Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1) (9 page)

Brie seemed to handle GI Joe better than he had although she didn't come out completely
unscathed. He decided on providing her with a distraction. He walked up behind her,
whispering in her ear once more. "How is it that your guests sit in folding chairs
while you have the biggest television I've ever seen in your basement?"

"It's none of your business how I spend my money." Hearing the snap in her voice,
Brie closed her eyes, paused and turned around.

"Football," she corrected with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Football?"

"Yes. I have my priorities. The Giants deserve a big screen. You mentioned that you
moved from the South? Which state?" She placed her hands on the back of her hips.

"South Carolina. We lived in a small town near an old growth forest."

"Ah. The Panthers then, is it?" she said, making sure to keep her eyes focused on
his. It occurred to her it wasn't hard. The blue was such a contrast to his jet-black
hair. His eyes were intense and analytical and... observant. She couldn't help but
smirk at that damned sexy, crooked smile. Shaking her head, she wondered how he could
seem so comfortable around all of these people he'd never met, carrying on conversations
with complete strangers and seeming to pick out the ones that would now be considered
both of their neighbors.

"Jets." His hand lifted toward her face, then down again.

"Huh?"

"The Jets. I'm a Jets fan. You forgot, I'm originally from here. This town even."

"I did forget, and I forgive you."

"For you forgetting I'm from New York?"

"No, for being a Jets fan."

The doorbell rang. She tried for her warmest smile and gave Nathan's hand a friendly
squeeze before leaving to answer the door.

"Hello?"

She groaned as she recognized the voice already walking through her foyer. Her boss
was clearly lifting her nose to her as she looked her up and down.

"I'm glad you could make it, Sandy." Not. "Did the windows turn out okay?"

"I wouldn't miss it. Yes, they're good as new." Sandy handed her coat to Brie dismissively.

"Cassandra, Susie, Randy, and some others are still here. A few have left already.
You're later than usual this year. You'll stay for the countdown, I hope."

She handed her boss a flute and reached for a bottle of champagne to fill it.

"Yes, I partook in other engagements earlier this evening. Of course I'll stay."

When the time arrived, guests slowly meandered to the basement where the TV was tuned
to the big, red apple ready to begin its drop a minute before midnight. She spoke
with Susie Phillips while checking the clock on the wall often.

Noting the time, she excused herself and dutifully began topping off champagne glasses.
The band stopped playing and everyone shouted a loud countdown as the apple started
its sixty-second drop.

Nathan held out his flute and she obliged. When she lifted the bottle, he took it
from her and set it aside. Her insides began to bubble as his eyes locked on hers.
He slid his hand around her waist, stopping on the small of her back. She felt the
warm, firm skin from his hand between the silver strings of her jumpsuit. His face
dropped closer to hers, stopping just before their lips touched.

She could smell him, a mixture of wood and man. Flustered licks of heat erupted at
the unexpected closeness. She wasn't ready for this. The muscles in her stomach lurched,
and the air left her lungs as her eyes dropped to his mouth.

"I'm going to kiss you," he said as a statement and curled his other hand around the
nape of her neck. Her skin flamed beneath his fingers as they ran under the pieces
of hair that escaped her pins. He drifted his thumb along her jawline, painfully slowly,
before resting it under her chin.

"I can see that."

"You're trembling," he said as he used the thumb under her chin to lift her face closer
to his. Her warm breath flooded his mind.

"It's th-the champagne."

"You've hardly drank a glass all night."

Gently, he closed the distance between them. His lips brushed over her yielding mouth.
He stopped and savored the taste of her before diving in. Gliding his hand possessively
up her back, he pulled her body into him. There he found flesh. Stunning, sexy, smooth
flesh.

He parted her lips with his tongue and was lost. The taste of her sent him drifting.
Her arms wound one around his back and the other over his shoulder. He heard a soft
purr from deep in her throat as she fisted the back of his shirt. Their bodies fit
together and their mouths moved in slow, cool sync.

Just as quickly as he took her, he pulled away. The countdown was over. He kissed
her quickly once more and placed his hands on her shoulders. As he looked at her,
he slid them down her arms to her hands. Twining their fingers, they turned to send
out greetings of the New Year to friends and family.

More than one set of eyes watched the embrace. A fiery sensation burned between temples
as one guest lifted a shaking glass of whiskey to dry lips.

"I'm in no hurry. I will break you.

"Fucking bitch."

Chapter 8

hands around the warmth of her coffee mug, Brie stood at her back door watching the
sunrise. Long, wispy clouds swept orange and yellow along the horizon. It felt good
to have family in the house again, even if it was just for a few days. She felt strangely
refreshed after such a late night and already had much of the mess picked up.

On the kitchen table, breakfast warmed under serving plate lids. She understood her
nieces and nephews weren't tots anymore and would likely sleep late. So would the
adults, she conceded.

She looked at Macey. "Come on, girl. Let's take a walk."

The geese on the lake were crammed into the area near the spillway that seemed never
to freeze. Several flapped their gray wings as they woke like they were checking to
make sure everything still worked after the long, cold night. Her dog ran without
a leash around the field and near the water, scattering the flocks before they were
ready.

It wasn't long before Nathan's dog discovered them and darted down for a greeting.
She thought of the toe-curling kiss with his owner as she used a fallen log to quickly
cross the creek. She intended to head off the Lab before he could reach the water.
Macey followed easily behind. The greeting between the two dogs seemed like more of
a long-waited-for reunion, but she was able to steer Goldie's attention away from
her dog with a whiff of the bacon she carried in her pocket.

"Get a new dog?" Chase called to her as he walked down the frozen slope of the floodplain.

"No," Brie said loudly while slightly turning her head. "This one belongs to a neighbor.
What are you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you the same. Is this the same neighbor you were lip-locked with last
night?" He brought the mug to his mouth in a miserable attempt to hide his smile.

"I was not locked and yes, this is his dog. Anyone else up yet?"

"No. My family will sleep until the afternoon if I let them. Something going on between
you two?"

"No, I hardly know him." She sighed, then added, "He moved in not too long ago, and
I'm a grown woman, Chase. I can kiss a man."

"Just asking. What are you doing to him?" Chase tilted his head as she pulled Goldie
with one hand over the creek and onto the fallen log. In her other hand, she dangled
the bacon in front of his nose.

"I'm not doing anything to him. I said it was just a kiss."

"I meant the dog," he said as the two of them landed safely on the ground.

"Oh." She pulled on her ear. "He gets out and comes to the house. He's already tracked
creek mud through the kitchen and family room. I'm going to teach him to stay clean."

"Probably just jump in after he walks across on the log. Remember catching crawfish
in this creek? You had a knack for finding them." He stood with his free hand in the
pocket of his coat.

She moved back over the log nimbly, although the dog looked just as clumsy. "Just
have to turn over a few rocks. Look for bubbles."

Chase followed along without spilling a drop of his coffee. "Since I'm already halfway
there, I'm going to go on and give Nathan Reed a house call."

"What? Why?"

"He invited me. Well, not necessarily for this morning, but his dog needs to be returned."

Both dogs ran ahead and she and Chase followed. She softened at the sight of the worn
path obviously made from the boys' sleds. There was another that looked like a footpath
leading around the side of the house to the front.

The backyard was a mess. Weeds as tall as her knees poked brown through the snow.
The deck looked hazardous. She figured it was why they came from the front.

She and Chase entered through the tidy garage. The doors were already up.

"Whoa. Great space in here," Chase ogled. "Son of a bitch, look at his tools."

"I won't mention to our brother you said that." She grinned at him.

"Smart ass," Chase muttered as they peeked through the door leading to the mudroom/temporary
kitchen that stood wide open—again. Brie gave her dog the command to wait outside,
led the reluctant Goldie in and shut the door, still following her brother. Letting
out a
hello
, a response came from the front of the house. They found Nathan sitting on the floor,
leaning back against his front door. With legs straight out and crossed at the ankles,
he stared up at his stairs. A notebook sat in one hand and a pencil in the other.

"I noticed your family walks right on in to your house. I didn't realize it was a
neighborhood thing," Nathan said while his eyes moved from the stairs to his notebook.
He wore blue jeans worn at the knees and brown, lace-up work boots. His untucked Henley
draped over the sides of his loose jeans.

"You left your door open again. We brought your dog back." She hadn't been inside
the house since they moved in. The rooms had been completely stripped except for the
floors, which were rows of battered wood.

They craned their heads to see what Nathan was looking at. At that same time, they
heard the mudroom door release and both dogs run through the open space like roller
derby competitors.

"Stupid dog," Nathan said as he tossed his notebook on the floor and stood up to grab
hold of his overly excited Lab.

"Not stupid. Not stupid at all. Very clever." She slowly shook her head in amazement
while she watched the two bump shoulders. "He's opening your door to get out, or in
this case, to let my dog in."

Nathan stood very still for a minute. "Even though you seem to have a psychic connection
with canines, I have to disagree. The dog has no thumbs and no general intelligence.
That dog cannot open a closed door." He smiled at her with one side of his mouth.

She took Nathan's hand and led him to the back of the house. Standing, she let out
two short whistles. Macey trotted over and Goldie followed. "Watch." She pushed her
dog back out to the garage and pulled his in the house, shutting the door once again.
The three of them watched as Goldie didn't hesitate to use his mouth to turn the knob
and open the door to the garage. This time the dogs escaped out to the back.

"Well, I'll be damned."

"Save yourself on your heating bill, Reed. Get yourself a child cover for the doorknob,"
she said.

He shook his head and headed back to the foyer. Picking up his dropped notebook, he
turned to her. "Are you here just to return my dog?"

"No," Chase interrupted. "I came to take you up on your offer to show me what you've
got planned for the place." Chase glanced at her. "I couldn't keep my sister from
tagging along."

Giving her brother a healthy smack on the arm, she motioned to Nathan's notebook.
"Do you draw?"

"No. No, not really, just sketching. Planning mostly." He started to stick the notebook
in his back pocket.

"Can I see?" she asked.