In one night, Tucker had pretty much broken every rule in the casual hookups handbook.
He’d told Kenna things about his dad. Things he’d never told anyone else. Like how they used to play the guitar together and how he still couldn’t hear a John Denver song without thinking about his father. Then he’d gone and asked her to stay all night, which was how they’d ended up here, all snuggled up together on the couch.
She still slept soundly in the fire’s dull glow. He’d been awake for well over a half hour, noticing things he’d never bothered to notice about a woman—like the way her chest felt as it rose and fell against his, the way she looked like she was smiling even though she still slept so soundly, the way her soft hair spilled over his shoulder.
At some point last night after they’d been too exhausted to keep their eyes open any longer, he’d pulled a soft fleece blanket over them. It still covered most of them, but one of Kenna’s legs—the one that was draped over his leg—stuck out, giving him the perfect view of that creamy skin. So soft. He was tempted to run his hand up her thigh, but he didn’t know what would happen if he woke her. This was all foreign territory to him. It hadn’t necessarily occurred to him in the moment because he’d been seriously distracted, but sex with Kenna had been different somehow. Still hot and heady, but more intimate because of the time they’d spent talking in between. Over the hours he’d seen her heart open to him, but touching her and pleasing her had allowed him to ignore the undercurrents of panic running through him.
Now, though, the panic had returned.
What the hell had he done? There was no playbook for this. For what to do when he’d let things go too deep. He’d never found himself here before.
Before he could figure something out, Kenna started to move against him. First one leg, then the other. “Mmmm.” She yawned and opened her eyes.
Damn she was gorgeous. Even more so with her hair all wild and her eyes still sleepy. A strange sense of content gripped him, and he realized he didn’t want her to go. Didn’t want last night to be over. That meant something, right? It meant maybe he shouldn’t run this time. Maybe he shouldn’t have the talk about how he really wasn’t looking for a commitment. Maybe for once he didn’t need a next move. Maybe he just needed to let this ride.
Maybe that was a hell of a lot of maybes…
“What time is it?” Kenna asked, arching into an adorable stretch.
“Almost eight.” Tucker started to trace his fingers down her arm, but she sat bolt upright, eyes as wide as if she’d just woken from a nightmare.
“Eight? Seriously?” She wrestled herself out of the blanket and flailed to get off the couch.
Whoa. It definitely didn’t seem like he’d have to give her the talk, even if he’d wanted to. Suddenly Kenna didn’t seem to want to talk at all.
She rushed around collecting various articles of clothing off the floor and clumsily putting them back on.
He guessed that was his cue to get moving too. After locating his boxers on the center of the coffee table, he rose to put them on. “I thought Everly wasn’t expecting you to pick up the boys at the café until nine.” In his estimation they could get in another round and still be on time.
“But I have to go home!” She pulled on her shirt without bothering to clasp her bra. “I have to change! And take a shower! Oh my God. I shouldn’t have stayed here all night.”
Um…what was he supposed to say to that? Usually he was the one rushing off in the morning, not the other way around. “Why not?”
“Because! My car was parked at the town hall all night. That’s right in the middle of town! Do you know how many people probably drove by and saw it there? They’re going to know. Everyone’s going to know.”
“Know what? They can’t possibly know you were here with me.” And so what if they did?
Instead of answering the question, Kenna tossed him the rest of his clothes. “Get dressed. I have to go. Last night was fun, but I have to get back to reality.”
Back to reality. Tucker pulled on his jeans and shirt. He got it. Her reality and his were worlds apart. She didn’t even want her friends to know they’d spent the night together. Waking up with her in his arms had brought a rush of thoughts and feelings that temporarily tricked him into thinking this thing between them might have potential to turn into more than a fling, but she’d set him straight real quick. Well, good. That meant she was willing to keep things in the fling territory exactly like he wanted. Yep. That’s what he wanted. Something simple and clean.
Except it didn’t seem to sit right with him this time. Rather than unpack why, he stuffed his wallet into his back pocket and grabbed his keys. “Come on, I’ll take you to your car.”
They both pulled on their boots and winter gear before wading through the layer of new snow that had fallen overnight. He opened the passenger door of his truck and helped her climb in. Once he settled in beside her, he started the engine and blasted the heat.
She remained as quiet as he did on the drive back to town. Tucker glanced at her a few times in between turns and stoplights, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
“Where’s my Jeep?”
He’d been so busy trying to figure her out, he hadn’t realized they’d already reached the town hall. But she was right. Her Jeep wasn’t parked where it had been when they left last night. There was, however, a rectangular bare space next to the curb with snow piled up around it.
“Where’s my car?” she asked again, sitting straight and tall, gaping out the window.
“I don’t know.” Tucker pulled over behind the bare space and let the truck idle.
Kenna tore off her seat belt and bolted out of the truck. “Where could it be?”
He got out too. She’d parked it there. He saw it himself when they left last night. It had been right there…
“Do you think someone stole it?” She whirled to him, her face gripped by genuine panic.
“No. There’s no way.” Not in Topaz Falls. Though it might have been better if it had been stolen. He had a bad feeling. She might not want her friends to know she’d spent the night with him, but the way things went in Topaz Falls, he was afraid they’d all find out. “I need to call Dev. See if he knows anything.” He pulled out his phone and dialed the deputy’s number but it went right to voice mail. “He’s not answering. I’ll bet he’s at the café.” Tucker headed for the driver’s seat, but Kenna hung back.
“I can’t show up at the café with you! The boys are there!” Now instead of panicked, she looked downright horrified. “This was supposed to be a fun fling, but now the whole town will be talking and speculating and reading into things!”
He didn’t argue with her. Hell, last night had him reading into things. “You can wait in the truck.” He tried to speak calmly. Someone had to stay calm. “I’ll go in and find Dev.”
They endured a silent five-minute ride to the café. He didn’t think it wise to share his speculations before they were confirmed, and Kenna seemed to be in no mood to hear them anyway.
Doing his best to keep their cover intact, he parked at the far end of the café’s lot and left the truck running while he ran in. Kenna had been right. The place was packed. There wasn’t even a spare table. Luckily, Dev was at his usual table and the seat across from him was empty. “Hey,” Tucker said as he sat across from Dev.
“Hi?” Dev might as well have asked why the hell he was sitting down. It wasn’t like they’d ever shared breakfast.
He decided to get right to it. “Do you know what happened to Kenna Hart’s car?”
The deputy mopped his mouth with a napkin before tossing it on his plate. “Sure,” he said, all laid back. “Hank had it towed.”
Shit. That’s what he’d been afraid of. “Why?”
“Because it was parked in front of the town hall past ten,” Hank yelled over from the other side of the room.
Tucker should’ve known. The mayor of Topaz Falls was always listening.
“It says nice and clear on the sign no parking between ten p.m. and six a.m. I checked at five this morning and her car was still there.”
That was all it took to draw interested stares from the other patrons.
That bad feeling gouged a good-sized hole in Tucker’s gut. Uh-oh.
“I tried to call her a few times after Hank called me,” Dev said. “But it went straight to voice mail. To be honest, I got worried and drove by her house, but she didn’t answer the door.”
“Well, are we sure she’s all right?” Betty Osterman, aka the town gossip, asked from a nearby booth. “Maybe she’s in trouble. Maybe she’s been abducted as a sex slave!”
Tucker gripped his forehead and squeezed.
“Nah.” Dev waved off the worry. “When Kenna didn’t answer the door, I called up Everly since they’re close, and she told me she thought Kenna might be on a date.”
“A date? All night?” Betty demanded.
Murmurs went around the room.
If Tucker could’ve slipped out unnoticed, he would have. What was he supposed to do here? Things were getting way out of hand. Kenna obviously didn’t want anyone to know about their fling, but now the whole town would definitely hear by noon.
“Tucker!” Everly hurried over to their table. “I’m surprised to see you here.” Her wide eyes probed him for information. After glancing around, she leaned closer. “I thought Kenna was with you,” she whispered.
Dev did a double take. “She was on a date with you all night?”
Tucker gave them both a look meant to shut them up. “Kenna’s fine,” he said evenly. “There’s nothing to worry about.” Well, nothing for them to worry about. He had plenty to worry about. All those people staring, still trying to eavesdrop, for example. “So where’s her car?” He slid out of the booth, ready to make a fast exit.
“County impound lot.” At least the deputy had the decency to look remorseful. “If I’d known she was with you, I would’ve called your cell.”
“Keep. It. Down.” He didn’t know why he said it. It was too late. Everyone had already heard. It was too late for damage control now.
“Did you guys have fun?” Everly whispered with a smile.
Like he was going to share that with twenty of his closest neighbors. “Where are the boys?” he asked instead.
“They’re out feeding the goats and chickens with Mateo.”
“Can they hang out here a little longer?”
“Of course.” Her eyebrows bounced teasingly. “They can stay as long as you guys need them to.”
He ignored the innuendo and started for the door. “She’ll be back to pick them up in a couple of hours,” he muttered to Everly. Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the room, he booked it back outside.
“Well? Did he know where my car was?” Kenna asked the second he climbed back into the truck.
“Yeah.” He clicked in his seat belt and opted not to look at her directly. “Apparently Hank noticed your car this morning and had it towed.”
“Oh Lord.” Her hands went straight to her face. “Now everyone’ll find out! Everyone will know we spent a night together.”
A night? So that was it? One night with Kenna and it was over? The unease that had sat with him all morning turned rock solid in his gut. “You sure didn’t seem worried about that last night,” he said, staring straight ahead. In fact, she hadn’t worried about anything last night. She’d been open and relaxed and happy. Or so he’d thought.
“No. I wasn’t worried. Because no one knew. But what are people going to think now? I’m a mom, Tucker. I have two little boys. Responsibilities. Commitments. And you’re—” She stopped suddenly.
“I’m what?” His throat had gotten raw. Something told him he didn’t want to hear the end of that sentence.
“Well, you know.”
No, actually, he didn’t. Not anymore. Last week he would’ve said he was happy with his life the way it was, but Kenna had gotten to him. Somehow she’d made him feel like he needed more.
He let her sit in the uncomfortable silence, waiting to hear her give him any indication that she felt as conflicted as he did about their arrangement.
She sighed. “You’re a great guy, but it’s not like this can go anywhere.”
And there was his answer.