Hope Falls: Hearts Afire (Kindle Worlds Novella) (9 page)

Katie jumped on her tiptoes and threw her arms around Casey’s neck. She heard the oompf escape him as she practically tackled him. That didn’t stop her, though. She didn’t let go.

She relaxed into his arms as he wrapped them around her. She didn’t know what had gotten into her. Scratch that. She knew exactly what had happened. It was Casey. He cared for her. He seemed to care for her more than he cared for himself. He was willing to drive her seven hours home and seven hours back so that she could see her mother.

She had truly scored in the friend department. Though what she was feeling toward Casey in that moment was anything but friendly.

“Kate, if you want to go, we need to leave soon,” he said. “I’ve been doing the calculations in my head. What do you say? Wanna get the show on the road?”

Katie nuzzled her head into his neck, breathing in his intoxicating scent. The man always smelled so damn delicious she didn’t know what to do with herself. She squeezed him tighter for a second before letting him go, and planting her feet firmly on the ground.

“Case, you have no idea how much this offer means to me,” she told him, although she was quite sure he knew. “We can share the driving.”

As they headed back down the trail, Casey put his arm around her and said, “Not a chance, Katie. I’ve been in a car with you and I feared for both of our lives until you put the gear in park and turned off the ignition.”

One little California stop and a little swerve into a neighboring lane and he feared for his life. “What a scaredy cat.”

“Go ahead and call me names. I’m not risking it. In fact, I hope your next book lands you millions and you can hire a full-time chauffeur.”

She hipped checked him, causing him to trip on his own two feet. It wasn’t the first time she’d done that to him. Katie had enjoyed keeping Casey on his toes when she was around. She found it amusing, to surprise him with her choice of conversation or to touch him unexpectedly. He was like a little boy. He never knew how to react.

But when shit got real, like now, he knew exactly what to say and do.

She thought about her brother and Owen. Is this what it was like to be loved? Was Casey willing to move mountains for her? Like they were for Lizzy and Rachel. At the very least, he was willing to call in sick. That had to count for something.

Casey drove her back to the B&B to change her clothes and grab her laptop. She figured she’d have fourteen hours to write, or revise. Then they headed to his apartment so he could change as well. He called work and let them know there was a chance he might not be in.

It was a little after ten before they were officially on the road. She considered calling her mom to tell her she was on her way but thought better of it. She’d probably convince them to turn around. She needed to see her mother, to see her with her own eyes. Only then would Katie be able to sleep easy knowing that she was okay.

They had only been driving for an hour before Katie said, “Are we there yet?”

Seven and a half hours later, they finally exited the freeway. Casey rolled his eyes thinking about how many times Katie had joked, asking, “Are we there yet?” He had teased her back saying they should have made a drinking game out of it. Every time she asked, she should have had to take a shot. They both laughed knowing she would’ve been blitzed by the time they made it to her mom’s house.

They spent the entire trip alternating between singing with the radio, chatting about whatever came up, and the sound of her fingers tapping on her keyboard. If he was being honest, he also spent close to five hundred miles stealing glances in her direction. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Throughout the trip, her hair would slip from her hair tie and she’d scoop it back up into a bun on the top of her head. She had no idea what she did to him as she gathered her hair, exposing the length of her neck to him like it was on display for only him to kiss and devour. Fine strands of hair would feather down the side of her cheek, pointing like an arrow to her collarbone and down to her full breasts. More than once, he had to squirm in his seat to adjust his manhood against his jeans.

When they turned onto her mom’s street, he no longer thought about how much he wanted to touch his new best friend. He thought about meeting her family. It had seemed like a great idea hours ago to try and make Katie happy. He hadn’t stopped to consider that he’d have to meet her big brother in the process. Now, he was starting to second-guess his decision.

He pulled into the driveway, parking next to another truck like his own. He knew instinctively that it belonged to her brother. It was something that he could laugh at inside. Maybe firefighters were as cliché as Katie had said they were. Well, not entirely. He was there. With her. And he had no intention of leaving her. Not any time soon. Or ever. She didn’t know that yet, but he would be filling her in on that detail as soon as he got the chance.

As he rounded the truck to open her door, the front door to her mom’s house opened. An older woman was standing at the threshold, yelling, “Oh my goodness, is that really you, Katherine Marie?”

Katie jumped out and into his arms as soon as she opened the door. She planted a quick peck on his lips and said, “Thank you, Casey,” before she ran up the walkway toward her mother. He pressed his fingertips to his lips. Did that just happen? Did she really kiss him? It was over before it started, and Casey felt ripped off. He didn’t even have the chance to enjoy it. Once again, Katie had shocked him speechless and motionless. At least they weren’t on a run, or he might have tripped over his own feet.

He pushed aside his feelings, locked up the truck, and made his way toward Katie.

She was wrapped up in her mother’s arms and they were both crying happy tears.

“Hey, man.” A guy who matched him in height held out his hand to him. “You must be Casey. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ryan.”

It occurred to him that her brother knew who he was and heck if that didn’t put a smile on his already giddy face. “Great to meet you.”

“Thanks for bringing her home.” Ryan wiped away a tear from his own eye. “This is quite the surprise.”

“You’re welcome. I knew it meant a lot to her to see your mom. She was pretty freaked out.”

“We all were, but you know how it goes. Once she got some sugar in her, she was just fine. She just needs to make sure to have a healthy snack before bed every night and everything should be fine.”

Casey smiled, watching Katie and her mother rock back and forth like long-lost pals. “You and I both know how it works, but I wasn’t about to tell your sister that. She needed to see for herself that your mom was okay.”

Ryan laughed. “You seem to know my sister pretty well.”

Casey nodded. “I do.”

“And you really care for her.”

He nodded again. “I do.”

“She’s been through a lot.”

“I know.”

“Don’t hurt her.”

“I won’t.”

Ryan didn’t say anything else. He held out his hand to Casey again, a silent understanding between two men.

“Hey, what are you two whispering about over here?” Katie punched her brother in the gut and he gathered her in a headlock. “You’re going to mess up my hair!”

Both Ryan and Casey said at the same time, “As if that’s possible.” The two of them laughed hysterically at Katie’s expense.

“No fair.” She tried to punch Casey in the gut this time, but he caught her hand and held onto it, threading his fingers with hers. With her other hand, she held up a finger to his face. “We’re only here for a couple hours, Case. Don’t you go falling in love with my brother like all my other friends do.”

He chuckled at her joking plea. “I’ll try not to.”

“Ahem.” Katie’s mom pretended to cough. “What do I look like? Chopped liver?”

“Oh my gosh, Mom. This is Casey.” She turned to him, tears quickly pooling in her eyes. “This is my mom Clara.”

Casey let go of Katie’s hand and wrapped his arms around her mother. “It’s nice to meet you. It’s wonderful to see you’re feeling better.”

She patted him on the back while she whispered in his ear. “It’s nice to see my baby so happy.”

He whispered back, “I couldn’t agree more.” She squeezed him one more time before she let go. She reminded him of Mary. They both gave great mom hugs. When he returned, he was going to tell his stepmom just that. He knew it would make her smile.

“What are you doing out here, Ryan?” A woman’s voice called out. “Are you kidding me? Katie!” A pretty redhead flew out of the door and tossed her arms around Katie. “You’re here. I missed you so much, bug!” The redhead and Katie talked as if they were the only two people there; only stopping to take a breath once they were done. Casey wasn’t sure what the hell they were talking about. When he looked over at Ryan, he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one.

Finally, Katie looked over at him with a smile. “Casey, this is Lizzy, my sister-in-law.”

He held out his hand to her, but she smacked it away and gave him a hug. “We’re huggers, Casey. Ain’t that right, Ry?”

Her husband chuckled with a shake of his head. “We’re also crazy, as you can see. Let’s go inside. There’s been enough commotion on this block for one day.”

Now that the introductions were complete, they all headed inside. Ryan and Casey followed the women, who were back to being joined at the hip.

Seeing the excitement register on Katie’s face was enough to wash away any reservations he had about meeting her family. She was beyond thrilled to be home.

It had made him equal parts happy, confused, and terrified.

If she was this happy to be home, how could she ever stay in Hope Falls?

Just as they had planned, Katie and Casey had stayed for dinner and then got back on the road. She had dreaded leaving, thinking it was going to kill her to say goodbye to her family, but to her surprise, she was okay. She glanced over at Casey, who was still refusing to share the driving duty with her, and she smiled. She was content.

“What?” he said, looking over at her and then at the road. She didn’t say anything, but the smile stayed planted on her face. He reached toward her, running his hand down the back of her head to her neck. It wasn’t his usual tug on her ponytail. His hand slid toward her face and cupped her cheek. She covered his hand with hers, turned her head, and kissed his open palm.

“Thank you,” she said.

He interlocked their fingers. “You’re welcome.” He brought her hand to his lips and pressed them softly to her skin.

Tingles spread throughout her body at his touch. She looked at their joined hands and smiled. This is what it felt like to hold Casey Palmer’s hand. It felt amazing, like her heart was on fire with giddiness, passion, and love all at the same time.

When Katie arrived in the small town, she was dead set against getting involved again. To her, falling in love was synonymous with broken hearts and broken promises.

But then, she met Casey. Nothing could have prepared her for what she felt for this man. Emotions—so many emotions that she couldn’t describe because he left her at a loss for words. She felt so much love for him that she could barely think.

So, she just sat back, held his hand, and let her mind wander about what their future might hold.

Somewhere between home and Hope Falls, Katie fell asleep. When she awoke, they were pulling onto the road to the B&B.

“Oh my gosh, Casey. I’m so sorry. I slept through the whole trip.” Groggy, she wiped the sleep from her eyes and tried to focus on the time. It was almost three in the morning. “You’re not going to work, are you?”

“Not until tomorrow morning.” He cut the engine, got out of the truck and rounded it to her side. She tried to gather her things, stuffing it into her backpack. “Go ahead and go inside, sleepyhead, I’ll bring all your things in.”

Even though she had slept, she was still sleepy as hell, so she did as she was told. She climbed out of the truck with only her purse in her hand. She fumbled with her keys before she finally made it into the house and up to her room.

She was coming out of the bathroom when Casey entered her room with her backpack, pillow, and blanket.

“I found your iPod,” he said, holding up the little pink device.

“Where was it?” She chuckled, knowing that she could lose anything and he’d probably find it.

“In the side pocket of your backpack. I opened it up to stuff your gloves inside and voila.” He sat her things down in the corner of the room and then headed to the door. “You don’t have to walk me down. I’ll lock up.”

Katie closed the distance between them. She looked up at him, placing her hands on his chest, and he met her gaze. She took in a deep breath and tried to commit this moment to memory. There wasn’t anything she wanted to forget from their run yesterday morning until now.

She loved the longing look is his sparkling blue eyes. There was no doubt she had that same look in her own. She wanted him, so much.

“Not so fast.” She hooked her finger in the waistband of his jeans and pulled him closer to her. She didn’t want him to have any doubts about what she wanted. “Stay with me, Casey.”

He reached out to her, cupping her face in both of his hands. “God, Kate. There’s nothing I’d rather do, but—”

“No buts,” she told him. “Stay.”

“I didn’t take you to see your mom so you’d sleep with me.”

Katie chuckled, still looking into his breathtaking eyes. “Casey, I wanted to have sex with you long before you took me to see my mom.”

It was his turn to laugh. He lowered his face, his lips brushing against her neck. “Oh, really. When did you decide you wanted to have sex with me?”

As his tongue swirled along the length of her neck, she tried hard to answer his question. Only it was really hard to think while he was setting off sparks all over her body. She squeezed her thighs together as her toes curled in her shoes.

“The night I met you, I considered it.” She combed her fingers through his soft, thick hair as his hands traveled down her body. “But I was a goner the minute you told me you read my books.”

He lifted his head and stared into her eyes. “That was a long time ago, Kate.”

She nodded; her eyes alight with desire. “And you’ve kept me waiting long enough.”