Lucky Break (7 page)

His boots thumped on the porch stairs as he climbed them. The porch light practically spotlighted her, the glow making it look like there were purple highlights in her hair. She sucked in a deep breath, but other than that, she didn’t move, so he stood there and watched her for a minute. She looked so peaceful, her lips parted slightly, and damned if he didn’t wish again that he could kiss her.

She’d always been so beautiful. Yet being on her old porch swing, back in Shamrock Falls, she was even more gorgeous.

“Shit,” he groaned as a mosquito landed on her bare shoulder. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her there. To kiss a trail to her mouth, stopping only to swirl his tongue in the little dip by her collarbone.

And he wanted to talk to her. To ask her if Los Angeles was everything she’d thought it would be. What her life was like and if it was worth it.

He just wanted his Sidney back for real.

When another mosquito landed on her, he shooed them both away. She’d get eaten alive if she stayed out here. With another curse, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. Kade ignored how right she felt there, how familiar.

Her arms immediately came up and wrapped around his neck. Her breathing pattern didn’t change, so he knew she still slept. It was stupid, but he couldn’t help but wonder if somewhere in her sleep, she knew it was him. If she wrapped her arms around him and sighed in contentment because she knew it was Kade and that he would take care of her.

The front door was unlocked, so he went in and headed straight for her old room. When he stepped into it, it was like no time had passed. He had so many memories in this room—even some of holding her the way he was now.

She sighed; her breath skirted across his neck. The urge to kiss her hit him again. Though it certainly didn’t take much for him to feel the pull. The scent of her skin or the plumpness of her lips. The way her eyes followed him sometimes. He needed to find a way to break that connection.
Space
, he reminded himself. They could be close without him falling back to the way things used to be.

Before he did something stupid, Kade laid her down on the bed, grabbed a blanket from the chair, and pulled it over her. Then he watched her for a few minutes. She rolled over, made a sleepy little noise. Smiling, he shook his head—at himself or her, he didn’t know—and walked out of the room, wondering how it would feel to do those things he craved. If it might make Sidney want to stay.

Or if he even wanted her to.

…

The next few days passed in a whirlwind. Sidney spent at least a couple of hours every day at Lucky’s helping Rowan, Kade, and a few others work on the place. Jace and Betsy hadn’t been back because of their day jobs, but the rest of them stayed busy.

Things were still a little awkward between her and Kade. Not angry awkward, but the kind where she couldn’t stop admiring his muscles. The way his back flexed when he lifted something. The set to his jaw when he concentrated. Oh, and the way she remembered their near kiss over and over. She wondered what it meant, not only to her, but to him as well.

Sidney glanced over at Kade while he worked, admiring the view. She was obviously attracted to him. A girl would have to be dead not to be, but how could he go at Mach speed from despising her to almost kissing her?

He’d taken the time to carry her into the house. Yes, that probably came from his need to protect people, but she still felt it deep inside her. It made her feel special to know he would do something like that for her.

Lucky’s was getting closer to the soft opening and she found that this upset her. She liked helping. Liked working and laughing with Rowan and enjoyed catching those moments where Kade let loose, too. It just felt good to be here with her old friends. To know that she had a piece in this venture that was so important to him.

When her cell phone rang, she set down her coffee cup and reached for it.
Aunt
Mae
flashed on the screen.

Sidney stepped out of the room so no one could hear her. “Lucy! You have a lot of ’splainin’ to do!” she said instead of hello.
I Love Lucy
was one of Mae’s favorite shows; they used to watch it together.

“Hi, dear. It’s good to talk to you, too. Everything’s great. Thanks for asking!”

“I’ve been trying to ask how you were for days!
You
haven’t been answering your phone. I swear I was about to send out the National Guard for you.” And if it hadn’t been for the changing of the voice-mail greeting, she would have. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, Aunt Mae.”

“Pssh. You knew I was fine. What’s going to happen to me on the road, huh? You just wanted to call and yell at me, and you’re mad I didn’t make it easier on you.”

Aunt Mae had never been one to bullshit. And yes, Sidney had a bone to pick with her aunt and just like Mae, she didn’t intend to let the moment pass her by. “You’re darn right I want to yell at you! How could Kade Mitchell be living here and I not know it? Why didn’t you tell me? How long is he supposed to stay at the house? Did you plan this?” She couldn’t stop herself from firing questions.

“Which one would you like me to answer first, kiddo?” Mae didn’t sound the least bit concerned, and here Sidney felt like she could have a heart attack any minute.

“All of them!” She was quiet for a second, and Mae let her have her silence. She’d always been good at reading Sidney and giving her what she needed. “You have no idea how it felt to see him like that, Auntie. You should have let me prepare myself… He hated me…”

Mae didn’t miss a beat. “Aww, sweet girl. You know that’s not true. You also know you wouldn’t have come if I told you. Am I right?”

As much as she hated to admit it, they
both
knew Mae was right. “But why didn’t you tell me he was coming home before you knew I wanted to?”
Home?
It had been a while since she’d called Shamrock Falls home.

Mae breathed out deeply on the other end of the phone before replying. “He only came home a few days before you did. I’ll admit I knew he was coming back; he’d made the trip into town when he was looking to buy Lucky’s. The fact is, he asked me not to tell you. I don’t know his reasons, and I don’t want to know, but I love Kade like he’s my own son. He’s been around nearly as long as you have, sweet girl. I couldn’t go back on what I’d told him I would do.”

No, Aunt Mae wouldn’t do that. It was one of the things Sidney loved about her. “I get it… It’s just been so hard. After my car, the job, Steve… Then to come back to this?” Wetness pooled in her eyes, though she wasn’t actually sure what she meant by “this.” It had been horrible when she first came back, but things were better now. But then the near-kiss and the way her eyes always sought him out wasn’t normal. “How did everything get so screwed up?”

“Do you want me to come home? I’ll jump on an airplane right now if you need me. We’ll eat rocky road and cuddle on the couch for a week if that’s what you need.”

Mae’s words made her tears fall faster. She loved her aunt so much. When she was younger she would often get upset that her mom had left, and while she still didn’t understand and it still hurt, she knew how lucky she was to have Mae in her corner.

And man, did she miss her. So much. “No…it’s okay. I’m just being a baby.” Sidney wiped her eyes.

“How
are
things with Kade?”

Hmm, she wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Confusing, I guess. We’re okay, though. We’ve worked through the past. And I’ve been helping with Lucky’s. It’s been fun. Rowan’s around a lot, too.”

“You know”—the softness in Mae’s voice told her she treaded lightly—“you don’t have to leave when I come home later this month. Stick around for a while. See what happens—”

“I’m going.” She hadn’t meant for the words to come out as harshly or as quickly as they had, but she knew she had to go. If she stayed, Mae would want her to stay longer. And she always had trouble saying no to Mae. The woman had a way of getting what she wanted—she’d want Sidney in Shamrock Falls and Sidney wanted LA. There were people counting on her—her agent, for one. And Sidney wanted the dream. Wanted to prove she could do it, that she could do
something.
And maybe a part of her wanted to stick it to Steve, too. “I only got a month off work. I have to go back if I want to keep the job. Plus, Lydia says there’s some upcoming roles she thinks I have a good shot at.”

“If that’s what you want, Sidney.”

“Acting is what I’ve always wanted.”

“You know…I talked to your mom a while back. She said to tell you—”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Sidney shook her head, though there wasn’t anyone there to see it. She could handle almost anything except talking about her mom. “I just…let’s talk about something else.”

A sigh was the only clue she had that Aunt Mae didn’t agree. They fell into an easy conversation after that. She told her aunt about spending time with Rowan and Aunt Mae told her about all the sights they’d seen. Apparently Bob Dylan got carsick a couple times, but he seemed to be getting used to it now.

They got off the phone with promises to talk daily, the way they did when she was in LA. It felt good to touch base with Mae again—like a weight off her shoulders.

When she went back into the main room, she ran right into Kade’s sweaty chest. “Oh!” Sidney backed away. Her body hummed as though she still touched him.

“There you are. I thought you were slackin’ on the job.” He winked.

She didn’t know what it was, but she’d always found something incredibly sexy about a guy winking at a woman. “Please. If I wasn’t here to hold this place together, you’d be in trouble.” Maybe a
slight
exaggeration, but still.

“I’m sure the place would be falling down by now.” He crossed his arms and smirked at her.

Sidney’s heart stumbled.
Stop it.
Suddenly, smirks were sexy, too. “I was talking to Aunt Mae.”

“How’s she doing?” he asked, and his eyebrows rose in genuine interest.

“Good. Can you believe she’s dating Old Man Watson?”

Kade chuckled. “I’m not sure he goes by that anymore.”

“He was a grump. Remember when you broke his window and he made you work for him?” She loved these light, unexpected moments when their past fit so well into the present.

“I broke the man’s window. He had a right to be pissed.”

Now she crossed her arms. “It was an accident. He didn’t have to be so mean to you.” Kade didn’t deserve anyone harassing him.

“It is what it is.” Kade shrugged.

There was a smudge of sawdust on his face. Without thinking, Sidney wiped it away with her thumb. “You have a little something on you.”
Little
was correct—it was hardly noticeable. Oh, God. She was actually looking for excuses to touch the man!

“You just like touching me.”

Her cheeks burned. The playfulness in his tone told her he was joking, but it was a little too close to him reading her mind for comfort. If he could be nonchalant, though, she could too.

Sidney jerked her hand away when she realized it still rested against his cheek.
Oops.
“When did you become such a flirt, Kade Mitchell?”

Another grin. “I always have been. You just never noticed.”

…

Kade couldn’t keep his eyes off Sidney while they worked. He found excuses to go into the bar to see the progress she and Rowan were making, to look for tools he knew weren’t there, whatever reason he could find.

He caught her watching him, too.

They teetered on a very dangerous ledge. Just like he’d slipped into memories with her so easily, he couldn’t seem to help himself from testing the waters flirtatiously, either. It was almost like breathing, and no matter how jagged that cliff was or how much he told himself he needed to back away, he didn’t.

Innocently
, he told himself. They just had to lighten the mood or they’d all go crazy with how hard they were working. He’d made the mistake of crossing the line once, but he wouldn’t do it again.

He started to enjoy skirting it, though.

And he liked the way she responded.

Kade slammed the hammer down onto the head of a nail, pounding it in with one hit. He looked over his shoulder at her. Quickly, she turned away. He let a smile spread across his face.

He could still read her the same as always. She’d never been able to keep anything from him, and he’d seen the flicker of desire in her earlier today.

Kade shifted. The hammer swung toward another nail but missed, hitting his finger. “Dammit!” He shook his hand like that would make the pain go away. Sidney pushed to her feet as though she wanted to come and check on him, but she wasn’t sure.

Kade tilted his head and she came over.

“You okay there, big guy?” She sounded light and carefree. This time he couldn’t tell if it was an act or genuine.

“Pounded my thumb.” He let go of his finger. “It’s okay, though.”

“Let me see.” She grabbed his hand and looked. Her palms were sweaty from working, but so soft and feminine.

“Looks painful.”

She stood close enough that he could feel the warmth from her body. His body countered with heat of its own. “I’m pretty sure I’ll live. I knew you’d sit over there and worry if you didn’t come and check it out, though.”

“And you’re clumsy as ever! Remember that time you were working with Lucky and you accidentally fell in the pool?”

Kade laughed. Jesus, he’d forgotten about that. Embarrassing as hell. Leave it to Peaches to choose that one memory. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”