Run to You (8 page)

As it turned out, Mark took over the grill. With a cold beer in one hand and a spatula in the other, his friend looked more relaxed than Ethan could remember seeing him. Not for the first time, he said thanks for the fact that Mark was here, in Haven, scarred but in one piece.

Ethan took a swig from his own beer and walked to where Gabby stood at the edge of the deck, staring into the woods beyond.

“Hey.” He walked up behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder, and she relaxed against him like it was the most natural thing in the world. He bent his head to inhale the honeysuckle scent of her hair, remembering that day not so long ago when he'd found her in the woods behind Off-the-Grid, looking so damn beautiful and so damn lonely.

She didn't look lonely now, surrounded by his family.

“It's nice here,” she said, nestling her head against his shoulder, and hell if he didn't want this to be real. A kind of relationship he'd never had, where feelings ran deep and promises were made and kept.

He shook his head to clear it. “Do you do this with your family? Cookouts? Hanging out?”

She shrugged. “My parents aren't really cookout people. If they were going to eat out on the patio, my mom would probably have some kind of fancy takeout delivered.”

“They're wealthy, then?”

“Upper middle class, I guess. We never wanted for anything, but I wouldn't call them rich. My mom just doesn't like to cook, and they're both more interested in what's going on with their jobs than hanging out and enjoying the view.”

“I like to enjoy the view,” he said. Both the mountains around them and the woman in his arms.

She turned her head, those warm caramel eyes locked on his. “That's one of the things I like about you.”

It took every ounce of self-control not to kiss her. “Thank you for taking Gram around town today.”

Gabby frowned. “I didn't do it as a favor to you. I enjoy spending time with Dixie.”

“And that's one of the things I like about
you
.” It meant a hell of a lot to him that she'd spent the afternoon with Gram. “Let's take a walk. There's something I want to show you.”

She nodded, sliding her hand into his as they walked down the path leading from Gram's back patio into the woods. As the house faded from view, Gabby pulled her hand from his with a shy glance in his direction. The sound of water trickled through the trees, getting louder as they went. A few minutes later, they came out beside the waterfall that had been one of his favorite teenage hangouts. It trickled over rocks and splashed into a clear pool below.

“I used to sneak out of the house at night and meet up with Mark and Ryan here to drink beer or whatever else we'd been able to get our hands on,” he said. “Couldn't do it too often because it messed with my training, but sometimes I just had to cut loose.”

Gabby laughed. “I can picture that. You guys were close, huh?”

“Like brothers.”

“It's great that they're back in town.”

“Yeah. It is.” He slid his arms around her, and even without an audience to fool, she melted against him.

She spun in his arms, chest to chest. “You ever bring girls here?”

“No.” He'd never been the type to bring a girl home.

“I'm glad,” she said, and then she kissed him.

And this time, it was no peck on the lips. Next thing he knew, his tongue was sliding against hers, his hands were fisted in her hair, and he was gone. So fucking gone.

She let out a breathless moan, her body pressed tight against his.

He slid his hands down to her ass, gripping her through the thin fabric of her skirt. He kissed her until his head swam, until nothing existed but the taste, the feel of her mouth on his, and the soft sounds she made as she kissed the fucking daylights out of him.

“Gabby,” he gasped when they finally came up for air.

Her eyes were dazed, her lips swollen from his kisses. “That was even better than I thought it would be.”

“Oh yeah?” He bent his head and brushed his lips over her collarbone, rewarded by a shiver of need that rippled through her. “So you've thought about it?”

“Since I met you.” She stepped back out of his arms, a guilty look on her face, and he knew they were about to go back to playing pretend.

“You are killing me here.” He shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I wish I could do this for real. I do. But I came to Haven to stand on my own two feet, and I really need to do that. For myself.” Her chin was up, and she looked so beautiful. So strong.

“You're doing it. And I'm not here to get in your way.”

“But thank you for the kiss. I needed that.” She touched her lips with a smile and he knew something else for sure. He could never make things between them real. Because she deserved a man who wanted to give her the world, and Ethan had nothing of the sort to give. All he could offer her was a good time in bed, but not his heart.

Never his heart.

G
abby's pulse had finally returned to normal by the time they made it back to the cookout. But holy crap, that had been the most amazing kiss. Now she finally remembered what she'd been missing. Actually, she wasn't sure she'd ever been kissed quite like that.

Ethan looked pretty pleased with himself, too. He caught her gaze and winked, then gave her hand a squeeze as they rejoined his friends and family.

Ryan gave them a knowing grin and passed Ethan a cold beer. “What are you drinking, Gabby?”

“I'll take a beer, too. Thanks.”

Dixie sat in a white Adirondack chair facing the group, a peaceful smile on her face. “Have you guys started planning for the summer festival yet?” she asked.

Ryan, Ethan, and Mark gave her matching blank stares.

Dixie laughed. “I reserved a booth for Off-the-Grid when registration opened, remember? You just need someone to man it and some promotional things to go on it.”

“Hmm,” Ethan said.

“They're clueless, Gabby,” Dixie said with a smile. “Maybe you can help them.”

Gabby was feeling rather clueless herself. “What are we talking about, exactly?”

“The Haven Summer Festival,” Dixie told her. “It's the weekend of July Fourth. There'll be all kinds of food and games, and local businesses will have booths to drum up new business. I knew these knuckleheads would forget so I booked them a booth.”

“And we love you for it, Gram,” Ryan said.

Ethan sat on the stone wall bordering the edge of the patio. “We do. We need this exposure. Can you help us?” He looked at Gabby.

She took a fortifying gulp from her beer. “I don't know anything about marketing or summer festivals so I don't know how much help I could be.”

“You could at least give us feedback on shirts and stuff,” he said.

“I've got a pretty good handle on promotional items,” Ryan said, “Although, Gabby, I could definitely use your input on T-shirt styles.”

She nodded. “I can do that, but you guys need to man the booth yourselves. You're the faces of Off-the-Grid, and you all have connections in town. People need to see you there and talk to you. Share your passion for Off-the-Grid and get them excited to come check it out.”

“And make sure they know it's safe,” Mark muttered.

Gabby looked between them. “Isn't it safe?”

“Oh, it's safe,” Ethan said. “But the Town Council isn't so sure. They're holding up our rezoning request.”

“Really?” Gabby sipped from her beer and sat beside him. “Why would they do that?”

“Because of what happened with those teenagers who snuck onto the property,” Ethan told her.

Dixie made a sound of annoyance. “I can't see how that was your fault. Those kids were trespassing, and they're lucky you didn't press charges against them.”

“And we're lucky that kid's family didn't sue us after he fell and broke his leg,” Ryan said.

Dixie turned to Gabby. “The Town Council is worried because Haven was listed in
Carolina Magazine
as one of the top relaxation destinations in North Carolina, with the hot springs and the spa. They're afraid Off-the-Grid might knock us off that list next year.”

“Well, that's just silly,” Gabby said. “Zip-lining and rock climbing are things people do for fun while they're on vacation. I would assume that means they find them relaxing.”

“That's what I told them,” Ethan said.

Ryan smirked. “But not nearly as nicely.”

“Have you planned a grand opening or anything?” Gabby asked.

Ethan glanced at Ryan and back at Gabby. “Uh, we thought we'd just start taking people out on the zip-line once our zoning comes through.”

Dixie smiled broadly. “They need you, Gabby.”

She opened her mouth to say that she probably wouldn't be in town long enough to see any of this through, but closed it again. Because she couldn't say that in front of Dixie. Couldn't even wrap her head around the fact that she was only here with Ethan because Dixie was dying. Even though she'd only known her a few weeks, her stomach tightened at the very thought.

“Who's ready for burgers?” Mark called from behind the grill.

And Gabby took the distraction and ran with it, grateful she hadn't had to make a promise she couldn't keep.

Ethan buried himself deeply inside Gabby's wet heat, thrusting harder and faster. The honeysuckle scent of her hair filled his lungs. Beneath him, she moaned, writhing with pleasure. His balls tightened as he grew closer to his release. So close…

He woke with a groan, his dick hard and aching. This was pathetic. He wanted her so bad she'd even infiltrated his dreams. He gripped himself, imagining it was Gabby's hands on his dick, stroking him.

He whispered her name into the darkness as his world started to go out of focus.

The soft sound of Gram's snores filtered through his lust-hazed brain. His eyes popped open, and he swore under his breath.
Fuck.
He was in Gram's guest room. In her guest bed. Lying under the floral-printed quilt that had been here ever since he'd moved out ten years ago.

He sucked in a ragged breath, then closed his eyes and counted backward from fifty, concentrating on Gram's even breathing on the other side of the thin wall until he was left with nothing but a dull ache in his balls and a raging bad mood.

His sexual frustration for the summer was now complete. The summer of blue balls. This had to be payback for all the women he'd dated and left before any emotional attachments could be made.

And as the saying goes, payback is a bitch from hell.

The next morning, Gabby grabbed on to every ounce of her self-respect and walked into Common Grounds, the local coffee shop. She inhaled the rich aroma, letting it settle some of her nerves as she approached the counter.

“Oh, hi. Gabby, right?” The barista gave her a friendly smile.

Gabby nodded. “Hi, Tabitha.” They'd met at book club, and it had taken this long for Gabby to come in here and warn her about Brad.

“What'll you have?”

“I'll take a large caramel vanilla with cream and sugar.” Gabby drummed her fingers against the counter, eyeing the gooey confections beneath its glass surface.

“The cinnamon buns are to die for. I get them from Carly's bakery across the street.”

“They look amazing.” Gabby had been meaning to stop by the bakery since meeting Carly the other night, and by the look of these cinnamon buns, she needed to go soon. “So at book club, you mentioned you were dating Brad Mobley.”

“Yeah? So?”

“I know him.” Gabby forced herself to look up and meet Tabitha's eyes.

Tabitha frowned. “Look, if this is some kind of jealousy thing, I don't—”

Gabby shook her head. “It's not that at all. I just thought you should know. He—”
He's controlling. He hit me.
“He's been abusive in the past.”

Tabitha's eyes rounded. “Well, you'll need to tell that to some other girl because I dumped the jerk after he tried to order for me at dinner the other night.”

“Oh.” The uncomfortable knot that had been in Gabby's chest since she'd heard Tabitha's news the other night loosened. Thank goodness Tabitha had more sense where Brad was concerned than Gabby had. Her cheeks flushed.

The two women stared at each other for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

“So are you going to have that cinnamon bun with your coffee?” Tabitha asked.

“Um, sure.” Why not bury her embarrassment under copious amounts of sugar?

Tabitha bagged the pastry and handed it to her with her coffee. Gabby paid, said good-bye, and hustled out of Common Grounds. God, that had been awkward.

And unnecessary in the long run, but that didn't make Gabby sorry she'd gone inside. She couldn't in good conscience have let Tabitha date her ex without a fair warning.

Clutching her sugary consolation prize, she hurried for her car and the safe sanctuary of her rental house.

Ethan sat in his Jeep, feeling irrationally disappointed that Gabby wasn't home. It was Saturday morning so he'd brought donuts and coffee and planned to surprise her with breakfast. That, and talk to her some more about the grand opening she'd mentioned. Because suddenly he felt like he had no idea what he was doing as far as launching a new business.

But she wasn't home.

Well, he could always go home to Gram's and surprise her with the goodies. The doctor had advised her to give up caffeine to keep her blood pressure down, but she might as well live it up with as many donuts as possible while she still could.

On that sobering thought, Ethan put the Jeep in reverse and almost backed into Gabby's blue SUV as she turned into her driveway. He couldn't help smiling. The sight of her had that effect on him.

Gabby parked beside him and stepped out of her car, a brown paper bag and coffee cup from Common Grounds in her hand.

Well, shit. He should have called ahead about the treats. In fact, she'd probably been in Common Grounds while he was across the street at A Piece of Cake.

“Looks like we had the same idea,” he said as he got out of the Jeep with his box of donuts and two cups of coffee.

Gabby smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. “Looks like we did. And you keep acting like we're really dating.”

And it pissed him off that she kept pointing that out. “Just trying to do what feels natural. I wanted to see you this morning.”

“Come on in.” She motioned him after her as she went to her front door, where she paused to unlock the doorknob and the deadbolt.

He followed her inside. She set her things on the kitchen table and went to get the dog out of his crate. The thing was so small, he looked more like an overgrown rat to Ethan, with those giant ears and the long, skinny tail. He trotted into the room, took one look at Ethan, and darted into the pantry. “I think you could have gotten a better guard dog.”

“I wasn't looking for a guard dog.” She took two plates from the cabinet and set them on the table, then slid a cinnamon bun out of the paper bag she'd brought home, sliced it in half, and put one half on each plate.

“This one of Carly's?” he asked.

She nodded.

“These are like heaven. You had one before?”

“No.”

He waited, watching as she took her first bite. Her eyes closed, and she let out a little moan, and oh,
hell yeah
.

She licked icing off her fingers. “Wow. That's like an orgasm on a plate.”

Ethan's dick twitched.
Down, boy.
“It's good, but I could give you better.”

Gabby's cheeks flushed red as she took another bite. “I can take care of myself.”

Ah, hell, now he was hard as steel imagining her in bed pleasuring herself. “Do you think of me while you're at it?”

Her cheeks got even darker, and she choked on her second mouthful of cinnamon bun. She swallowed, coughed, and spluttered. “Oh my God. I didn't mean…that came out wrong…and
no
.”

He grinned. “You're a terrible liar.”

She covered her face with her hand. “I can't believe we're having this conversation. Change the topic, please.”

“Talk to me about grand openings,” he said.

Gabby peeked at him from between her fingers. “What?”

“Sweetheart, your mind is still in the gutter. Off-the-Grid. I don't have anything planned for a grand opening. What am I missing?”

Her hand dropped to her lap. “Oh. Well, I'm not sure I'm who you should be asking. I write computer code for a living, but you need something splashy, I would think. Get people's attention. Attract visitors from out of town. Show the Town Council that you guys are good for business, not a liability.”

He nodded. “I like what you're saying. Like discount zip-line tours on opening day or something?”

“No, bigger.” She stared thoughtfully at the remains of her half of the cinnamon bun. “What if you partner with the spa? Offer a weekend vacation package? Zip-lining, then relax at the spa afterward or something?”

“That's a great idea.”

She shook her head. “I still think you need something bigger. Like…some of my friends back in Charlotte like to do those mud races. You know, with the obstacles in them? What if you did something like that for your grand opening? Donate the proceeds to a local charity.”

Ethan nearly popped out of his chair. Yeah, he'd done several Spartan races in the past. They were hella awesome and what she was suggesting was so perfect it was all he could do not to jump up and kiss her. “You're a genius.”

“Not really.”

“This is exactly what we need, and it might even give us some ammunition when we meet with the Town Council next Friday.” He picked up his half of the cinnamon bun and took a huge bite. Perfection. He devoured the rest of it, then opened the box of donuts.

Gabby sipped from her coffee with a smile. “You trying to put me in a sugar coma?”

“Nah. But if you want to work it off afterward, I know a few ways.”

Her eyes widened. “We have an agreement.”

He laughed as he plucked a powdered donut from the box. “And I was talking about Off-the-Grid. You still haven't let me show you around the place. Come over with me. Maybe you'll have some more ideas for the grand opening.”

“Oh. Well, you can show it to me, but I'm not going on the zip-line.” She reached for a chocolate frosted donut, then pointed a finger in his direction. “And don't you dare make a comment about how many sweets I'm eating.”

He nudged the box in her direction. “Eat up, sweetheart. From where I'm sitting, every inch of you is perfect.”

They finished their donuts, and Gabby took her little rat-dog outside, then she walked with him out to his Jeep. “All right,” she said. “Show me what you've got.”