Rock Solid (11 page)

He reached her, pulling her around, searching her face, her body, for injury.

“What were you doing up on that horse? You could have been hurt, or worse. Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

Hannah blinked, as if she couldn’t quite understand him, and he studied her more intently.

“Did you hit your head?”

“No, I don’t think so,” she said, taking a breath. “Just knocked the wind out of me, and I might have bruised my backside, but that’s it.”

“We should get you to the ER, just in case.”

“Brody, I’m fine. That’s not the first time I’ve fallen off a horse, you know,” she said, pushing her hair back from her face.

“You didn’t fall, you were thrown.” He glared toward Zip. “That horse has to go.”

Hannah put a hand on his, and shook her head. “No, he doesn’t. He was fine, and we had a very nice ride. In fact, he was perfect until that engine noise scared him. It could have happened to any horse.”

“Why were you up on him? And without any tack?”

She shrugged, stepping back and brushing more dirt from her jeans and shirt. “You said he was fighting the tack, so I thought I’d try riding him bareback. He liked it. Had no problem whatsoever, and wouldn’t have thrown me if it weren’t for the noise.”

She was calm, practical Hannah, and Brody’s heart started to beat at a more normal pace. He must still have looked worried, though, as she put her hands on either side of his face, as if
she
were concerned about
him
.

“I’m fine, Brody. Seriously.”

Brody hauled her against him, running his hands over her back, as if to make sure she was telling the truth.

“You scared the daylights out of me. If anything had happened to you, I... I shouldn’t have asked you to take care of him.”

She scoffed and stepped back, out of his embrace. “I was happy to.”

They looked at the horse eyeing them from the other side of the field, and Hannah suddenly lifted her hands to her mouth, letting go a loud whistle that nearly deafened Brody at such close proximity.

But he was astounded when Zip sauntered toward them, stopping by Hannah’s side, nudging her with his head.

“I know, boy. It wasn’t your fault,” she said, kissing the horse on the bridge of his nose.

Then she did something even more incredible and pulled herself onto Zip’s bare back.

“I don’t want him having any negative associations from that ride, so I’m going to walk him around a few times, okay?” she asked Brody, though she wasn’t really asking.

Brody watched as they moved away from him, Zip walking along calmly. He shot a glance up toward the house, making a sign to Aiden to make sure all engines were cut. There was nothing but silence as Brody watched Hannah ride the horse as if they were made of the same blood and bone.

Maybe Zip related to the calmness in her, the inner stability that was always part of the woman herself. Something Brody had gravitated to when he’d first met her, and something that didn’t shift, even when she seemed less than sure of herself.

Stepping out of the corral, Brody saw her camera hanging on the post near the barn and grabbed it. He wasn’t a professional, but he’d listened to the saleswoman in the shop, and he could take a picture. Something about this moment made him want to capture it, and he lifted the lens, which was already set for a close-up.

Clicking the pictures, his heart seemed to swell as he stared at Hannah, her hand stroking the horse’s mane as she rode, her beautiful lips moving as she spoke to Zip, secrets between the two of them.

It was the happiest he’d ever seen Zip, who appeared ready and willing to ride all day if it was for Hannah.

Brody lowered the camera as Hannah dismounted and left the corral, her entire face glowing with happiness. Brody was almost jealous of the horse for a second, unsure if he’d ever made her quite that happy.

“He’s so wonderful, Brody, did you see? I love him so much,” she said.

But her eyes were on his, her smile for him, and the words made his heart stutter. Maybe because he wished they were for him, and not for the horse? The next thing he knew he was kissing her and she was clinging to him. Having her in his arms was all he cared about.

When he’d realized she’d fallen, his heart had stopped for a beat. All that had mattered to him in that moment—more than his family, his career, anything—was that Hannah could be injured.

Touching her now, with an inkling of what it would be like if he lost her or was never able to touch her again, he couldn’t stop.

“Brody,” she gasped, her eyes blurry with desire as she pushed back, putting some distance between them.

Brody didn’t want distance, and pulled her back next to him, needing to reassure himself she was okay.

Finally, catcalls and beeping horns cut through the haze of his need, and he broke off the kiss.

When Brody glanced up the hill at his nephew and his friends, they broke out into applause, giving him a hearty thumbs-up.

He’d entirely forgotten they were there. That was what Hannah did to him. She made him forget everything.

Hannah’s smile widened, even as her cheeks burned bright red. Brody swore under his breath, but laughed, too, their passion fading in the humor of the kids’ response.

“Okay, I guess I’m not being the best role model here,” he said, stepping away.

“Oh, I think you just became their absolute hero,” Hannah said with an embarrassed chuckle. “I should finish the horses and let you get back to them.”

“No, I’ll help you. They’ve had enough for this morning, anyway, and I wouldn’t mind finishing what we started once we get the horses out in the pasture.”

Her lips parted and her eyes told him she’d like that, too. He waved to the guys and they waved back, getting the message. They got into their cars and drove off.

Inside the barn, Brody took the time to process his feelings and his reaction to Hannah almost being hurt. He’d completely freaked out, which was something he almost never did. Ever.

He cared for Hannah, of course. He always had. He enjoyed their time together, and he did trust her. Like a good friend. And a lover. The physical chemistry between them was explosive, but what they had was temporary. It wasn’t love.

Loving someone wasn’t a temporary situation, and it was one he couldn’t allow himself to fall into. He would go back to racing next season, and she’d move on with her own life. They’d get a divorce at some convenient time, and that would be that.

He recited that to himself a few times and started to feel steadier. He’d panicked, understandable given his recent experience being thrown by Zip. He still shook his head at how casual she’d been about it, and how she’d climbed back up on the beast, more concerned about the horse’s reaction than her own.

He admired that, and he admired Hannah. But he had to be clear about his own feelings. Admiration, sex and even caring were not love. Love wasn’t part of the bargain, and they both knew that.

By the time they got the stables clean and returned to the house, hand in hand, Brody had almost convinced himself it was true.

10

A
LMOST
A
WEEK
after Zip had thrown her, most of the media attention about their engagement had lessened, and there had been no more brawls or other disasters. She and Brody had more or less settled into a nice rhythm with her work and his helping his teenage crew with their cars. Her days were spent wedding planning and working on her blog and her photos, and her nights were spent in passionate delirium with Brody.

Life was good.

The wedding was set now for Saturday, in four days, on the beach at Brody’s parents’ house. They had insisted on it, not wanting their son to get married in a courthouse. She couldn’t say no to that generous offer, nor to Mrs. Palmer’s and Brandi’s offers of help, but Hannah kept it all manageable.

Her mother was coming into town in a day or so, and had made Hannah wait to shop for a dress. Reece hadn’t been able to make it home from France, regrettably, and Abby had to mind the winery, so Hannah’s best friends would not be at the wedding. She comforted herself with knowing that someday, when she got married for love, it would all be very different.

It was becoming more like a real wedding—which was necessary, of course, if the public and Brody’s sponsors were to believe it—and she was trying to not let that get to her, focusing on her work as a distraction.

Yet the wedding and all of the fuss around it couldn’t be further from her mind. She was at the local raceway with her camera, snapping shots of Brody with his group of students, which now had two more pupils.

She’d sent off pictures to a few other magazines that she had queried, and they were delighted to look at her work—especially when it included Brody Palmer.

Having a famous subject for her first published photos was certainly a leg up, but then, as Brody reminded her, he was benefitting from it, as well. He’d finally found a way to contribute that he really felt invested in. Helping these kids drive more safely and become more responsible about their choices was clearly important to him. And he made each and every one of them promise to stop racing illegally.

So far, so good.

Hannah knew that several of the boys—and one teenage girl, she was pleased to see—like Aiden, didn’t have two parents, usually missing their father for various reasons. In that sense, Brody was more than a driving instructor. He was a role model who was showing them what a man could be. A good man.

Hannah wanted that message to be clear, so she made a deal with the most recent editor of a well-known sports publication to write a short article to go with her pictures, discussing this very issue. She wanted to talk more to Brody’s students as well, and perhaps to other kids who were racing illegally. To find out why they chased the rush, took the risks. To reveal the kids as people, not just hoodlums, as they were often portrayed in the press.

Brody was impressed with a few of the teens and thought one or two, including Aiden, could even make it professionally if they kept at it. He didn’t tell them that, not yet, so it didn’t go to their heads, but she knew he was already setting up meetings with other professional drivers to come talk to the group. Everyone’s excitement was high.

Hannah spent a lot of time studying Brody through her lens, as well. He was very photogenic—no surprise there—but even in a group of people, in a public place, through the lens, the world narrowed down to just the two of them.

They’d been there for hours, though, and she looked at her watch, wondering when they would be heading back to the ranch. She had more work to do, and she always looked forward to that time at the end of the day when they settled into the house together, alone.

Maybe tonight she’d let Brody take her camera in the bedroom and turn the tables a bit.

She’d never let anyone take any kind of sexy photograph of her, ever. But she was about to marry the man after all. It might be fun.

Fun, she mused, was getting easier for her.

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice at first that Brody was motioning her over to the stock car he’d been showing the guys. They weren’t allowed to drive it, but it had been a charge for them seeing it up close. Brody had gotten permission for them to drive their own cars around the track a few times, though, and had videoed them and given each of them feedback and things to improve on. The kids ate up every word.

Now they were sitting back, eating sandwiches and grinning at her as she approached the group.

“What?” she asked, looking at them all suspiciously.

“Your turn,” Brody said.

“What? My turn to do what?”

“Drive.”

“That?” she asked incredulously, pointing at the stock car.

Brody laughed. “Sure, why not? I dare you.”

Hannah set a hand on her hip, glaring at him. “I don’t think so.”

“It’s a scaled-down model, a very standard stock car, really. I couldn’t let the guys drive it because of their age, and since they don’t hold their own insurance, but you do. And besides, it’s my car. I can say who drives it and who doesn’t.”

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” she said, shaking her head at him.

“I am. You will, too. You’ve been in a car with me before, you know how great it is.”

“I was a passenger. And it was somewhat terrifying.”

“So I’ll be the passenger this time. We’ll take a few turns around until you get a feel for it, and then you can see if you want to go faster. Completely up to you.”

“C’mon, Hannah, you can do it!” The young kids behind her cheered her on, telling her not to be chicken. She rolled her eyes, but gave in.

“Fine, I can drive it around, but I’m not going fast,” she said.

Brody winked at her. “I bet you do.”

She started to set her camera down, and Brody put out his hand. “Let me take that. I can get a few shots of you while you drive.”

She smiled, reflecting on her earlier thoughts about letting him take pictures of her. This wasn’t what she’d had in mind, but she handed him the camera anyway. He’d gotten some nice shots of her with Zip the other day, and had even asked to have one he could frame. Hannah had been very touched by that.

What was she worried about? All she had to do was drive the car around the track a few times. It wasn’t Daytona, but a smaller, local track, and far less intimidating. She could do this.

“Let’s go, then,” she said cheerfully, getting into the driver’s seat and taking the helmet Brody provided.

She’d worn the five-point harness seat belt before, and started to adjust it to her size when Brody reached over.

“Let me help with that,” he offered.

As he did so, she knew it was no mistake when the back of his hand grazed her breast, or touched her arm, his fingers brushing her neck.

“You may want to stop that unless you want me to wreck your car,” she said drily, her heart racing at each touch.

“Good point,” he said, and then ran her through some basics, because once they were driving, it would be impossible to talk. They had helmets but not wired ones. “You don’t have to go fast. I was only kidding you. Just have fun, sweetheart.”

She nodded and they started out, rolling onto the straightaway, where Hannah drove the car up to highway speeds, but at the curve slowed down a little, getting a feel for it.

On the next stretch, she went faster, but no more so than she would on a regular interstate, again slowing down for the curve, but not as much. Hannah didn’t want to take unnecessary chances, but the car handled well, and she was feeling more comfortable.

She looked over at Brody, who gave her the thumbs-up, then pointed to his eyes and back at the track, reminding her to stay focused. Hannah started feeling more confident, picking up speed until she looked down and saw her current speed on the straightaway—105 miles an hour!

Her eyes widened. She’d gone that fast—faster—with Brody driving, but this was
her
at the wheel.
One more time.
She bit her lip in concentration as she slowed on the curve, remembering all of the instructions she’d heard Brody giving the boys.

She concentrated on the track, following her instincts as she let off the gas but didn’t hit the brake. As soon as she came out of it, she put her foot down on the pedal, holding her breath and spiking the speed to 125 until they roared back to the spot where they’d started.

The guys at the side were jumping up and down, cheering, as Hannah rolled the car to a stop.

Her insides felt as if they were shaking from the adrenaline rush, which seemed to take over her entire body. She’d never imagined that she could be in control of such speed and power. Or that she would enjoy it so much.

Brody was smiling at her as though she was made of gold.

“I
knew
it. I knew you’d be awesome,” he said, leaning over to kiss her, but their helmets made that somewhat difficult until she took hers off.

Then he kissed her properly, grinning widely as he pulled back and got out of the car.

Hannah was still shaking with excitement. “That was...indescribable. I can see why you love it so much. That feeling, that rush... There can’t be anything in the world that compares.”

He gazed at her so deeply, so seriously, and she thought he was about to say something, but then Aiden appeared in the car window along with his friends, all of them chattering at once.

As they helped Hannah slide out of the car, she had to brace herself on the door; her knees were weak when they hit the pavement. She wasn’t sure if it was the drive or the kiss or that look in Brody’s eyes a few minutes ago, but it had all shaken her to the core—in the best possible way.

As they drove home, she thought about all the adventures that lay ahead of her, but she wasn’t sure if anything could ever compare to this time with Brody.

And that worried her very much.

* * *

T
HE
NEXT
MORNING
, Brody skimmed through the pictures he’d taken of Hannah in the car the day before, sipping his coffee as he studied them. He loved the fierce concentration on her face, the focus she held as she took a curve, her jubilant expression as she brought the car to a stop. Her face shone with such surprise and joy that his heart skipped slightly. Right now, across the table from him, her attention was on the laptop screen with the same amazing focus.

This had become their de facto morning routine. After they got out of bed—sometimes sooner, sometimes later—they had breakfast, took care of the horses and then came back to sit down with more coffee while she worked on her blog and he took care of other business. Or sometimes Brody read the news, if he didn’t have reason to leave the house.

It was too easy to think of this being a permanent arrangement, but it wasn’t. In fact, the sooner they could find a reason to dissolve their marriage, the better it would be for both of them, especially once he returned to the track.

“What are you doing?” he asked, curious about what had her fingers flying so quickly over the keyboard.

She seemed dazed for a moment, her focus broken, and then she smiled at him.

“I put up a blog about driving yesterday, and I’m responding to the comments. So many of them. I never realized how many people fantasized about doing this. I was researching the driving experience sites, and there are a lot of places where people can go to drive supercars or race on a track, and someone suggested I visit them and do a series of reviews of the various venues. That could be a great project. I could structure my travels around visiting each location, starting a tour of race-track experience locations a month or so after the wedding, perhaps.”

“That’s an interesting idea. I could set you up with some people I know, if that would help.”

“Thanks, but it’s important for me to do this on my own, you know?”

Brody nodded. He was happy for Hannah—very much so. He almost told her that he had already helped her out, just once—the first editor who had contacted her had been a friend of his. He wanted to do whatever he could to help her push forward with her new life, her new adventures. Her new career. The one that would take her away from him, eventually.

Suddenly, that didn’t sit as well as it should have. While he lounged here imagining sunny mornings in the kitchen and settling into routines, she was already making plans for her new life. It was as if they had reversed positions, and while she was picking up speed, he was slowing down. The things that had never appealed to him before—being home, being
stuck
—were now much more desirable.

Maybe it was because of the person he was stuck with.

But the moment to tell her about his contact passed, and he let it go. It didn’t mean anything anyway. If she hadn’t had good material, it never would have been accepted.

The phone rang, and he tensed. Probably another reporter.

But when he looked, he saw it was Jud Harris, and picked up the call.

“Jud, what can I do for you?”

“I know this is somewhat last minute, Brody, but we’d like to throw a small cocktail party tonight at seven. For you and your fiancée. We’d like to meet her; this engagement has been a great idea. The press has been running nothing but positive media about you two for several days. I hope you plan to have coverage at the wedding?”

Jud’s invitation wasn’t a request, it was a command, and Brody bridled. He knew this was part of the deal. He’d lived his life knowing he had to make certain public appearances and had glad-handed more than one corporate sponsor, playing the game so that he could get back to doing what he loved most, and he was always good at it.

But now...it felt wrong. Unsavory. As if it was making a mockery of his relationship with Hannah. Making it shallow.

But that was the reality of it, wasn’t it? He’d started believing his own lies, he supposed.

Hannah was moving forward, making plans.

He needed to keep his eye on the ball, too.

“Sure, Jud, give me the address.” Brody ignored the question about reporters at the wedding for now.

He scratched the address on the pad of paper on the counter, knowing the spot. He’d been there before for business events, and it wasn’t far.