Uninhibited in Apple Trail, Arkansas - Volume 2 (12 page)

He groaned and pressed down. His weight strong and powerful leaned her back. His warmth seared through her clothes and she held tight as he took her mouth.

A kiss from a real man. Cinnamon spice from his tongue burned a path through her. There was no way she was stopping with only this one, heart jolting kiss. If she did, she’d have more regrets than ever.

But he was pulling away again. Not as fast this time. He pressed soft kisses to her lips, to the corner of her mouth before straightening to his full height, and frankly out of her reach. “We still shouldn’t.”

“Doesn’t mean we still can’t.” She smiled and pulled away. She didn’t know why he was stopping, but by that kiss and his hard cock against her belly, it wasn’t because he really wanted to and they definitely weren’t stopping for good.

Chapter Four

She was going to be a lot of trouble. Hell of a lot. Definitely the kind of woman who was part of Grant’s past. The kind he wouldn’t have taken to mom. He was either going to take his new future or not, and he was most certainly going to take it.

Grant tied off the last tree and looked to his watch and winced. It was getting late and he still had to set up his camp. He had to be finished with that by dark or he was going to be screwed.

Damn ghost stories. A cold shudder slipped over his sweltering back.

He could have gone without knowing that part of this place. He sighed. He supposed it was better to know about it now rather than later when the fog rolled in and caught him off guard. He was going to be missing home in dry Texas where there was little fog and what was there, didn’t usually last long. By the humidity rolling sweat down his back, he was going to have to get over himself and get used to the fog.

Rebecca smiled at him. Her plump lips stretched, laugh lines curved her full cheeks and her eyes stared at him around a frame of her midnight hair. “Better get you back and get you set up for camp.”

He cleared his throat. “You don’t have to help.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Really. I can do it. There’s not much two people can do at a time. The tent is small. It’ll go up fast.”

Her lips turned up in a wide grin. “Sounds cozy.”

Jesus
. Why did he ever think looking for the future kind of woman would be the easiest part of his plan? Compared to her, getting his brothers to move here was going to be a piece of cake. “You’ll have to face your brother eventually.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, shit. I’m supposed to have dinner with him and his new wife. Yeah, can’t help.”

Thank God. A topic that wasn’t about her on him. “You don’t like her?”

“Tiffany? Oh, no. I like her fine. At least…last I saw her, she was fine. She was a few years older than me in school, so we didn’t hang out or anything. Glad my brother finally got the balls to admit he’s loved her forever. I just don’t want to go, but a promise is a promise.”

“Never break a promise?”

She frowned at him. “Of course not. It’ll be fine. I can fill the evening up with questions about finding people to do the things you want done here. So, yeah. That’ll work. Guess I’ll need to head on out. Then I can get a few plats and stuff to refresh my memory.”

And he was glad for that. At least he was until he watched as she drove off on her bike, only a trail of dust falling to the ground and a tire print marking the road showing that anyone had been there. Now that he was alone, with this haunted house and grounds, he was missing her nonstop chatter.

He shuddered. He wasn’t sure which was worse. Her or the ghosts. Eventually he’d get over the raging desire to take her to the ground and plow her. He always got over women. So far he still hadn’t gotten over the cool brush of fog sucking the breath from his lungs.

While he wanted to get in his truck and haul ass out of here, he stayed and would deal with the fucking weather patterns.

It was time for the next part of his life.

How he became the mother hen of three boys when he was the youngest, he didn’t know, but Grant knew if he didn’t get his brothers back together, they’d keep drifting apart and they were all they had left. Quick conversations at Christmas once a year, if that, was not enough.

A flock of birds took to the sky in a rush of flapping wings and he jumped and started around searching for what had caused the disturbance, ready to attack it if he needed. Same as when Rebecca had come up behind him and touched him.

A shake he’d never been able to overcome slithered all over his spine and he reached in the bed of his truck to get his camp started. If he could be zipped up in his tent before dark, then he’d be fine.

Chapter Five

Rebecca put her brother’s truck in park and hopped out, anxious to get this day started. Today she was hoping there’d be a bit more fun. The naughty kind of fun, of course.

“Morning.” Grant called from his tailgate where he’d set up a propane grill. “Coffee?”

“No thanks.”

“Eggs?”

She stopped. “You cooked eggs out here?”

“Yep. I have bacon, too. If you’re hungry.”

Using breakfast as an excuse, she eased over to see if he really smelled and looked as good as she remembered. She glanced him over and pulled in a breath of his leather and pine scent. Yep. Same as she remembered. Maybe even better. “I’m good. Thanks though. I’m going to get the four-wheeler down.”

He tossed the last of his coffee out and sat the mug aside. “Let me help.”

“Sure.” She moved to the back and pulled a pin from one side of the trailer while he started on the other. “I fixed an ice chest this morning. Just some water and snacks.”

“I have everything we should need.”

She shrugged. “Didn’t figure there was any need taking your ice when I was driving right past the store.”

“Any reason you have your swimsuit on?” He pointed at her purple straps tied behind her neck.

“Yep.” She smiled. “It’s going to be hot as hell shortly after lunch and that creek comes from a small pond. Good for swimming to cool off. You eat PB&J?”

His brows shot up. “How long is this tour going to be?”

She faulted as she climbed up to the four-wheeler. “Oh. I assumed you wanted a full ride around the property. We can just hit the high spots, if you want.”

“No, no. I want to see it all, I just didn’t figure it would take all day.”

She nodded and sat on the four-wheeler. The hot leather of the seat scorched her thighs and she jerked, then eased down, getting used to the warmth. “Some of the trails are tricky and you have to go slow. Once you clear cut some of it, it won’t take so long.”

She cranked the engine and backed it off. The trailer jumped, metal clapped, and she slid down the ramp, cutting the engine once off. “I started making some of those calls yesterday afternoon. Should be someone to come out to start an inspection on the house midmorning. I let him know we likely wouldn’t be here, but to go on in and get started.”

“Sounds good.”

A smile came easy. She’d enjoyed it. After leaving yesterday, she’d had enough time and dove into making calls and setting up contacts. It’d been forever since she’d had a purpose that she cared about. “My contractor buddy said to give him a call after the inspection is finished and then he’d come out and start looking at what needed to be done for updates. Loggers are going to start moving equipment out here by this evening. I looked at a plat yesterday of your property.”

She leaned over the front of the four-wheeler and pulled the small spiral bound book from a baggie out of the ice chest. With a glance up as she sat, she found him staring toward her ass. She cleared her throat and gestured at the lines she’d marked off on his property. “From what I was told about this place in school and old wives tales, and from what I figured from when I used to ride around out here, I believe all this circled area in pink was once either yard or fields. I told him to start in the front, and let him know we marked a few trees already.”

He stared at her and just blinked.

Heat filled through her cheeks. “I picked up some posted signs and a staple gun. Figured while we were out looking today, we could go ahead and slap some up.” He only looked at her still so she continued on. “I dropped a bug in Mike’s ear that you want all this stopped. He wasn’t too pleased to hear people had been hunting on your land, but that’ll get folks out here to get their stuff off.” She lowered the property markings, unable to take his gaze any longer. “You’re just staring at me.”

He waved her off. “I’m shocked.”

“Is this too much too soon? I was under the impression you wanted this taken care of ASAP.”

“No. This is perfect. I just wasn’t expecting you to be able to do this.” His eyes widened. “So fast, that is,” he added on a rushed breath. “I didn’t think things would take off this fast. It’s great.”

She shook her head and smiled as she lifted the paper back up. “I told you before I left I didn’t have anything to do. My brother pulled some of the strings for me because he likes to see me busy.”

“Get into trouble much?”

Her lips twitched. “You could say that.” She cleared her throat. “These orange starred places are all the spots I could remember where there was easy access on your property, deer feeders or deer stands. Things we’ll want to look at. There’s a mechanic in town who does some welding on the side. His wife is about to burst with twins and will likely be happy with the work to get you fixed up with some gates to block those thorough ways. Are you familiar with deer cameras?”

“Motioned sensor ones?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I suggest you invest. Parker—the mechanic—can fix the gates up with metal boxes to house the cameras. My brother uses some of them. Really effective for catching people trespassing, since if they’re welded on, they can’t be stolen. Anyway, fix up a private network and you can manage them all from a computer.”

He nodded, still smiling. “I hope you have all this written down somewhere.”

She laughed and figured that’s enough for now. “I do.” She glanced at his jeans, t-shirt, and boots. She hadn’t intended to notice how he looked wearing all that. Or she should say, how his body filled out those clothes like no man’s should, but shit, it was impossible not to notice. “You wanna change to shorts before we leave?”

His mouth opened, but closed for a second. His brow pulled as he thought. “No. This is fine. Let me grab my pack and I’ll be ready.”

Might be hot, but whatever. Maybe if he was sweating to the gills later, he’d be more likely to strip down and swim. A smile taking her lips over the thought, she hopped on the four-wheeler and followed him over to his camp. He lifted a backpack from the backseat of his truck and fastened it down to the back four wheeler rack and then got on behind. His legs slid alongside her thighs. Stomach close to her back. A breath fell out of her chest when she realized he wasn’t going to be wrapping his arms around her waist. Pity.

She mashed the gas pedal and started off. The wind whipped her face. The grind of the motor vibrated through her body. The morning sun touched her cheeks and she felt younger than she had in years.

She swung around the side of the house and slowed a bit to maneuver around the brush and such beyond the back of the house. While people do drive up around the house, it was more for curiosity sake. It was too much of a pain to come up here often, so people hadn’t ridden enough to make a trail. If you wanted in the house, it was easier to park and walk up.

Sticks and small trees crunched under her tires and she leaned ahead, not wanting to drive off head first in the creek without being prepared. The tall green grasses parted and there it was. The dip into the creek.

She slowed and backed up.

“What is it?”

“The creek.” She pointed. “I can’t get in right here. It’s up here just a bit.”

“What do you mean by ‘get in’?”

She chuckled, and turned, finding the place where you got in. “I mean, as in, get in the water.”

“Is that safe?”

“It’s fine. It’s not that deep. The foot pedals will be under water though.” She propped her feet up on the front fenders. “So you might want to put your legs up.”

“Rebecca.”

His worried tone was lost as she hit the gas and started down the slope.

“Rebecca.” His chest plastered against her back, feet landed on the front fenders on either side of hers, forcing his legs to press against the length of hers. “There’s got to be a better way back here.”

“This is it unless you want to walk. And I don’t.” She leaned back. “Hold on.”

“To what?” His hands came around her waist.

She started, but didn’t fight when he gripped her, inadvertently pulling her against his body and heat. Tucked her butt against his thighs. Wrapped her up so her back was plastered against the wall of his chest. The four-wheeler rolled down the last of the slant. Water splashed and she grinned as his fingers uncurled from the skin on her belly, but he didn’t release her. “There. Not so bad was it?”

“We could have gone around.”

She shook her head. “This is the easiest way. The trails don’t start until behind where I suspect the fields used to be. We’ll follow this around and climb out there and be on easy riding trails. If we had gone around, we’d be forced to a crawl to get through. And even then, it’s been so long since I’ve been back here, I’m not sure we could have squeezed past. If you can get a bulldozer, you can knock all that down in a snap and make a road. I know someone who has a tractor, but not a bulldozer. There is a rental store in El Dorado though.”

“Are there any fish in this creek?”

“Probably not since it’s so shallow. Plenty of snakes though.” She grinned and punched the gas, deciding to keep it to herself that she’d tucked her pistol in her bag with her towel and maps in case they came across any rattlers or water moccasins. The gun seemed to have made him uneasy yesterday. “But I’ll see them swimming across the water before we reach them.”

Well at least she’d see those. Not so easy to spot a snake on the four-wheeler trails and she really didn’t want to think about how many times she’s raced back here and came within inches of one curled up in brush along the side of the trail.

She followed the water around and unfortunately as the path continued, Grant’s grip on her loosened. A sigh filtered through her lungs.

At the back side of the yard, the stream widened and the slant on the bank lowered. She turned the four-wheeler toward it, and at the feel of his arms tightening on her, she hit the gas harder than necessary and climbed out. She stopped at the top and looked back toward the house.

The second floor had a rounded out balcony, but otherwise, it was basically the same as the front. It just looked forgotten. Weather and time had crumbled a few bits around the edges, but otherwise, it determinedly stood. She turned away from it and pointed ahead of the four-wheeler. “There’s the trail.”

“I’m ready for my tour. Are you going to wave your arms and tell me to look at things to the left and right as we go? Should I have gotten headphones to hear each other better?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Are you making fun of me?”

He grinned. “Not too much. Trying to make the best of this and doing anything not to think of all these snakes you keep mentioning.”

She patted his thigh. “Don’t worry, Babycakes, I’ll protect you.”

At his chuckle, she floored the gas and his body whipped up behind her. His arms gripped her tight and satisfaction spiraled through as she swung down the path for a hundred or so yards to the first opening where people were driving onto his property.

She slowed as the trees parted. “On our left, we’ll see an opening on the path. The Graham property—well, I guess it’s the Iverson Property now—is on this side against a hunting camp. As you can see, many four-wheelers have traveled through here.” She idled in front of it and pretended to hold a microphone to her mouth. “But with a wide gate and a bit of fencing, this area can easily be blocked off and nature will protect the rest.”

His lips twitched. “Where are those signs you said you grabbed?”

She reached in the main zipper of her bag and pulled out the staple gun and posted signs. He took them from her, marked a few trees and climbed back on behind her. “What’s next?”

“Up ahead.” She hit the gas with a little more care this time and followed the path, stopping at one of the abandoned wells since he’d taken interest when they’d talked earlier. As she expected, he hopped off and walked to the old well marked by the little pipe jutting from the ground and an old cracked moonshine jar plugging the hole.

She leaned on the handlebars. “According to what they say, some old timer dropped his whiskey jug. It cracked, making it useless so he put the old jug in the hole.”

He reach forward, his hand close, but he pulled back before touching the jug. “It’s more than what most had. I’ll need to have the land and well water checked to make sure nothing has leaked and poisoned the ground. They just didn’t have the technology to know what to do then and most of the wells from that day and time weren’t recorded for people to go back and plug them once they did have the knowledge to know better.” He stroked over his face. “And I need to have the entire property checked for more open wells.”

“How do you do that?”

“Metal detector.”

She watched him as he continued to walk around the old well. “They say your grandfather leaned over the pipe as they drove it in the ground. So much oil gushed up at once into his face and flung him backwards, snapping his neck.”

He glanced up. “Do they now?”

She nodded. “They also say he was swimming in one of the oil ponds like it was a pile of money and drowned.”

“Which is it?”

She shrugged. “Who knows? Others say when oil gushed out, he fell over dead from the shock.”

He bent down, his jeans wrapped tight around his ass and he turned over a few rocks and stared at the jug. “According to my great-great grandmother’s diary, he slipped in the mud, fell and whacked his head on a board.”