Craving a Hero: St. John Sibling Series, book 3 (12 page)

"Jake?" Kelly looked across the room at Jake who stood a little apart from everyone else, stoic Jake who watched the partiers with a hawk's eye.

"They came with a note," Tess went on. "It read,
for when you're ready to dance again.
"

The reason Dixie had worn the precarious high heels for her wedding ceremony and danced hers and Sam's first dance in those uncomfortable shoes punched Kelly in the gut. She swiped a tear from her eye.

Tess patted her on the knee. "That story chokes us all up."

Kelly took a deep breath. Much as she was touched by Jake's story, there was another St. John brother who interested her more. "So, what kind of footwear did Dane give her?"

Tess smiled. "Dane gave her a pair of fuzzy, red slippers. Pretty enough to make her feel girly, but warm enough to be practical."

"I have no problem seeing the pretty girly part," Kelly said. "But I didn't see the practical part coming."

"There's a lot more to Dane than what you see on the surface," Tess said.

"That's something I've been discovering every day since meeting him."

"You're just jealous," a familiar voice carried heated words from the far end of the barn.

Kelly stood, honing on Dane's voice. There, in the loft, near the edge, Dane and Renn squared off.

"At least I do all my own stunts," Renn shouted, a repeat of the earlier banter the two had tossed back and forth.

"You may be a big fish in your little arena, brother," Dane returned, "but my face graces the big screen and it's about to grace it big time."

Renn took a swing at Dane. Dane ducked, his shifting weight bringing his foot dangerously close to the edge of the loft.

Kelly gasped. "Someone needs to stop them before one of them falls."

When no one moved and Dane shoved Renn, Kelly kicked off her heels and headed for the loft ladder. She hadn't gotten more than two rungs up when Dane fell from the loft. Thank goodness he landed on a stack of hay bales. Still, he wasn't moving.

She vaulted from the ladder and ran to his side, shouting, "someone to call 9-1-1."

But, when she put her ear close to his mouth checking for breath, she was met with a whispered, "Hey, Bright Eyes." Then he nipped her ear.

She straightened. "Don't move. You might have hurt your back or your neck."

He reached up and stroked her cheek.

"Don't move," she repeated, placing her hands on his shoulders.

He frowned. "You're really worried about me."

"Dammit, Dane. Stop trying to move."

He sat up and hooked a hand around her neck. "Didn't mean to scare you, Kel. I was just showing off for you."

Action star Dane St. John a.k.a. The Hawke…who did
some
of his own stunts. Of course he was okay. She glanced around and realized she wasn't hearing gasps of horror but laughter.

"Move your fat head," Renn called from the loft, "so I can show you how a real stuntman takes a fall."

Dane climbed off the hay bales, taking Kelly with him.

"I'm so embarrassed," she said. "Everyone's laughing at me."

"They aren't laughing at you, Kel. They're laughing at Renn and me."

She punched him in the arm. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Ow," Dane said, grabbing his arm.

An arm slipped around her shoulders, Tess'. "These St. John boys have a wicked sense of humor. If you're going to be part of this family, you better get used to it."

Part of this family?
Is that how they were all seeing her? Is that how she wanted them to see her—how she
wanted
Dane to see her?

#

"Reading people is life and death to you, Jake," Dane said, having joined Jake outside the barn where he was having a smoke. "What do you think? Have I thrown her into the deep end too soon?"

"You always were impulsive," Jake said on a stream of exhaled smoke.

"Yeah. But have I scared her off?"

"That stunt you and Renn pulled put a powerful fear into her."

Dane frowned. "That was my fault. I was showing off for her."

"I know," Jake said, taking a long draw on his thin cheroot.

"I should have known it was a mistake. The last time I showed off for her dumped me into a nest of ground hornets."

Jake choked out a laugh. "I'd liked to have seen that."

"It wasn't pretty."

Jake grunted. "I bet."

Dane brightened. "But it did get her to see beyond my pretty face."

Jake shook his head. "You and Dixie, the two of you can't help but make lemonade out of lemons."

"That's not so bad. Look where it's gotten Dixie."

Jake gave him a sidelong look. "But Dixie has always known what she wants. She had herself a direction. Do you, little brother?"

Dane stuffed his hands in his pants' pockets and stared off into the night sky. "I have strong feelings for her."

"I can see that."

"You think she's a keeper?" Dane asked, eyeing his big brother.

Jake gave him a long, hard look. "Are
you
ready for a keeper?"

Dane stared at the ground, kicked at the dirt. "I think that's what I'm trying to figure out."

Jake stubbed out his cheroot. "Just don't keep her if you're not ready to give her everything she'll give you."

Dane stared at his brother for a long moment. Was he ready to give Kelly everything she deserved?

#

Midway through the evening, Dane, Kelly, Tess, and Roman had congregated together near the front exit where the music wasn't so loud.

"Was yours and Roman's wedding so…interesting?" Kelly asked.

"We opted for a justice of the peace," Tess said, her chin sweeping the air in the kind of arc perps used when they were about to play the distract-the-CO with indignance card, not that she thought Tess was being anything more than indignant.

"What with my family so spread out," Roman interjected, "the logistics of bringing everyone together at that time was impossible."

"I couldn't afford the trip," Dane said with such a sad note to his voice, Kelly slipped her fingers into his and gave his hand a squeeze. That he smiled back at her told her he'd read the support in her gesture.

"But you were there via Skype," Tess said, patting him on the arm. "Renn Skyped in, too."

"Jake, unfortunately," Roman said, "was off doing some of his
in the shadows
stuff."

"But Mom and Dad St. John were there in person to witness their son's wedding," Tess said a little too vehemently. "And Dixie and Ben, of course."

But not a word about Tess' family, Kelly noted, sensing there was more to the story. Then Tess dipped a bittersweet smile in her direction and said as though reading her thoughts, "My family, however, did not attend. I was somewhat
persona not grata
at the time."

Recalling their conversation on the drive to the wedding about their personal experiences as women in male dominated professions, Kelly commiserated. "Just because you started your own architectural firm separate from your father's?"

"Daddy's nose got bent out of shape because, as he saw it, I abandoned him when he could have most
used
me."

"Breathe," Roman said, rubbing his wife's back. "Raising your blood pressure isn't good for you or the baby."

Tess pulled in a long breath and slowly let it out. Then she smiled and patted her tummy. "Seems Daddy's not so unhappy with me anymore, not with me carrying a potential grand
son
to take over the family firm." At which point, Tess lowered her face toward her stomach and said, "You do
not
want to be an architect. You do
not
want to join your grandfather's firm."

She straightened, a sly smile on her lips. "I repeat those words to the unborn every chance I get. I'm hoping all that research about sounds filtering into the womb influencing the fetus works."

Kelly couldn't help but laugh, and she wasn't alone. Roman lifted his beer cup in toast. "To a well-informed fetus."

To which Dane and Kelly likewise raised their beer cups and drank as Tess drank from her punch cup.

"Looks like you four are toasting something," Dixie said as she and Sam joined the quartet, hand in hand, and grinning like a couple teenagers.

"We are," said Tess. "And here's another," she continued, holding up her punch cup. "To the newlyweds. May they be forever as happy as they are today."

"Here, here," said Roman, hoisting his cup.

"To happiness all around," said Dane, giving Kelly's hand a squeeze as they all drank.

As she lowered her cup, Kelly caught Dixie glance up from hers and Dane's entwined fingers. Dixie's smile widened. "Thank you for sharing this day with us, Kelly."

And she leaned in and hugged Kelly, whispering in her ear, "You seem to make my brother very happy."

When she stepped back beside Sam, he slipped his arm around her waist and drew her close. "Yeah. It was great of you all to come. Stay and enjoy the festivities as long as you guys want, but we've got an early breakfast service in the morning, so we're calling it a night."

Dixie's eyelashes dipped flirtatiously. "We're heading off for an early start on the honeymoon."

"You be good to my little sister," Dane said, "or you'll be hearing from me and remember, I'm an action star who does his own stunts."

"Dane," Dixie scolded.

Sam laughed. "Your baby brother says you do
some
of your own stunts while he does
all
his own."

One corner of Dane's mouth betrayed the combative edge to his words. "Watch it. I'm now in the financial position to move around the country at will. I can easily come after you."

To which Sam countered, "Jake said he could take me out before I even knew he was in the same room as me."

They all laughed at that, hugged, and said their good-byes. As the newlyweds finally strolled off toward the house, Roman looked at his watch. "It's only ten o'clock but we've got a two hour drive and Dane and Kelly have two more hours to go after that. We should head out."

It took another half hour to make the rounds of good-byes with the rest of the family and friends. On the way to the car, Dane draped his blazer over Kelly's shoulders and Tess held out a hand to Roman. "Give me the keys. You've been drinking."

"Always the voice of reason, Princess," Roman said, digging in his pocket.

Dane chuckled as he guided Kelly past the couple toward the car, his hand feeling so right against the small of her back.

"Don't be a smart ass with me," Tess countered.

"Doesn't she like being called Princess?" Kelly asked.

"
That
, she's gotten used to," Dane said. "What's funny is—"

"Is that an admission you aren't always the voice of reason?" Roman teased amidst the jingle of a passing key fob.

"That's what's funny," Dane said as he all but shoved Kelly into the backseat and followed her, barring Roman admittance with, "Backseat's full, Brother."

"Come sit in front with me," Tess called from the driver's side. "Leave the back to the lovebirds."

Why she should blush, Kelly didn't know. The whole family already seemed to think she meant more to Dane than he'd ever expressed to her.

Dane leaned through the fading interior light and kissed her. It was a sweet, but lingering kiss that, when ended, made her glance self-consciously at Roman and Tess. They seemed not to have noticed, though, both staring straight ahead as Tess steered the car toward the highway. Still, she muttered to Dane, "Buckle up."

"Sure," he said, scooting close and buckling himself into the middle position.

"You're riding on the manifold," she said, "your feet on either side of the hump in the floor. That can't be comfortable."

"I'd suffer any discomfort to be close to you, Bright Eyes," he said, then draped his arm across the backrest behind her and laid his head on her shoulder.

Her heart kicked up a notch at his words and she pressed a kiss to his brow. If only this could be forever. That's the thought that tapped at the inside of her skull as the miles rocked them to sleep.

#

They woke to a tapping on the side window and Roman's, "Wake-up sleepyheads. We're home, at least our home."

Dane stretched.

Unsnapping her seatbelt, Kelly opened the door and climbed out and likewise stretched.

"Tess made a mad dash for the bathroom," Roman said. "You two are welcome to stay the night here. Tess said to tell you she just changed the linens in the guestroom."

Dane was instantly at Kelly's side. "I've slept off whatever beer I drank."

"But if you two are too tired to drive the rest of the way—" Roman continued.