with that hippie woman.”

Oh. Her interview of Janice. Much better. “I emailed my notes to you last night.”

“Right. Along with a rough outline for our design concept.” He held out a blue folder. Jean’s efficiency had struck again.

“I know, I know. I did this independently without consulting or informing you.”

He raised both eyebrows.

“Go ahead, say it. If the reverse had been the case, I would have been raving mad at you by now. But I got going and couldn’t stop. I’m starting to understand why you did those sketches. You seem to process your thoughts through pictures.”

“Guess so. Interesting observation.” He flopped into her one and only visitor chair, flipped through the plan, probably for effect. “Not bad. Takes us in a different direction, but I like it.”

“Really? Thanks.”

“Would’ve said so last night, but my, uh, mind was elsewhere. Sorry I left in such a huff, but your brother is a real…”

“Poor host at times,” she said, avoiding the use of a more derogative term.

He crossed one knee over the other. “Have to say, the Collier woman threw you some real tidbits. For instance, boomers don’t want to retire. Could’ve fooled me.”

“They still want to retire, just not in the classical sense like their parents did. Boomers see retirement as a higher level of existence, a time to reinvent themselves beyond the work world. They want to live meaningful lives, not just sit around and idle their days away until they die as a reward for surviving thirty-some years of work.”

“Heck, might as well plant them in the wilderness and let them dig their way out, if they want meaning in their lives.” He laughed at his joke. When he noted she didn’t join him, he caught himself up short. “Sorry. I wasn’t belittling your ideas. You’ve spun a great theory.”

“How do we translate this theory to a design concept?”

Shrugging, he offered, “Put something down on paper, I guess.”

“Like what?” The idea had been so clear in her mind five minutes ago. Then he’d walked in and her vision blurred. Using Celia as her shield against Jack’s appeal wasn’t working. Why did he have to track her down in her tiny office? He was sitting less than two feet away. Too close for comfort. Her beating heart was on overload, which was nothing compared to the tightening of the muscles in her lower parts. “Other than a monastery, what would a place where people sought meaning for their lives look like?”

“Got a notepad?”

She tossed him one along with a pencil. Keep him busy while she got her shameless body under control.

He played around with several sketches before dropping the pad back on her desk, stood and shook out his shoulders. “This office is too confining. How do you ever produce anything?”

“I haven’t known anything better, until I started working with you and learned how the top echelon lives.”

He ambled over to her window and stared out aimlessly. “Some view they gave you. Bet you get a lot of kick-ass ideas from gazing out at the parking lot.”

She chuckled. “Which is why my desk is over here.”

He stalked back to his chair and collapsed into it, crossing his arms and sucking in his lips. After a bit, he thunked his forehead. “You know what I saw while I was over there admiring that asphalt ocean?”

She waited for the brainstorm she sensed was on its way.

“It’s a beautiful day.” He sat back smugly and eyed her as if expecting her to sing praises of his great revelation. When she didn’t, he went on. “Let’s go enjoy it. How about a ride in the country?”

In the country? “To the Project Veronica property? Didn’t we suffer enough out there last week?”

“I need to see it again, get the lay of the land, crank up my creative juices. Want to go along? We can run out there for a couple hours. Grab some fast food. Picnic on the grass. It should be dry today,” he said, looking down at his shoes, then grinning again.

The idea was staggering. Suddenly she could barely breathe. Could she trust herself to be alone with him out in the middle of nowhere? “Okay, sounds like a great idea, but we’ve got to use our time wisely.”

“What could be more inspiring than plopping ourselves down in the midst of the property?”

****

An hour later, reclined on a blanket snatched from the trunk of his car, Jack sucked up rays from a friendly sun. Filled with fried chicken and potato salad, he was a contented man. So they were still struggling to develop the project concept, and he didn’t know why he hadn’t been named the firm’s principal yet, and he’d committed the next few weeks to someone who’d turned into a wild woman in her quest to regain her boyfriend, right now, life was good. He plucked a sheath of some kind of weed and crushed it between his fingers.

Across the blanket, Lacey occupied herself packing up food containers and stuffing them into an oversized garbage bag. She looked as yummy as any candy store concoction in the pink knit top she wore. And they hadn’t had dessert yet.

He focused on the creamy shoulder escaping the neckline. So innocent, and yet so inviting. His imagination ran rampant imagining the safari his lips would take, starting there and meandering upward along her regal neck. Just the thought of attacking the earlobe buried underneath those flaxen curls made his blood run faster.

Great. He’d transformed from lunch companion to turned-on male.

“Jack?” Lacey’s gaze was watchful. “Is the sun getting to you? You seemed miles away.” She stared at him, her head tilted slightly, the sun’s rays streaming through her hair like golden splinters, her face flushed. From the exertion of cleaning up? Or did she sense his crotch waking up?

For one moment, he considered letting her know. Hell, out here in this grassy meadow, far enough from the road where no one could see them, who knew where it could lead?

“Ready?”

Was he ever! Then, like the day before, his better judgment reappeared. They were here on a mission. A work-related mission. Lacey believed he was seeing Celia, her best friend. Technically, he’d ended his agreement with Celia last night, although he wasn’t sure Celia had heard him. Lacey was certainly unaware of the change. So, no messing around.

He took several deep breaths to alleviate his physical dilemma. When those efforts didn’t help, he subtly rolled away from the blanket and stood, pulling it up with him, presumably to fold the thing. For the next five minutes. “We’ll get started as soon as I take this stuff to the car.”

Task completed, he gave himself a mental buck-up lecture. He studied the landscape and tried to envision what he’d put there. Designing buildings was his second favorite thing. Today, Number Two would have to suffice.

Lacey was staring vacantly toward the horizon when he rejoined her. “What’s up? Inspiration calling?”

She grimaced. “I was trying to empty my brain and simply let the spirit sweep over me. But so far, no go. How do you do it?”

A putdown? Nah, she was serious. “Same way you were attempting, more or less. I find a place to stand and take in the canvas before me. Focus on the totality of the scene, then let the landmarks populate it, one by one. The landmarks are the key.”

She brought a hand up to frame her eyes and scope out the view before her. “The rise over there? When we were here before, I noticed a stand of oak trees surrounding it. Think we could incorporate them into our plans?”

“We can do whatever we like, if it makes sense. Want to check it out?”

Despite the steep incline, they headed off to inspect the hillock.

He hadn’t paid the trees much attention when they were here before. Too busy extricating himself from under the tree trunk. But Lacey spotted them. Good eye. Anxious to see what was on the other side, he kept his impatience in check and walked alongside her companionably.

Once, when he glanced over at her, he caught her gazing up at him. She returned a broad smile, like there was nothing else she’d rather be doing. “This is fun, Jack. For a few hours I’ve been able to relax and my stomach has stopped churning at the threat of our deadline. I’m glad you thought of coming here.”

A bubble of satisfaction bloomed inside his chest. He tried not to appear too pleased. “You’ve been having stomach problems too? Thought I was the only one feasting on antacid tablets.”

When they arrived at the foot of the hill, he took her hand and helped her pick her way up. The side of the hill was covered with wildflowers. As Lacey and Jack passed through them, their movement set off a shower of fragrances. If he’d been a kid, he would have been tempted to stop midway up and roll down the scent-filled blanket.

Lacey slowed her pace as they neared the top.

“Tired? We’re almost there.”

“No. Just enjoying the trek. And the view.”

Until then, he’d forged straight ahead, but her comment made him check for himself. She was right. Up higher, the property took on a whole new perspective. Much more rolling than it appeared at their picnic site, which could present a few more architectural challenges than a flatter landscape but would also add to the ambience. Homebuyers loved those things.

They reached the summit a few minutes later, both slightly breathless but also invigorated by the trip.

Jack scanned the periphery. “I should’ve brought my camera. There’s more here than I thought. Sketches won’t do it justice.”

The slope was less steep on the other side, the descent more gradual. A couple small plateaus dotted with trees cut into the side about a fourth of the way and halfway up.

“Maybe Cam and our client are really on to something with this place. Even though it’s so far from town.”

“I suppose we could follow through on Cam’s suggestion to build a mini-town out here?” Jack could hardly believe his words, but the place was starting to get to him.

“I hope we can keep the creek down there. It lends a certain charm to the property.”

“Sure, if the experts say it’s safe.”

“I wonder if there are other water sources on the property. Did you check the aquifer reports?”

He started to answer, but before she could hear him, she took off, scanning the ground for something. She toed a couple logs. He hoped they weren’t home to any field creatures. She bent and picked up what appeared be a slender, forked stick. Fortunately, no wildlife struck back at her.

She set off down the slope, extending the switch in front of her at arms’ length. She’d go a few feet one direction, then turn and head off perpendicularly, only to repeat the pattern a few feet later. When she’d gone about a hundred feet, she stopped abruptly, the stick pointing down.

Was she doing what he thought she was? He’d heard of witching water but never witnessed the process. He caught up with her. “Are you—”

“Do you see any other branches around here, about this size? But not forked.”

He wondered if the country air had messed with her sanity. “You already have a stick.”

“This locates a vein. I need a straight switch to determine its depth.”

He couldn’t get over what he was witnessing. The Internet Princess had reverted to a practice going back to the Middle Ages. Shaking his head in amazement, he bounded off, searched in concentric circles, but came up short.

“Sorry.” Jack returned empty-handed. “Nothing. How long have you been witching for water?”

She beamed a hundred-watt smile. “Picked it up from my grandpa when I was a kid. It’s supposed to be handed down through generations. My mom couldn’t get the hang of it, so my grandpa took me out with him when he’d witch for neighbors. I was a natural. He died before I could get the hang of it from him, so I taught myself.”

Her resourcefulness continued to surprise him.

She moved farther away, heading downhill. “Got a notepad? I need you to jot down roughly where I’m getting these readings.”

Though she’d put him in the position of playing recorder, he didn’t mind. He was fascinated. He retrieved a pad and pencil from a pocket. “Okay. Shoot.”

She looked up and seemed to freeze in her tracks. “J-J-Jack!” Her voice came in a hoarse whisper. “Don’t move!”

“Huh? Can’t hear you.” What was up? Had she stumbled across one of those ground creatures after all?

“Lose the notepad and start backing up the hill as nonchalantly and quickly as you can.”

“But—”

“Do as I say, okay? We’re not alone. Hurry!”

“What do you mean not a—” Over his shoulder, he saw what she meant. A scruffy-looking bull stood no more than thirty feet away, pawing the ground. The animal didn’t look the least bit happy to have company.

Jack tried to swallow and nearly choked, his heart hammered so furiously. Where had the beast come from? He must have been hidden behind the trees on the other side of the hill.

“Don’t look directly at him!” Lacey commanded in a lowered tone. “Go!”

Warned not to, he resisted a powerful urge to stare down the animal. But he couldn’t get his feet to budge, no matter how much he willed them to. “I-I-I can’t move,” he hissed. How much longer before the bull decided to rush? Couldn’t be long. “Get out of here, Lacey. I’ll distract him for you.”

“I won’t leave you!”

“Do it!”

“But—”

“Now!”

She backed up the hill a few steps at a time. He waited until she reached the crest and disappeared down the way they’d come. Then he began his own retreat. Bulls weren’t typically part of the knowledge base of townies like him. Did you stare down the beast or pretend it didn’t exist?

The debate came to an abrupt halt when the bull snorted, stopped his pawing and raised his enormous head. When he saw Jack, he snorted again.

Jack continued backpedaling up the grassy slope, keeping the bull in sight without looking him directly in the eye. As Jack arrived at the top of the hill, he chanced a glimpse of the other side to check Lacey’s position. She’d reached the bottom and was making her way to the fence.

Time to make his escape. Could he outrun a bull? No time like the present to find out. Adrenaline he didn’t know he possessed shot through him, propelling him down the slope. He sprinted like he was back on the high school track team, stumbling a few times, but staying erect. He didn’t dare look back until he’d almost caught up with Lacey.

His flight wasn’t in vain. The bull was cutting the distance between them with each leap.

“Go faster, Lacey,” he shouted. With the bull in pursuit, whispering was superfluous.

She jerked her head around. In doing so, she missed her footing and tripped. She went flying, landing face down, arms akimbo.

No time to spare. He caught up with her, swooped down, picked her up and flung her over his shoulder like a rag doll. Picking up his pace, he made the distance to the fence in four strides. He hoisted her over and out of danger. She landed with a thud, wrenching his heart.

“Are…you…okay?” he asked in broken breaths once he’d scaled the fence too. “I had to get you out of there fast. Keeping your bones intact was secondary.”

“I-I think so.”

His heart beat so frantically, it sounded like giant tympani in his ears. “Thank God!” Messing with the bull would have been bad enough for him, but he dared not think what the animal would have done to her.

Jack went down on his knees to help her sit up, his face inches from hers. The scent of lilacs hit him again. Mesmerizing. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and tucked her into his embrace, squeezing her tight. Though she said she was okay, he rubbed her back nonetheless, as one would soothe a hurt child. But Lacey was no child. She was a grown woman with curves and heavenly scents and a fast-beating heart, which he felt pumping through his shirt.

He wanted to hold on longer. Despite how they got to this point, having her in his arms felt so good, so right, he didn’t want to let go. Finally, past the appropriate amount of time to provide comfort, he released her.

She returned a quizzical expression, as if trying to read his mood. The azure depths of her eyes drew him in, and something inside him clicked. The attraction he’d been denying and restraining for days took over. Frenetic need claimed her lips that trembled slightly then parted a bit. Their tongues met. Tentatively, testing at first. Within seconds, they locked in their own mad Salsa.

He slid his hand up her back and felt her curl into him, setting off a spasm of shockwaves in his bloodstream. Her arms went around his neck, pulling him closer. She wanted this too.

In the background, their bovine friend snorted and whined. Even he sensed the world rocking on its axis.

Jack didn’t care at this point. He wanted her…now—bull or no bull—safely behind the fence. To hell with his resolution to avoid office relationships. He’d deal with the consequences later.

He took his lips from hers long enough to lay her gently in the grass and hover above her. In her eyes he saw expectation, invitation and desire, but no hesitation. Taking the cue, he kissed her again and moved his hand inside her knit top. Her skin felt soft as satin but also very warm. Heated.

He reached behind for the clasp on her brassiere, deftly opening it with one hand. Her moan made him grow bolder. He traced the bottom of the garment with his finger and brought his hand around to seek a breast. Her flesh molded itself to his grasp, so smooth, so firm yet pliable. “You feel so good.” God, could he sound any more like a teenager feeling up his first girl. But those were the only thoughts in his head, other than wanting more of her.

She jerked beneath him, her eyes refocused into a look of alarm. “What about Celia?”

“Over, as of last night.” At least, in his mind it was.

Her expression softened, then grew hazy as she relaxed. “Oh.”

No need to tell her it wasn’t because of her. Though, maybe it was.

“Then continue,” she urged, arching her back beneath him, the pressure of her hips against his pelvis urgent, demanding.

He teetered on the edge of the abyss. One more move and he’d be free-falling, saying good-bye to reality and letting himself go with the moment and the pleasure. The bull was getting a show he hadn’t anticipated. Vaguely, Jack thought about the nearby road and the view passersby might be seeing but dismissed his concern. He and Lacey were in a ravine behind a row of bushes. Secluded.

Lacey drew a hand down the side of his cheek. As if every nerve ending in his body wasn’t already on heightened awareness, the receptors beneath her caress exploded. “Aren’t you going to finish what you started?” she asked, her voice raspy.

“You’re okay with doing this? Out here?”

“No. Yes. I can’t think clearly.”

“Me, either. Haven’t stopped thinking about you…this…since we were here before. If Cam hadn’t shown up when he did…”

“But he’s not here now to stop us. Nothing but our own better judgment to stop us.”

“I’m tired of fighting my better judgment.”

“Me, too. I want to, have to, see this through.”

“No matter where it goes?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

He readily complied. This kiss lasted longer than the first, as if their lips spoke a secret language to each other, sharing their sensations, their needs, their reactions. He couldn’t get enough of her mouth, though his hand remained on her breast, his thumb making lazy circles around the aroused nubbin.

Lacey kissed back with great enthusiasm, like she’d been waiting for this for a long time.

Jack remaining on top of her, they rolled back and forth in the grass, each attempting to get more of the other. He glided his hand down from her waist to locate the zipper on her pants. As he started to pull down the tab, a far off ringing caught his attention. His cell phone. Should have left it in the car.

“Don’t answer.”

He didn’t want to, but they were on company time. The last thing he needed was for someone back at the office, unable to reach him, to speculate—correctly—what he and Lacey were doing.

“Yeah?” he answered, his tone challenging.

“Mr. Dalton? It’s Jean. I know you’re in the middle of a site visit, but something’s going on here I thought you should know about.”

Now what? The client had decided to drop by today? “What’s up, Jean?” he asked, attempting to breathe normally.

“Your parents are here.”

His breath caught. What were they doing in town? They were supposed to have extended their trip another month to visit friends in Kuala Lumpur. “In the office?”

There was a hesitation on the other end of the line. “You sound winded.”

“I just ran down a large hill. Tell them I’m out for the rest of the afternoon doing field research.”

“I already did, Mr. Dalton.”

“And…?

“They seem anxious to see you and they think you’d want to see them right away. So, I…uh, told them to wait in your office.”

“Ah, Jean!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dalton.” She sounded near tears. “I really tried to find an alternative solution, but th-they―”

“I understand. My parents can be quite persuasive. I’ll be back in half an hour.”

No, no, no, no! Why couldn’t they stay out of his professional life like they did his personal life? But he knew the answer all too well. They’d made his professional life possible and wanted to check on their investment.

“Jack? Is there an emergency?” Lacey was redoing her bra and zipping up her slacks, already more aware than his body their romp in the grass was over.

He stuck the phone back in his pants pocket and offered an apologetic smile. “My parents have returned to town and are waiting for me at the office.”

She looked confused. “Couldn’t your bulldog put them off?”

“My parents, the jetsetters, think the world revolves around their timetable.”

She crinkled her brow.

“They’re old friends of Cam. My career is their own little project, so apparently they popped in for a progress report.”

“I see,” she said, not sounding convinced. “We should go back.” She attempted to stand and just as quickly dropped down again. “Oh.” Her cry held pain.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s my, my ankle. I must have twisted it when I landed.” Face contorted, she rubbed the injured extremity.

“Let me see.” He drew her foot into his hands, turning it just enough to get a good look. It definitely was swollen and turning purple. Damn his horny self! If he hadn’t gotten them off on another tact, she would have noticed it sooner and maybe been able to do something more for it.

“It’s pretty puffy. Don’t put any weight on it. I’ll carry you to the car.”

By the time they reached the vehicle, any thoughts of the hot scene minutes before vanished. Before he could even deal with his parents, he needed to get medical attention for Lacey.

As he roared away toward town, he kicked himself mentally for failing to protect her from the bull, then giving in to his lust while she lay there hurt. “I’m taking you to the emergency room. Who’s your doctor? We’ll call from the car.” He glanced her direction to reassure himself she hadn’t fainted.

“Your parents are waiting. I’ll be okay. Just get me back to the office.”

“No way. You can’t walk.”

“Then drop me off at the hospital. They can take it from there.”

Why did she have to be so wildly independent? Did she blame him for her ankle? “I don’t do drive-by emergency calls. This little junket was my idea. I’m not letting you out of my sight until we get your ankle checked.”

She was about to protest when his cell phone trilled again. They exchanged looks, but in the end, he gave in and answered it. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dalton. I tried to keep them occupied in your office, but your mother—”

“What’s she doing?”

“She followed me back to my desk. Their surprise appearance left me so flummoxed, I left your calendar up on my computer screen and she started going through it before I realized what she was up to.”

“She went through my schedule? I hope you closed the program on her right away. There’s private information in there.”

“I know, I know. I took care of it. I had no idea how inquisitive she is.”

“Snoopy is more like it.” He snapped the phone shut and mumbled a few choice oaths. Jean had no idea how his parents could take over. His general had met her Waterloo.

“It doesn’t sound like you can afford the time to take me to the hospital, Jack. I’ll call Brian.” Lacey had her cell phone out before he could object.

When she couldn’t reach her brother, she called Celia but got her office voicemail. “I know, I’ll call Janice Collier.” In the end, it was Janice who met them in the company parking lot.

Jack carried her to Janice’s car. “Thanks for doing this,” he told the older woman. “I’ve got a situation back at the office I’ve got to handle, or we would’ve gone straight to the hospital.”

“Not to worry. I’ll take it from here.” Janice sent a shy smile Lacey’s way.

He leaned in to Lacey. “Back there?”

“Just one of those moments.”

“You’re not angry?”

“I was as much into what we did as you.”

“We need to talk. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’ve dealt with my parents.” God, he hoped she realized how much he regretted not going with her.

“Later,” she said, lip trembling.

Seconds later, he found himself standing on the curb watching them take off in Janice’s small car. He despised himself for being so weak. He should have put his parents on hold and taken her himself.

This was the last time Marcia and Gordon Dalton would walk all over him. No sir, from now on, despite what standing up to him might do to his father’s health, he would not let them take over his life.