“But,” she prompted, ready for a string of excuses.
“But I’m working two jobs and well...I didn’t know if it was such a good idea.” He didn’t have to mention the passion that had flared between them whenever they were alone, but there it was, still thick in the air, hovering between them. He leaned both arms on the edge of the window and kicked out a hip so that he could stare at her. His fingers grazed her arm and her pulse jumped in anticipation. “I really am glad you stopped by.”
She didn’t want to hear any platitudes. Not now. “I’m on my way to the lake. I should really go.”
Frowning, he checked his watch. “I don’t get off until seven. How long are you staying at the lake?”
“Until six-forty-five.”
He cocked an interested dark eyebrow. “Not another fifteen minutes?”
“I don’t think it’s such a good idea,” she said, repeating his words and mocking him. With a sigh and a lift of her shoulders, she threw her little car into gear. “I’ve got to be home for dinner.”
“Is that right?” He didn’t believe her. The cocksure grin told her he knew she was lying, but he didn’t call her on it. At least not yet. Straightening, he slapped the open window with his bare palm. “Well, I guess I’ll have to catch you another time.” With that he turned on his heel and dashed up the two steps to the porch, leaving Carlie to seethe in her car and wonder why she couldn’t just forget him. He was trouble. No two ways about it. She should listen to Rachelle’s advice and forget him.
She ripped out of the parking lot in a spray of gravel and imagined Ben laughing at her. So what was she doing chasing after him like a lovesick puppy? He was just playing with her and she certainly didn’t need the aggravation. So he’d kissed her. Big deal. Lots of boys had kissed her and she hadn’t fantasized about it, made it seem as if the sun and the moon and stars were involved in a simple touching of lips. But she hadn’t been willing to let any of the other boys strip her of her blouse or loosen the straps of her swimsuit. No one else had put his lips to her breasts and— “Forget it!” she told herself as she stepped on the gas and pushed the speed limit of the winding road around the lake. At the public boat landing and park, she nosed her compact car into a sliver of a parking space. “Forget him.”
She grabbed her towel and beach bag, locked the car and started down the trail through the trees to the swimming hole. She’d cool off, talk with some friends for a while, swim, then go home before seven o’clock! She had to forget him. Anything else was just begging for emotional suicide.
* * *
“SHE’S A PRETTY thing, ain’t she?” Mrs. Sedgewick said to the world in general as Ben strode back into the store. He didn’t comment but saw the old lady swallow a smile at his reaction. Why was everything so complicated when it came to dealing with Carlie? Yes, she was a pretty girl. Yes, he was interested in her. Yes, he’d like to date her. And yes, he couldn’t pry her from his mind, try as he might. But all his instincts told him to turn the other way and run anytime he came in contact with her.
Kevin had warned him about her and yet, try as he would, Ben couldn’t seem to get the girl out of his blood. Kissing her had been a mistake, a kick-you-in-the-gut kind of mistake that messed with his mind.
He had enough trouble without Carlie. His father had never been the same since his divorce, and his sister, Nadine, seemed about ready to bolt to the altar with Sam Warne, her boyfriend of the past few years. Kevin, well, he was already screwed up. Ever since he’d lost his basketball scholarship, he hadn’t been the same.
Ben needed to keep his wits about him. He was the only Powell left with a lick of sense.
“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” Tina suggested. “Not much business this afternoon.”
“You sure?” Ben was surprised.
“Hell, yes!” Eli said as he straightened a few ten-pound sacks of dog food. “It’s slow today.”
Ben didn’t need any more encouragement. Between his hours working in the woods during the week and his weekend job at the Bait and Fish, he didn’t have much time for himself. Not to mention the matter of Carlie Surrett. He should avoid her like the plague, but as he waved to Tina, walked outside and noticed the sun lingering over the horizon, he knew he’d follow Carlie to the lake. “Just like the stupid lemmings,” he thought as he ground the gears of his old truck and headed to the public easement where most of the kids hung out.
He saw her car in the parking lot and smiled inwardly. Pocketing his keys, he almost whistled. He had the rest of the day off and didn’t have to be back at the tackle shop until noon tomorrow. He considered the ragged pair of cutoffs he kept in a bag on the floor of the cab and decided they’d have to suffice for a swimming suit. Well, Miss Surrett, he thought as he climbed out of the hot interior of his old truck, you’re in for one helluva surprise.
* * *
LIKE A MIRROR, the lake reflected the forest and surrounding mountains. Speedboats pulling water-skiers, dinghies drifting with fishermen and motorboats trolling through the smooth waters caused the only ripples to appear on the lake’s glassy surface.
Carlie ignored a group of kids huddled around a cooler and a radio and walked to the end of the dock. She kicked off her sandals, sat on the edge and dragged one toe through the cold water. What was she doing getting herself tied in emotional knots over Ben Powell? As soon as she had enough money saved, she was leaving Gold Creek and she didn’t need any complications—romantic or otherwise—holding her down. Closing her eyes, she pressed her palms to the sun-baked boards of the pier
and lolled her head back.
Tranquillity had just settled over her when she felt footsteps reverberating on the tired boards of the dock. She was about to turn around when a pair of hands clamped possessively over her shoulders, thumbs to her back, fingertips resting on the slope of her breasts.
“I didn’t think you’d come this early,” she said, and a deep-throated chuckle was her response. Blinking open her eyes, she stared upward, where the sun silhouetted the handsome face of a man...but not Ben’s. The smell of cigarette smoke and stale beer floated on the breeze. She froze as she recognized Kevin.
“Expecting someone?” he asked with a grin.
She scooted away from him. “What’re you doing here?”
“I was with some friends, saw you and thought I’d say hello.” He rubbed his chin. “We need to talk.”
She tried not to be wary. He was, after all, Ben’s brother, as well as a man she’d recently dated. She should give him the benefit of the doubt. Squinting up at him, she said, “What do you want to talk about?”