Dare to Kiss (The Maxwell Series Book 1) (10 page)

My brain had forgotten where we were. Kade pulled away. I bit back a whine.

“What do you want, Kel? I thought I told you to go home.” Kade growled as he leaned against my car.

“I hung out with Becca.” Kelton took long strides into the lot from the road.

“I should get home anyway,” I said in a throaty tone.

Kelton shoved his hands in his jeans pockets in front of us, grinning as though he knew how Kade had affected me.

“Wipe the smirk off your face, ass-wipe,” I snapped. At least this time my voice was normal.

“I love it when you talk dirty to me,” Kelton said snidely.

I rolled my eyes—something that was becoming routine for me around these brothers.

“Go home, Kel,” Kade barked.

“Chill, bro. I saw your truck. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need my help. But I can see you have it under control.” He waggled his brows.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Kade said. “Now go.”

“Night, girl. Don’t drive my brother too crazy.” He winked at me then sauntered away.

“Don’t let him bug you.” Kade wrapped his arms around me.

“Kelton is fine. I can handle him. I need to get home,” I said, staring at his lips.

He rubbed his thumb over my cheek. “I know.” Blowing out a breath, he let go of me.

I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to go anywhere he was going.
Christ
.
What had he done to me
? Shaking the thought of Kade’s lips on me, I circled around to the driver’s side. The two large trucks that were parked on either side of me were gone.

He waited, not saying a word, while I opened my door. “I’ll be fine, Kade,” I assured him.

“I know. But I’ll wait to make sure anyway.”

I climbed in, inserted the key into the ignition, then turned it.
Click, click, click
.

Seriously? Again
? If my father didn’t fix this car for good, I was going to take out one of my panic attacks on him. I tried it one more time. Nothing.
Shit
! I jumped out, slamming the door. I wanted to kick the tires.

Kade was shaking his head. “I’m going to tell your father to let me work on that car,” he said, frustrated. “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

I froze. Several thoughts flitted through my brain.
Him and me alone in his truck, and after that kiss? I should call my dad. Or maybe Becca can give me a ride home
. I glanced at the Cave.

“I see your mind working, Lace. It’s just a ride.” He pulled his keys out of his front jeans pocket.

“Can’t you check? Last time the battery cable was loose, according to my dad.”

“I’m sure he was right, but sometimes the terminals can get corroded. If that’s the case, we’re not going to fix it tonight. Better to check it in daylight, anyway.”

“You know, I’ll ask Becca to take me home.” I plucked my purse from the Mustang, checked for my phone, then locked the car.

Turning, I plowed in to his hard chest and stumbled. “Geez, dude! A little warning!” What was it with the Maxwell brothers and their stealthy nature? Why was I even worried about the car? I should be praying that someone would steal it. Maybe then Dad would get me a new vehicle. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it.

“Becca is probably helping her dad. You might have to wait for her. Didn’t you say you needed to get home?” He cupped one of my elbows.

I did want to go home. I didn’t want to wait. I threw caution to the wind. We walked the short distance to his truck. I was grabbing the handle to step up on the shiny running board when he palmed my butt.

“Do you mind?” I asked, slipping onto the leather seat.

He had that impish grin on his face again. Not saying a word, he closed the door, circled around, and jumped into the driver’s seat. We didn’t say much as he maneuvered out of the parking lot.

“So, I live—”

“I know where you live.” He turned left onto the main road.

I gaped at him. “You do?” I didn’t know what to think other than that he was stalking me.

He laughed as he ran his fingers through his hair. My fingers itched to replace his with mine.

“Of course. You didn’t think I wouldn’t find out about the girl who pulled a gun on me.”

“Yeah, about that—I’m sorry.”

“What were you doing with a gun, anyway?”

“I’d forgotten to leave it at home. My father and I joined the Ashford Gun Club.”

“Why?”

I wasn’t ready to tell him the real reason. I’d just met him, and while he was a fantastic kisser, I wasn’t sure I could trust him. I didn’t want my life to be the focus of every kid’s conversation at school. I didn’t want to hear the gossip, or whispers, or pity. I’d had enough of that at Crestview. “Aside from baseball, I like to fly planes and shoot guns.” It was the truth. I had taken flying lessons in LA and was a few classes away from getting my pilot’s license—for small planes, of course. I loved the rush, the freedom I got when I was thousands of feet in the sky. I hadn’t flown since we moved.

“Mmmm. You are something else, aren’t you, Lacey Robinson?”

“What does that mean?”

He shook his head as he drove through the streets of Ashford. There weren’t many people out. I didn’t expect to see any. After all, it was almost midnight.

“So do you think you’ll make the team?” he asked.

“Maybe. What was all the fuss about in the parking lot with Aaron and Greg?”

“Old history.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the truck as I waited for him to elaborate. When he didn’t, I spoke up. “That’s it? You don’t want to give details?”

“Not tonight.”

There was a lot of old history around here. First Becca and Tyler, then Becca and Grace, now Kade and Greg. Regardless, I didn’t push. I had my own secrets locked up that I didn’t want anyone to know.

As he drove, I leaned back and relaxed, breathing in his masculine scent. I’d been replaying the kiss between us when he pulled into my driveway, and everything around me disappeared, including Kade. Suddenly, I struggled to breathe as I stared at the dark, ominous house. There wasn’t a single light on. I remembered turning on a few lights before I left. Then my breathing grew shallow, and the sides of my vision darkened as I took hold of the truck door with a shaky hand. A buzzing sound whirred in my head. I tried to get oxygen into my lungs, but it was like someone had cut off my airway. I couldn’t stop the panic attack or the visions. I shook my head several times as I tried to escape my memories, but it was too late.

The large house had been dark as I got out of my car. Not one light glowed. Even the lights on the outside of the garage were off. Something was wrong. Mom’s Audi was in the driveway and the garage door was open. Mom never left the garage door open, even when she was home. Julie’s Volvo sat in the driveway, too. Why was she home? She wasn’t supposed to be home from her friend Melissa’s house until tomorrow. As soon as I stepped into the bay of the garage, a strong odor penetrated my nostrils, a mixture of sweat and a man’s cologne. It wasn’t my dad’s cologne, either. He didn’t even wear the smelly stuff—it irritated Mom. I covered my nose with my hand as my brain suddenly became fuzzy.

I climbed the few steps to the door leading inside the house. I turned the knob, pushed the door, and tentatively walked in. I flipped the light switch next to the door, but nothing came on. I hesitated before going any farther. I took out my phone and hit the button so the backlight on it would help guide me. As I headed down the hallway, bile rose in my throat. Unlike the smell in the garage, the scent inside had a strong metallic odor. Every hair on me stood up.

“Mom,” I called out, but I didn’t get an answer. “Mom,” I called again, but nothing. Where was she? Why wasn’t she answering?

Suddenly, someone was calling my name.

“Hey. Lacey. What’s wrong?” a familiar-but-scared voice asked.

Pain seared from my right elbow up through my shoulder, and I screamed.

“Lacey? Lacey? Can you hear me?”

My vision blurred, then a flash of light blinded me before a hot wind breezed over my face. I blinked a few times. On my last long blink my vision cleared a little, my breathing still shallow. “K-K-ade?”

I was leaning against the garage door, and Kade was standing in front of me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his hands around my face.

“How did I get out of the truck!”

He studied me with a mixture of fear, sympathy, and pain. “Shhh. You don’t need to scream.”

Oh, my God
. This couldn’t be happening to me.
Breathe.
I had to get away from him. He couldn’t see me like this. He was probably thinking I was mental. I shook my head, but he wouldn’t let go. I balled my hands into tight fists and swung.

Letting go of my face, he grabbed my wrists. “Stop. I don’t know what’s happening here. Please,” he begged, his words floating like ice in a sea of fear.

Wincing, I stilled. I wasn’t prepared to tell him.
Of all the people to witness one of my episodes, it had to be him. This guy must think I was a freak show
.

My vision darkened, and a warm feeling blanketed me.
Oh no, please don’t shut down on me. I can’t pass out. Not now.

“You need to tell me what to do here, Lace. I’m at a loss.” His left hand moved to my lower back, and the other moved to the nape of my neck.

“Kade?” His face became fuzzy as dizziness set in. “I’m probably going to…” My knees gave out, and he caught me.

“Pass out,” he finished for me.

“Sorry I—”

Then the world around me went dark.

My brain awakened to voices around me, familiar voices. Then a hand brushed my hair. Goosebumps covered my body.

“Does she always have these attacks?” Kade’s voice registered above me.

“It depends. Something had to trigger it,” Dad said from a distance.

Dad? Where was I
? I remembered the flashback, Kade asking me what was wrong, and then nothing. If I wasn’t mistaken, my head was in Kade’s lap, and we were sitting on my couch in the family room. The smell of leather furniture surrounded me. My heart fell into the pit of my stomach. Why had Kade had to witness one of my freak shows?

I kept my eyelids shut for the moment. I wanted to see how far this conversation was going to go. I had to know what Dad was going to tell him. I was already embarrassed. Now I had to find out if I should move back to California tomorrow.

“Tell me what happened when you drove up,” Dad said.

Every instinct in me told me to run to my room and lock the door, but I was enjoying Kade’s hands on me. He was tracing the outline of the shell of my ear, and the sensation was soothing.

“We drove in, and she got out of the truck then walked up to the garage door and threw her elbow into it several times. I tried to get her to stop, but she seemed like she was in a trance, her eyes were wide open as though she just saw something horrible. When she snapped out of it she passed out. I found her keys in her purse, then I brought her in the house and called you. Why does she have attacks?”

“I’m not prepared to discuss that with you, son.”

“Mr. Robinson, I might be out of line on this, but have you considered a doctor? I mean therapy.”

“We have. She missed her appointment on Friday.”

I was going to kill Dad.
Please don’t say any more.

“I see. I know you don’t want to tell me, and frankly, I don’t blame you. It isn’t any of my business. But I can tell she’s been through some type of trauma. If it helps, my dad is a psychiatrist for the military. He counsels a lot of the veterans coming back from battle and other intense situations. He’s on assignment for a few weeks. And it’s just something to think about, but when he returns you may want to talk with him.”

“I’ll consider it. I should get her to bed.” Dad sounded defeated.

I could understand. I hadn’t had an attack in six months. The last one hadn’t really been an attack—more of a nightmare. Dad had found me walking into the ocean. I’d never sleepwalked before, but PTSD had different effects on people.

“I can carry her. Where’s her room?”

Oh no, Kade wasn’t going into my room
. If he ever had the chance to set foot in it, it would have to be under better circumstances. I pressed my head into Kade’s stomach and slowly opened my eyelids.

His hand stilled on my ear. “Hey there,” he said softly.

“Sweet Pea.” Dad rose from his chair.

I sat up. “What are you doing home?” I asked. I didn’t want them to know I had been listening—at least, not yet.

“Are you okay?” Dad sat on the couch next to me.

“Yeah. My arm hurts like crazy, though.”

“Should we get it X-rayed?” Dad knitted his brows.

“Oh, crap. I have tryouts coming up.” I held my arm.

“You should put ice on it,” Kade said.

I was afraid to look at him—actually, I
couldn’t
look at him. I felt so humiliated. He’d probably never want to see me again, which was probably for the best. I had to concentrate on baseball anyway. I ran out of the room, down the hall and into the guest bathroom, closing the door. Immediately, I dipped my head in the sink and splashed cold water on my face. Taking a towel off the rack, I dropped down on the bench in front of the vanity and patted my skin dry.

The TV wasn’t on, so their voices resonated clearly.

“Is she going to be okay?” Kade asked.

“She’ll be fine,” Dad said. “It’s late. You should get going.” His voice sounded tired.

“I’ll have the car towed to my house tomorrow,” Kade said.

Hmm. It sounded like they’d already talked about my car.
What else had they discussed? Did Kade bring up the gun incident? Did Dad share anything else about me
?

“You don’t have to do that, son. I can get it tomorrow.”

“I insist. Please, let me work on it. I’ve been dying to get my hands on one of those cars and play a little. My dad doesn’t let me touch his cars all that much.”

“Sure. I guess it wouldn’t hurt.”

Great! Now what was I going to do for a vehicle
? If he had my car that would mean I would have to see him again soon. Their voices trailed off, and the front door shut. I slunk out of the bathroom and went back to the family room. Pulling a blanket out of the wicker basket, I unfolded it and curled up on the couch. Aside from the humiliation and my arm throbbing, I was tired. Panic attacks always wore me out. My eyes drifted shut.