Page 45 of Mountain Rescue
There went her heart, hurting for the man who was using humor to try to hide his vulnerability, to downplay the result of what his being tortured did to him. She purposely rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and you’ll be so sexy with a bowl cut. You’ll have to fight the girls off.”
Those pretty eyes of his heated as he looked at her. “Are you going to be one of those girls?”
“Mmm.” She was pretty sure she was, but that was all she’d give him until they had that talk about kissing. Speaking of talking... “So, you had something you wanted to tell me?”
“Yeah.”
Concern replaced the heat in his eyes, and suddenly she didn’t want to hear whatever he had to say because whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be good news.
“You’re probably going to get a call from your detective soon, and I wanted you to hear it from me, from a friend. There’s no easy way to say this. They found Henrietta’s body.”
She knew they would eventually, but even so, tears burned her eyes. “Where?”
“In the desert.”
“He just dumped her out there, thrown out like the trash?” Dear God.
“Yeah, and it’s even worse than that. She was burned beyond recognition. I’m sure Hargrove was hoping she wouldn’t be identified.”
She’d cried for Henri after she was murdered, but her tears turned to sobs as she cried for her friend again. She deserved so much better.
“I’m so sorry.” He stood, scooped her up, and sat in her rocker with her on his lap.
She didn’t know how long she cried with her face buried against his chest while he held her, but finally, the tears slowed. “Sorry, I got your shirt wet.” When she tried to push away, he put his hands on her hips and held her in place. She didn’t fight him. She was right where she wanted to be.
He’d held her, comforted her, and let her soak his shirt. Her male friends were all either actors or stuntmen, and she couldn’t name one who would have held her and made her feel safe the way Dallas did. They would have been too busy with their own lives to involve themselves in hers.
With that thought, it hit like a zap of lightning that except for Nichole, all her friendships were superficial. Her friends in LA weren’t ones she could count on, not someone who would be there for her no matter what. If Nichole had known she was in trouble, she would have dropped everything to be at Rachel’s side, no questions asked.
For a while now, she’d been pushing away her discontent, ignoring that little voice in her head asking if she was really happy. Because her hours on the sets were often long and exhausting, she hadn’t had a relationship in a long time. Her last somewhat serious one had been two years ago, and that had ended because he grew tired of waiting around for her to find time to be with him. She was lonely, something else she’d been trying to ignore. Unless she changed occupations, she didn’t see that changing.
Coming back home this time made her miss Asheville more than ever. She was born and raised here, and always knew she’d come back someday. Maybe she was ready sooner than she’d thought she’d be. It would sure make June happy to come home. Her grandmother had followed her to LA, for moral support she’d said. Rachel was of the opinion that June had wanted a closer look at her favorite hot actors.
It always both thrilled and amused Rachel to be able to take June to Hollywood events where her grandmother got to flirt with the pretty boys. It didn’t surprise her that June was a favorite of Rachel’s acquaintances. Lately, though, June had mentioned a few times that she was thinking of moving back home. Maybe they were both ready, or close to it.
“Some deep thoughts going on there,” Dallas said.
“Hmm?” She lifted her gaze to his, got caught in those hazel eyes staring back at her, watched them darken. He wanted her. She could see it in the heat swirling in his pupils. She wanted him, too. Why not let this thing simmering between them happen?
She could stop being lonely for the short time they were both here, and for him, he could handle being touched by her when he couldn’t tolerate it from any other woman. Win-win. They could both have something they wanted. Maybe the memories she made with him would keep her from being so lonely when she returned home.
He tapped her forehead. “What’s going on in there?”
Go for it, Rach. For once in your life take what you want.“Just this.”
The last thing Dallas was expecting was Rachel’s mouth on his. Not after she’d cried her heart out. He would give anything to know what thoughts had been churning in her mind the last few minutes, because something was going on in that brain of hers. But she was kissing him, and whatever had brought her to put her mouth on his, he could only cheer her on.
When she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest, he was afraid he was going to embarrass himself. Because of his deployment, then his capture, his time in the hospital, and his coming home a damaged man, he hadn’t been with a woman in almost a year.
Just her tongue seeking his had him teetering on the edge. Damn if the first time they were bare skin to bare skin it would be in a rocking chair. And the biggest damn, he was going to make sure this was what she really wanted. That she was thinking straight and not reacting to hearing how her friend’s body had been, in her words, “thrown out like the trash.”
The last girl he’d been serious with had been during his senior year of high school. He would have married her. It would have meant working for one of his brothers, but he would have done it for her.
Turned out Cindy had other plans, though. Ones she hadn’t shared with him until the night of their graduation when he’d taken her to the fanciest restaurant in Butte, planning to propose. He’d even taken from his pocket the ring Cheyenne had helped him pick out and was holding it on his lap. Before he could say the words, she told him she had some awesome news to share. An unexpected modeling opportunity had come her way, and she would be moving to New York. He’d slipped the ring back into his pocket.
She grinned at him as if he should be in on why there was more excitement in her eyes than he’d ever put in them. He’d had a choice then. Tell her he thought it was the most unawesome thing he could imagine or be happy for her. He had his pride after all, so he said, “Wow, Cindy, that’s awesome.” She had obviously been meant for bigger things since he occasionally saw her picture on a magazine cover. It took a while, but he’d reached a point where he couldn’t imagine himself being married to her.
Now, here was this girl who was...well, he didn’t know what she was doing to him, but for the first time since Cindy, he wanted more than a simple hookup. After years of avoiding relationships, he wasn’t sure how to process that.
