Made For Another (Caroline Dawson Series - Book 1) (2 page)

Sarah looked down at the note. He'd written his name: Tony Crutchfield, a local cell number and a scribbled: "Call me for a good time". She wrinkled her nose at the bad joke and looked back at him, "I'll think about it." He gave her that crooked grin again.

"Don't think too long," he pursed his lips and pleaded with his sultry brown eyes. She just shook her head and pushed the cart into the next room.

She smiled to herself, thinking this could turn out pretty interesting, she hadn't met many guys here yet who appealed to her. Maybe her luck had just changed.

She finished putting away the extra supplies and adjusted the inventory logs, still thinking about those eyes. This guy was cute, and he certainly interested her, but she still wasn't sure a bike ride was good idea, especially so soon after an accident! And besides, what did she know about him?

Sarah parked her car in front of the apartment. Friday night and she had nothing planned for the weekend. The weather channel had reported clouds clearing, and no rain. That meant it would be a good time to get outside.

As she walked up the steps, she realized that one more weekend hanging around the apartment by herself would probably drive her stark raving mad.

Okay, that was a bit dramatic. But honestly, she was becoming way too familiar with the symptoms of cabin fever. So, if the sun was going to be out this weekend, she was too. She'd had her fill of the work-study-work routine.

She spent most of her time at school, in the library, at the hospital, or somewhere in between. That meant she really didn't know much about the area.

There was always the jetty, or the beach. But she'd already done that so many times - it would be nice to see something else. She could hang out on the Plaza, but since she didn't know anyone, seeing the laughing couples and small groups everywhere only made her feel more lonely - the opposite of what she wanted!

Sarah dumped the mail and her keys on the table, heading into her bedroom to change into blue jeans and a sweater. She wondered if she should call that Tony guy. He was kind of cute, and he
had
invited her for a ride up to the lake - which was another place on her list that she hadn't seen yet.

She looked at the note he'd written, debating whether she really wanted to sit home again this weekend. The last time she'd gone out was New Years Eve and that had been disastrous - being by herself in the middle of a bunch of drunks on the Plaza had not been a good idea.

Sarah shivered as an overwhelming sense of desolate loneliness washed over her.

"Oh, forget it!" she said out loud, and pulled out her cell phone. She grabbed up the piece of paper with his name and number.

"Yeah," Tony answered on the second ring.

"Hi, this is Sarah. From the hospital? You told me to call you?"

The phone was silent for a moment, then, "Hey! You called!"

"Um, well yeah, you offered to show me the lake?"

"Cool. My bike should be ready tomorrow. You gonna be off then? We could go up to the lake for a couple hours." He sounded genuinely excited to hear from her.

"I was hoping you would say that. Is your leg good enough yet? You know, I'm not really big on bikes, so you better promise to drive safely," she said.

"Hey, I told you - I'm a good driver! But, yeah, my leg is fine. No breaks, just some bruises and it's feeling pretty good now. So, you up for it?"

After just the briefest hesitation, Sarah offered, "I can make lunch for us. Can you have me back by 4?"

"Yeah, Sure. Works for me. I'll be there at 11."

"Well, listen," she said, realizing she still felt a little uncomfortable with this guy she hardly knew.

"It's kind of hard to explain exactly how to find my place. Why don't I just meet you at the bottom of the hill, where the street comes out? Then I can show you how to get here." She held her breath slightly.

"Ok. Give me the information."

Good, she thought, taking a deep breath and telling him how to find the intersection.

OK, she said to herself as she turned on the radio and danced into the kitchen to make some dinner. This could be fun after all. And this time she wouldn't be alone again on the weekend!

~ # ~

Tony pulled up just a little before 11.

Sarah was sitting in her car at the bottom of the hill, ready to have a good time. Last night she'd been feeling apprehensive about going out with someone she didn't know well. But now she had a plan and was feeling more confident.

"Hey Sarah, you ready? You want to show me your place now?"

"Hi, Tony, right on time!" she said getting out of the car. The bike looked good. No major dents, and big enough to be relatively safe on the highway.

"I made some ham and cheese sandwiches, with a couple apples and oatmeal cookies. But I didn't have anything to drink, so I'm thinking we should go pick something up at the market before we leave."

"Sure. Ok." He handed her a helmet.

So far so good. Another thing marked off her mental checklist. She grabbed the picnic food and stowed it in the side pouches of Tony's
Kawasaki 500. 

Shoving her car keys into her jacket pocket, Sarah climbed on the back of the motorcycle. Making sure there was no cross traffic, Tony pulled out smoothly onto the road.

Nice, she thought as they rode into the shopping center parking lot. So far he'd done everything right. He was a good driver, and she was feeling more relaxed and comfortable already.

"What kind of soda you want?" Tony asked her as they walked down the
aisle of the little grocery store.

"I'm partial to Squirt," she told him, "and you?"

"Personally I like the Barley Pop," he told her.

"Barley Pop?"

"Yeah, beer," he pointed at the Budweiser, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

Sarah glanced over at him, a little surprised. He was smiling, and she thought he was teasing her, but she wasn't quite sure.

She decided to go along to see what happened. "Well, for me, then, some Vin de Boone?" picking up the Boone's Farm.

He laughed. "But not today, it's too early." He grabbed a coke. 

Sarah relaxed. She was glad he didn't seem to want to push the beer thing. Riding on a bike was dangerous enough without that! But she had to give him credit - so far he was doing okay.

They packed the sodas in with the rest of the lunch and headed north on the two lane country road.

~ # ~

The ride up the coast was breathtaking - luckily the weather cooperated and after about 30 minutes the sun came out. Sarah was glad her helmet had a sun visor - it made it so much easier than trying to fish out her sunglasses in the wind.

They rode through miles of towering redwoods, alongside the expansive blue ocean for a while, and over several small swollen streams.

It was still technically winter, and the lush grasses that would normally be green were mostly a golden wheat color. The rains over the past week had given some life to the landscape though, and a couple of very early wildflowers popped their heads up.

When they turned off towards the lake, Sarah was getting a little tired of "being in the saddle". In fact, she was looking forward to the end of the ride and getting off the bike to stretch her legs.

Thank goodness there hadn't been many cars or trucks on the road. That was one of the advantages of living in such a rural area. The roads might be narrow, but there was a lot less traffic.

Tony pulled off onto a dirt road and headed inland for about a half mile. He turned off the bike when they came out at the top of a hill overlooking the ocean in the distance on one side, and the edge of the lake on the other.

Sarah jumped down from the bike and pulled off the helmet, setting it on the seat. She looked around, and decided it had been a good choice to come out today with Tony.

She was amazed at how far out on the ocean she could see. That jut of land must be the false point 30 miles or so down the coast. The winter waves were huge, crashing along the coastline below. You could even hear them if you listened closely. The air was clear and cold, and the sun was blindingly bright.

On the lake side she could see the ducks and cormorants floating along the top of the water, dipping heads in and then preening their feathers. A small flock of cormorants took off all at once, flying low above the water, away across to the other side of the lake. The trees here still looked like winter - the alder were bare, branches stark against the deep green of the fir and pine.

She took the blanket and food from the side pouches and picked out a spot up near a tree. They could look to either side, and if the sun got too hot (not likely) or too bright, they'd have a little shade.

"What a lovely spot, Tony. How'd you ever find it?"

"When I was a kid, me and my dad would come up here. We used to fish in the lake back when they still let ya do that. It was a long time ago."

"You don't strike me as a fisherman."

"Not so much now. It was cool when Dad was alive. I got to spend time alone with him, away from everyone else."

She looked up at him from her place on the blanket. He was framed against the sky and the sun was behind him. She couldn't see his face, but she noticed the yearning in his voice.

"It made me happy when he'd come get me to go fishing." He sat down beside her on the blanket and took a sandwich.

"I didn't get much time with him. The folks called it quits when my brother and me were pretty young. We only saw Dad a couple times a year," he said between bites.

Sarah watched his face. It was an interesting mix of wistfulness and anger. She decided to keep quiet and let him talk.

"Mom was good, I mean, she did her best, but it just wasn't the same without Dad there."

He seemed kind of lost in his own thoughts, and in the silence Sarah noticed just how still it was up on the hilltop. She could hear the birds, the call of the quail, and the buzzing of the insects someplace close at hand.

"Tony, do you see your brother much?"

"Dammit!" he said, "Johnny was killed in Afghanistan. The idiot. He volunteered, wanted to go be a soldier. Now there's just me." He had that sullen, brooding look again.

Sarah reached out and put her hand on his arm. "Tony, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah, still makes me mad. We was close. Almost like twins. But the fool's gone."

"But he served his country. You can be proud of that."

"He was running away. He and his girl broke up and he just couldn't stick around so he signed on and went overseas. Not for me, though. No one's gonna put me through the wringer and make me run away!"

It must be really hard to lose a brother
. She couldn't imagine how that might feel. She knew how difficult it had been when her mom was so sick. Tony's been through a lot, Sarah thought, feeling sorry for him and wanting to make it better.

He glanced over and saw her look of concern. He pulled her over to him, resting his head on her shoulder.

Sarah felt a thrill of tenderness go through her. This guy needed someone to be nice to him.  At the same time, she felt a little awkward, not quite knowing what to say.

She put her hand on his cheek, wanting to sooth some of the anger she saw in him. He grabbed her hand and put it up to his mouth.
The kiss sent shivers down her back, stirring feelings inside that had long been dormant.

"Sarah. I don't got anyone now. It's just me."

She sat there, wanting to make him feel better, but not yet sure of her feelings for him.

He held her hand to his mouth and ran his other hand down her arm, then along her leg. Sarah was aroused by Tony, but startled that he was moving
so fast with her. 

As she wrestled with her own confused thoughts, Sarah's heart started beating harder. Tony stroked her leg, murmuring into her hand. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but that didn't really matter because her body was starting to tremble where he was touching her.

He moved his hand between her legs, stroking downward towards her knees, even as his hand inched upwards.

"Tony!" she gasped.

"Baby," he whispered, "you make me feel so good."

She was trembling. He had his hand firmly between her thighs and she could feel it moving closer to the center of her womanhood.

He nuzzled her neck, pushing her backwards onto the blanket. Her body seemed to melt into shivers as he continued to gently bite her neck.

She
felt her excitement rise, but something held her back. This was more than she had expected - and it was happening way too fast.

He had pinned her down and she could feel his excitement building through his jeans.

"Tony! Tony stop!" She rolled away from him.

"Baby! What's the matter? I thought you liked me?"

"Tony, I do. But this is too fast."

"Baby," he said, pulling her close to him and covering her protests with a bruising kiss. "You know this is what you want."