The following day, Ed helped Emma load the two four-wheelers. They attached an empty trailer to her hitch and set up an aluminum ramp. She drove one ATV up the ramp and into the truck bed before loading the second four-wheeler onto the trailer.
The ATVs were kept in her mother’s garage, so they’d spent a good twenty minutes there. Everything was going great until they ran into Cain.
Emma explained they were going mudding, and the conditions were favorable for it after last night’s storm. She didn’t mention her promise to go job hunting tomorrow. She also didn’t mention the extended amounts of time she and Ed had been spending together, which suited him just fine.
He didn’t have a whole lot to say to Cain. Hiding his guilt was hard enough without having to make small talk.
At one point, Cain had whispered to him, “Thanks so much for looking out for her. She already looks like she’s improving.”
Ed didn’t bother trying to explain there was no quick fix for PTSD. Instead, he said, “Just doing what you asked me.”
The forced words were like a betrayal.
It felt like eons had passed as they stood with Cain. Each moment was agony. He was sure Cain would guess what had transpired between Ed and his niece, but finally, they were on the road.
“That took forever,” Ed complained on a long exhale. “I hate lying to him.”
Emma steered the truck around a corner. “What did you lie to him about?”
“Nothing directly.” Ed peeked back at the trailer to ensure it followed the truck’s movement. “He asked me for help, and then I…” He ran a hand over his head. “We’ve slept together like four times.”
He saw her grin. “Five if you include this morning.”
“You’re not helping.”
Last night, after they’d broken the kitchen table, they’d played crazy eights in the living room before he’d taken her upstairs to make love to her again. When they’d finished, she’d skipped around the room collecting her clothing.
“What are you doing?” he’d asked as she tugged up her jeans.
She’d laughed. “I’m leaving.” Naked on top, she’d pulled her shirt over her head and tucked her bra into her back pocket. “I overstayed my welcome last time. I’m not letting that happen again. How about I pick you up at eight a.m. tomorrow?”
“Maybe I don’t want you to go.”
She’d paused. “What about your rule? No sleepovers?”
Screw the rule. Sunday had been a rollercoaster, but his best memory had been waking up that morning with Emma curled beside him. He patted the bed and said, “Stay.”
Now, from the driver’s seat, Emma glanced over at him. “Don’t look so glum. My sex life is none of Uncle Cain’s business. And your sex life certainly isn’t any of his business.”
“Well, yes, mine for sure. But you’re his niece, so of course it’s his business, which brings us full circle because I slept with you.”
Shaking her head, she chuckled. “I’m an adult now. It might have been his business back when I was making it with Kenny in the back of his parents’ dirty Corolla, but not now.”
“It feels dishonest.”
“Aw. Poor Mr. Perfect. Does it make you feel bad inside?” Emma pouted.
He reached over and pinched her side. “That’s enough out of you.”
She laughed. It was contagious. Ed found himself smiling alongside her.
“I wish you’d drop this whole perfect saint thing.”
Her lips still quaked. “Then don’t be such a goody-goody.”
“I skipped work to be with you today.”
She glanced over. “I’m grateful you were willing to spend today with me.”
Despite her driving, Ed leaned over and kissed her cheek. She looked so damn cute with her long hair in double braids.
When she had the truck stopped at a red light, she turned to him, her hand sneaking around his head to pull him toward her. She kissed him, quick and fast, but as she turned her attention back to the road, she said, “But only a goody-goody would point out that he’d skipped work.”
“You’re impossible,” he snorted.
“Look, neither one of us really does the romantic relationship thing, right? So odds are whatever is happening between us is just sex, and pretty soon, we’ll both be moving on to someone else.”
Ed didn’t like that thought.
They turned down a country road that led to the trail. Liam and some guy named Mark would be meeting them there.
“You don’t need to worry about Uncle Cain. There isn’t anything for him to find out. Don’t worry so much.”
One of them needed to be thinking responsibly. He knew it wouldn’t be Emma, which left all the worrying to him.
Emma pulled the truck into a parking lot where Liam’s car waited. Ed wondered what sort of job Liam had that he could simply take a Monday off with little warning. Maybe, like Emma, he didn’t have a job.
“What does Liam do?” Ed asked as they left the truck and headed to the trailer.
“He manages a retail store.”
That made sense. Most retail workers didn’t have a nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday work week. “What kind of store?”
“Women’s lingerie.”
“Really?”
“Yep. He’s really good at it. By now you’ve probably noticed that I have a certain preference when it comes to underwear.”
“Superheroes?”
Emma nodded. “Yeah. He helps me order them online since they’re not really something you’d find in the stores. He’s really good at helping me pick sizes and stuff. And any pieces I have that aren’t superhero-themed are generally the ones he buys for me from his work.”
Emma was independent, so it surprised Ed that she’d let anyone help her pick out underwear and bras.
Liam and Mark got out of the car and headed toward them.
“So, who’s the other guy? Another friend of yours?”
“No, that’s Mark. He’s Liam’s friend. You know, like you’re my friend.” Emma winked. “They just started dating this weekend, so I doubt they’ve labeled it yet. Oh, and since you’re worried about people knowing that we’ve slept together, Liam knows that we’ve had sex.”
He hadn’t expected her to say that and did a double take. “What?”
“Well, Liam and Mark. They both know.” He just stared dumbly at her, not understanding. She shrugged. “He’s my best friend. We talk. I mean, I know that he and Mark slept together.”
“I didn’t need to know that. And they don’t need to know about us.”
Emma made a sour face. “I’m going to talk to him. And I’m probably going to talk to him about you. That’s just what’s going to happen.”
She was so caviler about it, Ed wanted to debate it more, but she turned her back and greeted the other men. Ed rolled his eyes. This woman was going to take some getting used to.
* * *
Emma lowered the trailer’s ramp as Liam climbed onto the ATV and started it up. Once he’d driven it down from the trailer, Ed helped her to set up the aluminum ramp. Using the straps in the back of the truck, they secured the ramp to the truck bed. She hopped into the truck bed and settled in the four-wheeler seat.
“You ever driven one of these before?” she called down to Ed before starting the motor.
“We’ve got one on the farm.”
“Good.” She looked over her shoulder as she backed the ATV off the truck and onto the ramp. When they had both ATVs in the parking lot, Emma killed the motor and returned to her truck. “Mark, have you ever driven one before?”
“No.” Mark rubbed his hands together, “but I’m looking forward to it.”
“I brought helmets for everyone,” Emma said while pulling them out of the truck bed. “Liam prefers his own. I’ve also got a pair of goggles for you and Ed.” Her helmet had a visor much like Liam’s.
Emma passed out the equipment. Leaving her helmet on the trailer, she went to the cab to trade her sandals for her rubber boots. Caked in hardened mud from the last time she’d been out, she smashed them together, sending loosened dirt everywhere, before tugging them on. Between her camo boots, her tight black leggings, and her loose, wide-strapped tank top, Ed probably thought she was quite the sight. She and Chantal were at two completely different ends of the spectrum.
Emma was impressed with what Ed had come up with on such short notice. He’d tossed on a pair of old sneakers and paint-speckled work jeans and had plucked a faded green hoodie out of the back of his closet that morning, the cuffs of which were decorated with multiple holes.
Liam’s outfit mirrored Ed and Emma’s. He was comfortable getting filthy in older clothing and worn running shoes. But Mark stood out in the brand-new-looking coveralls he’d tucked into shiny rubber boots.
“You sure you’re okay getting that stuff dirty?” Emma looked him over.
Mark grinned. He looked different with contacts in. She supposed he didn’t want to wear goggles over his glasses. “Yeah. I picked up all this stuff specifically for today.”
Liam took his helmet out of his trunk. “Mark, before I lock the car, do you want to toss your phone and wallet in it? You don’t want them to get wrecked or lost in the forest.”
Mark headed toward the car, pulling his wallet and cell out of his coveralls as he walked. Emma turned to Ed. “What about you? Anything you want to put in the truck?”
“You locked both our wallets in the glove box, right?”
“Yep.” She nodded before pulling her helmet on over her braids. “What about your cell?”
He drew a Ziplock bag from his pocket. “I put it in here.” He dug into the opposite pocket. “I brought a second one if you need one.”
“Naw, I’m okay.” She reached into the truck once more, pulled out a foil packet, and tore it open.
“Seriously? A condom?” Ed asked as she slipped her phone into the sheath. “You keep condoms in the truck?”
“You never know when you might need one.” She winked at him. “They’re the extra-large ones.”
Heat lit his gaze. She assumed her statement gave him all kinds of ideas. Ideas she wouldn’t mind exploring.
She locked the truck, then, relieving him of his phone-filled baggie, popped both cell phones into the ATV’s storage compartment.
Emma pursed her lips to keep from laughing at Mark as he and Liam headed toward the ATVs. He stuck out like a sore thumb in all his new clothing, but soon, he’d be so coated in mud that he’d blend right in.
She couldn’t tell if he was nervous or excited. Wearing his helmet and goggles, he rubbed his hands together and shouted, “Let’s do this!”
Maybe it was a mix of both.
Ed looked calm and collected, like always. His well-worn clothing was such a stark contrast to Mark’s.
He looked completely at ease despite this being his first time on a mud run, but she supposed that was partly due to his upbringing on the farm and his military training. His laid-back attitude made her want to do all kinds of naughty things to him, to crack that calm façade.
She started up the ATV. Next to her, Liam did the same. Mark and Liam would share an ATV while she and Ed occupied the other. Ed climbed on behind her, his big hands settling on her thighs. His helmet bumped hers as he murmured in her ear, “This okay?”
It was more than okay. It was absolutely perfect. His touch activated the butterflies in her tummy, but she downplayed her response. “Yep, it’s good.”
Ed’s crotch was nuzzled against her butt cheeks, the ATV rumbled between her legs, and for the first time in her life, she wished she’d stayed in bed with a guy rather than going outside to play.