Everything You've Got: Anything & Everything, Book 2 (16 page)

He stared at her for several long seconds and Kat felt her skin beginning to heat. Weird.

“Something like that,” he finally said.

She had to clear her throat before she spoke. “I’m beginning to think that you don’t ever want to make it to Nashville.”

“I’m beginning to think a lot of things about you too.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he was thinking exactly so she left that alone. At least he didn’t seem incredibly angry. But she was concerned that he was hurt. She hadn’t meant to bruise his ego with the Sabrina talk. Even if
she
thought he was great, it didn’t change the fact that for years he’d wanted Sabrina to think that.

Kat wanted him to feel good.

Yes, she wanted him crazy in love with her. Yes, she wanted his feelings for her to trump the imperfections. Yes, she was afraid of ending up brokenhearted.

But suddenly she wanted him to know that she was crazy for him too.

In spite of
his
imperfections.

Maybe she should show him how it was done.

Maybe instead of fighting him on this trip and trying to avoid getting closer to him, she should just take the risk, take the leap of faith.

Maybe she should talk about china patterns and baby names.

Luke headed for the big, old two-story house with the white-horse statue in front and since she wasn’t sure what she needed, or wanted, to say to him about how she felt, she simply followed him. Maybe what they both needed was a little time and space to sort through things.

As she took the first step forward her phone beeped in her pocket. A text message. It was so natural to grab it that she hadn’t even really been aware she was holding it. She glanced down, saw it was finally late enough in the morning for someone to be doing something at the hospital and noted the number was the hospital in Alliance. She glanced after Luke. He’d already disappeared into the museum/house. She flipped the phone open and saw the message was from Britney, the ICU nurse.

Flying Tom Martin to Denver. Subarch hem.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage. Likely from the fall when he’d lost consciousness and surely right underneath the location of the skull fracture.

Dammit. Like the stroke wasn’t bad enough. Like the hip fracture wasn’t enough of a complication.

What else could happen?

Oh, yeah. They could need to fly him to a major hospital in Denver. A hospital that would have a full-time neurology staff and the experience to deal with these multiple serious issues.

But of course Dr. Brickham hadn’t called her.

If she hadn’t been nice to Britney, bringing her coffee when she knew the young nurse had been working overnight, she wouldn’t know even now.

Dammit.

Kat fought against the combination of anger and hurt. It wasn’t about her. She wasn’t the attending physician. There wasn’t a reason to call her.

She took a deep breath and looked up at the White Horse Museum.

Fine. She hadn’t been the attending in Alliance and now that Tom was in Denver his physicians certainly had to obligation to keep her informed. Brickham would likely get updates but would clearly not share them with her and she doubted being there in Justice, or even Alliance, would matter—Brickham had cut her out from the beginning. Now Britney wouldn’t have any information, or at least she’d have to dig to get it. Kat wasn’t sure she’d bought Brit enough coffee for that.

So she was on vacation, with Luke. Luke, who thought she was perfect, loved being with her, and wanted to be closer to her.

She really should just enjoy that since the people who felt that way were dwindling in number.

She hit the
Off
button on her phone and started for the front of the museum.

The museum consisted of the main building and then a few additional buildings behind it, including an old schoolhouse, a church and a blacksmith, but Luke had gone up the front steps of the main house first.

“Welcome to— Wow.” The greeting changed as the twenty-something guy at the front counter caught sight of Kat.

She watched him come around the counter, leaving behind a thick book and a highlighter. “Hi.”

“Um, do you need directions or something?” he asked. He had shaggy blond hair, a scruffy goatee and glasses. His nametag said
Zach
.

“No. Just a pit stop.” She scanned the immediate area but didn’t see Luke.

“Well, whatever. I’m happy no matter what the reason. We don’t get girls like you here very often.”

She was used to varied reactions to her appearance and it was always a source of interest and amusement for her.

“Girls with blue hair?” she asked

“Yeah, sure, that’s what I noticed first.” He grinned as his eyes scanned her from head to toe.

She smiled back. He was too young and not her type, but a compliment was a compliment. And she could really use the boost right now.

“Stop noticing her at all.” Luke came to stand just behind Kat’s right shoulder.

They weren’t touching but the tiny bit of air that was between them immediately heated.

“It’s hard not to,” Zach said unapologetically.

“Tell me about it,” Luke muttered.

She rolled her eyes and Zach grinned again. “She giving you a hard time?”

“You could say that.”

Kat didn’t respond to Luke. “He’s fine,” she told Zach.

“What’d you do, man? Forget her birthday or something?”

“Would you believe it involves a blindfold—”

Kat elbowed Luke in the ribs. “It’s not my birthday or anything,” she said. “Everything is fine.”

“You sure? There’s some definite tension,” Zach said.

Kat couldn’t believe this. There was small-town friendly and then there was small-town nosy. It was a fine line.

Of course, he was right. There was tension. Major tension. Sexual tension between her and Luke for sure. Then there was Luke’s-irritated tension. And finally her tension over trying to decide what dramatic look-how-I-feel-about-you gesture she was going to make for Luke and when. It was definitely throwing caution to the wind, considering he could change his mind about the whole damned thing when he found out a few of her secrets. But Luke deserved to have someone head over heels for him for a change.

And she was perfect for that role.

But whatever she was going to say, or do, to Luke wasn’t going to be done in this tiny museum in Podunk, Nebraska, in front of an impressionable twenty-something anyway. “Hey, tell me about this book collection over here.” She headed for the display of old texts.

“Man, looks like you’ve got some work to do,” he said to Luke, ignoring Kat’s request.

Luke responded, “Don’t worry, I’m getting to her.”

He definitely was. She didn’t register even one title of the dusty books on the shelf in front of her, but she looked at them as if they were the most fascinating things she’d ever seen.

“You’re not trying very hard,” Zach said.

Kat stoically kept her eyes on the books she didn’t care about. So they were talking about her as if she was on display with the other artifacts. That didn’t bother her.

“What do you mean?” Luke asked.

“You haven’t touched her once since you came in here.”

There was a long pause and Kat knew that she was holding her breath.

“I have a good reason,” Luke finally said gruffly.

Yeah, he was pissed.

“There’s no reason good enough, man,” Zach said.

Kat read the title on the spine of the book in front of her for the twelfth time without it registering. What was this kid? An undercover relationship counselor?

“I’m afraid if I start touching her I won’t be able to stop.”

Kat sucked in a quick breath as tingles spread through her body like she’d touched a live wire.

Luke was being pretty open with a complete stranger. Then again, maybe that made it easier. In Justice, all eyes were on him and he had to watch what he said and how he acted. And it was probably all kinds of entertaining for the guy working in a small-town museum on a weekday.

Zach chuckled. “That’s an even better reason to do it.”

Finally she heard Luke mutter, “You know what? I think you might have something there.”

It took her three seconds to realize what he meant, but before she could move or form a single syllable Luke grasped her upper arm, spun her, pulled her up against him and kissed her.

It really wasn’t fair. Being human with no superpowers whatsoever, she gave in immediately to the hot onslaught as he cupped the back of her head and opened his mouth over hers.

Okay, so her own dramatic gesture was going to have to wait, but she could most certainly react to his.

He lifted his head and stared down at her for a long moment. Then one of his hands went to her hip and he urged her closer, widening his stance and bringing her pelvis to pelvis. Then he kissed her again. Slowly and sweetly.

She was the first to moan.

She was also the one to turn up the heat. She went up on tiptoe, her arms went around his neck and her tongue licked along his bottom lip. When he opened with a groan she stroked along his tongue, with thoughts of other things she could stroke her tongue along. Then thoughts fled altogether and she concentrated only on the sensations coursing through her. She pulled his T-shirt up from his waistband and slid her hands onto the hot bare skin of his back.

He pressed his hips closer. And did the same with her shirt. His hands slid up her back to the level of her bra, then came forward to cup her breasts, his thumbs rubbing across her nipples, sending want zinging through her body, making her hot and wet and crazy.

When she curled her fingers into the tight muscles of his back he pulled his mouth free and stared down at her, breathing hard, desire clear in his eyes.

The kid behind them finally cleared his throat.

Damn.

Kat sucked air into her lungs and watched Luke struggle to focus his eyes on anything but her. That alone made her melt, arch closer to him and wish to dive right back into that kiss.

That kiss that not only made her want to strip down here and now, but that also gave her visions of waking up late on lazy Sunday mornings, drinking lemonade on the porch swing on summer nights, unwrapping presents on Christmas Eve, getaway weekends, stolen workweek lunch breaks, holding hands in the movie theater—all with Luke. Only him.

Crazy. Definitely.

That’s what she wanted and that was definitely what she was getting.

Shouldn’t she be imagining things like various naked body parts, the different positions she wanted him in and deciding if she wanted to go down on him or have him go down on her first?

But no. It was sweet, happily-ever-after, forever stuff she was thinking about.

Kat straightened her clothes, pressed her lips together and decided that the White Horse Museum was by far the best tourist stop in all of Nebraska.

“You were right,” she told Luke. “I don’t want to stop touching now that I’ve started.”

“We better get back to the RV,” he said.

She nodded. “Definitely. Don’t want to stay in one place too long.” Especially a place without a comfortable horizontal surface.

“Definitely.” Luke gave her one last, long look, grabbed her hand, then pivoted on his heel and headed for the front door.

“Give me a minute.” She pulled her hand from his.

He looked back at her. “Not long,” he said simply.

“Not long.” She dragged in a deep, long breath and ran a hand through her hair as she watched the museum’s screen door bump shut behind him. She knew exactly what her first gesture would be to show Luke how she felt, but she had to get some control.

She didn’t want to scare him off.

“What are you doing working here?” Kat asked Zach, who was grinning madly.

“I’m going to the community college in O’Neill but I help my mom out here once in awhile.”

“What are you studying?”

He chuckled. “Diesel mechanics.”

When she realized he was serious, she shook her head. “I hope you’re as good at that as you are with relationship advice.”

“Oh, even better.”

Now that was saying something.

Luke was in the kitchenette when Kat stepped through the door into the RV. He’d just downed a bottle of water, trying to cool his libido and calm his system some. He felt ready to jump out of his skin and wanted to regain some control before she was here with him, in this tiny space, alone, being—
her
.

She’d rocked his senses before, but that kiss in the museum, so soon after realizing that she was the one person he hadn’t tried to be close to and yet was the one who wanted him most, made him want to…
devour
her.

He didn’t want to scare her off.

But she definitely didn’t seem scared as she stepped through the side door, locked it behind her and then leaned over the front seat to hit the front locks.