Stormy Surrender (New Hope #1) Read online

“I see you were eyeing the Escape. Care to take it for a test drive?” He grinned.

  Joe looked at Marti. She looked at him. She sighed and shrugged. In that one moment, he wasn’t sure he ever could have been more proud of her. He imagined it was taking every ounce of self-control on her part. He almost laughed. Almost.

  “So, babe,” he said. “Are you interested in this car or not?”

  She took a step closer, a small, hesitant step. He could have reached out and kissed her. Damn she was good.

  “I don’t know. It seems pretty basic. And that looks like a lot of money for a really basic used car.” She walked around it slowly as if she was trying to detect every flaw. “And I always wonder with these vehicles that are only one year old, but sitting in the used car lot. I suspect that they were once rental cars and that they have been used hard, mistreated, and handled like the proverbial red-headed step-child.” She nodded in his direction. “No offense, of course.”

  “Of course,” he agreed. He, too, walked around and nodded. “I assume you have a report on the previous owner? I wouldn’t want my girl driving around in a vehicle that is unsafe. She travels back and forth to Vermont a lot.” He nodded at the Vue. “See, that’s a vehicle that we can trust. She just is tired of the color.”

  He glanced over at Marti as she ran her hand over an imagined imperfection in the paint. “Babe, what do you think of this color?”

  She made a face. “It’s fine. You know…nothing special.” She shrugged and turned as though to walk away. “I just don’t know if I’ve found anything that really strikes my fancy. I mean…it’s not like I have to get a new vehicle. We can just go…”

  If she didn’t stop it, he was going to throw her on the hood of the nearest car and have his way with her. He had never been so taken with a woman in all his life. Damn, she was sexy when she bargained. Crap. She caught him looking. Play it cool, Joe. Play it cool… “Babe, do you know what I’m thinking?”

  She smirked and walked over to him. “I think I do. And I would much rather be doing that than car shopping. I just don’t think we can get a good enough deal to make it worth our while.” She walked into his arms and he crushed her against his chest. “Shall we?” She asked in a voice so seductive that he was convinced, and so was his penis. The way her eyebrow arched just then…suggested she knew it, too.

  She backed away just a bit, and he was glad that she kept him covered. In fact, she turned around and wrapped his arms around her so that she was hiding him still. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I love you.”

  Throwing her head back, she released a throaty chuckle. “Take me home and show me how much?” Then she winked.

  Damn she was sexy when she wanted to be. He pulled her close a moment more. Dead puppies. Maggot filled garbage. Clogged toilets. He thought of anything that was gross and disgusting, anything that might just make his bulging erection go away. It worked. He just had to avoid looking at her. Forever.

  He took her hand and started to walk away when the salesman stopped them. “We haven’t even talked numbers yet,” he complained. “Give me just a minute to see what I can do? And is that your trade in?” He pointed to the Vue.

  They nodded in a very non-committal way, and acted like they were ready to leave. So he rushed. The salesman literally ran across the lot, back into the building.

  Smiling up at him she said with a giggle, “Well, that ought to speed up the process.”

  “Well, played. I swear I could have kissed you,” he said happily.

  “Really? Because to me, it felt like you wanted to do a little more than that.” She smirked as she called him out.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said. “But seriously, you were amazing.” And he punctuated that proclamation with a kiss.

  It was a great kiss. While he had blocked her mouth, prevented her from speaking the other day in an obvious ploy to distract her, this was entirely different.

  He just got caught up in the role play, she told herself. It was nice to have someone think that she was attractive for a little while. It felt amazing to have the power to make someone as handsome and attractive and sexy as Joe get all hot and bothered. And because of that, she was feeling pretty awesome.

  The salesman returned while they were sitting in the Vue talking. They did that because it was a bit windy out and still chilly for the season, but also because it was good for him to think that he had a very limited time with which to impress them.

  “You should have seen me in action when I bought the truck,” he boasted while they waited for the Vue to be assessed. “I was there all day. And I mean, I arrived soon after they opened and didn’t leave until I had the deal I wanted a good hour after they closed. My father came and everything. He had to bring me the spare keys to the vehicle, so he stayed and offered his opinion. He was ready to crack long before I was.”

  She shivered. The way he was looking at her, she knew he believed it to be because of the breeze that was growing increasingly cold as the day wore on. Ah, but in reality, she had just seen another side of him. So far, every side she had seen was so rugged and manly and wildly attractive…to the right woman. Not her, of course, ask anyone. He wasn’t one to settle down and she wasn’t one to play the field. At the moment, she shouldn’t even be in the stadium. She was still married.

  And that’s when the thought occurred to her. “How is it you’ve never married? Did you just never find anyone that you liked enough to be tied to the rest of your natural life?”

  He scowled. “There’s nothing natural about being tied down, nothing natural about marriage. Men were designed to go out and spread their seed…”

  She could tell he was going to say more, but she interrupted him. “Oh good lord, are you one of those?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” he said honestly.

  “Is that what you really mean? Is that how you really think? You would never settle down?” For some reason, his answer to that question was more important than she could ever have guessed it would be. And it bothered her to think that somewhere in the back of her mind; she just might be a little more than interested in Joe Masters than she cared to admit.

  He stood there looking at her for a moment. What did he believe any more? At one time he had hoped to marry Finn. He had asked his father for the ring that was passed down from his grandmother after she died. It was to stay in the family and he was the only male in the line, so it had been his since he was nine. That’s a long time to know that you are supposed to get married.

  “I don’t know.” He realized he had answered far more honestly than he had intended. She seemed to be okay with his response, so he was more than happy to continue. “I thought I knew what I wanted. I thought I knew who I wanted, but instead of being the love of my life, she was my greatest disappointment.” He looked at her a moment before he continued. “And if it was just me, I guess I would have chalked it up to having chosen badly. Only, then I look at my father, and I start to think that maybe this is just how life is. He married three times before he moved here and gave up. I asked him once why New Hope? Why that town, that place, that house? And he had explained that he had come to find hope and stayed because while there was no way he was going to find true love, at least in his later years he had found peace. I guess for him, peace was enough.” He turned. He had said far more than he thought he would. And yet for Marti, it wasn’t quite enough.

  “What do you think? Do you think you can find love?” She asked the question so gently that his heart very nearly hurt while considering it.

  “I guess the answer is…that I thought I had. I dated a young woman. I was crazy about her. I told her and showed her how much I loved her every day in every way. And it wasn’t enough. It was never enough.” He walked over to the bench nearest the exit of the service department. They were alone and he was suddenly more acutely aware of that than he had been before. It was too quiet, too still. And he was too uncomfortable. “I don’t like talking abo
ut that time, or her.”

  “I understand. So what was her name?” She looked at him completely without guile.

  He could get lost in the depths of those bottomless chocolate eyes. Yet here she was badgering him. He had to give her credit, she was doing it so nicely that if he were a lesser man, he wouldn’t have even noticed. And for that he applauded her.

  Before he had to divulge that last piece of information, the door opened and the salesman walked back in. “Let me sit down with you fine folks for a minute while we discuss the numbers.”

  It was during the number discussion that Marti completely zoned out. She couldn’t do it. Numbers were never her thing. And now that she had to watch them so closely and wonder where more of these numbers on green treasury paper were going to come from, they were even more mystifying. It was one of those times she was glad to have a man around, even if he wasn’t her man, to handle all these incredibly tedious tasks. She had bigger and better things to worry about…like what radio stations were already preset and if the vehicle would need another coat of tint before it was comfortable to ride in the southern summer sun. All good aspects of vehicle ownership to consider.

  Though he claimed to be ready to walk away, it took them three hours to do so. “That wasn’t bad,” he remarked as they drove away from the dealership in her cardboard temporary tags. “Look at that. And now you’re legal. You have a South Carolina tag and a home and tomorrow a license.”

  “Why tomorrow?” She grumbled. “We should do something fun. We should go somewhere.” She thought for a moment. “Where should we go?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, princess. I have to work tomorrow.”

  “Hey, last time I checked, I’m your employer. I say you need a day off.” She looked at him with a sparkle in her eye. “I am thinking…I’ve never been to Charleston. I hear…” her eyes positively gleamed with excitement, “that they have an aquarium!”

  He thought about it for a moment. He had lived in Charlotte all his life, save the last few years where he was a half hour from there, and yet he had never been to Charleston or the aquarium. It was tempting.

  “I was really good at the car dealership,” she reminded him. “Don’t I get a prize or something?”

  “You did,” he teased. “Remember? You got…a new car!”

  She laughed like he was the funniest person she had ever known. He didn’t know anything about her husband. For all he knew, he really was. And that made him feel special. What would it hurt if he took a day? After all, he was sure to get plenty done while she was gone to Vermont in less than a week. And one thought bothered him as it crossed his mind. He was really going to miss her.

  They stopped on the way back to New Hope. She had bought the Escape and he bought dinner. As they sat and waited for their meal to come at the Outback, he initiated a new conversation. “I am so proud of you,” he said positively beaming. “I can’t believe that you held it together. You have a lot more restraint than I gave you credit for. And because of that…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a new box. She started dancing in her seat already and her arm was held out so that he had easy access to the bracelet.

  “Can I just tell you how happy this makes me?” Marti said sincerely. “This idea of yours…brilliant!”

  “You don’t even know what the charm is yet! It could be a silver pile of poo for nearly ruining my plan at the car dealership.” He laughed as he opened the box.

  “No,” she said, batting her eye lashes, “I earned a gold star. Or silver. Silver would match better.”

  “It’s not a star, but it rhymes with it!” He pulled the charm out and held it up for her.

  “It’s a car!” And she squealed like the girl she once was. “You already had this. Is that why you were trying to push me towards a car instead of an SUV?” She poked his arm. “Silly man.”

  Once again, he was reminded that despite the closeness, how comfortable they were, that ultimately they still were for all practical purposes…strangers. And he really wanted to change that. “Okay, so what is your favorite color?”

  She looked at him curiously. “Are you trying to get my bank code? I hate to break it to you, but after this little jaunt, and the house, you will be greatly disappointed.”

  “No. I honestly want to know your favorite color.” He smiled.

  Suddenly, she had a very sick feeling in her stomach. She was back in the dating pool. This was turning into a bad and uncomfortable date. Soon he would be asking if she had ever had any pets and what she went to school for. It was such a lousy game, this measuring the other person to see if they fit. Already she hated it. She could practically feel herself breaking out into a cold sweat. Then she looked across the table into those eyes…those clear blue eyes. She saw his hands outstretched like he was going to reach for her, help her balance. And suddenly, it wasn’t so scary any more. Those were hands that she loved having around her. Thos were eyes she could stare into all day. With that came the reminder that Joe probably wasn’t into anything serious. He was no longer built that way. After their conversations earlier, she had a sense why. Whatever had happened with that girl from his past, the one he had thought he might marry, it had changed him.

  Sadness washed over her as she imagined the man he once was, the man he might had been had he not been so terribly hurt. As it was, the man before her was pretty remarkable by any standard. He still had his hands extended. He was holding her bracelet out to her. She offered up her wrist. And while he was affixing it to her arm, she decided to dig just as much as he’d allow.

  “So we know why your father moved from Charlotte and I revealed my sad tale, but why are you here?” She watched him as he worked. His hand shook just slightly at her question.

  “Well,” he said slowly. “I guess you could say I had exhausted all my other options.”

  She could have questioned more, but experience had taught her that if she just sat there and looked harmless, that eventually he would open up to her and reveal what was going on in his mind, all that pained him. And it wasn’t just him; this trick would work on anybody. Even Blaine had been powerless against this tactic.

  Sure enough, after another uncomfortable minute of silence, he finally broke. “I eventually broke down and left that girl. The one I was telling you about. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. I think I wanted to save her. Only…she didn’t want to be saved. And the more I tried to help her; the worse off life was for me. I was in financial ruins. Some people say this and mean that they are living paycheck to paycheck. I mean that she had accessed all my credit cards, increased the credit limits and run up impossibly high bills. I mean that when she said she was taking money out of the account for groceries or rent or gas, that it really went…other places. Soon, I was in over my head. I didn’t know what to do. My plan was to talk to my father, see if he could help me, and give me a loan until I could get on my feet again, only…he died before that could happen.”

  Nodding, she acknowledged that it must have a difficult time. “I expect that the house has been more work for you that it has been a respite.”

  “I don’t know what a respite is. All I know is that old adage about no rest for the wicked…must have meant I was bad to the bone. I haven’t had a break in forever. I have worked myself to death to try to pay everything back. Whether it was my debt or not, it was in my name and that…affects me.” He looked down at his hands folded on the table in front of him. “I had planned to buy this house. It was my dream house.” He shrugged. “And then I couldn’t.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to give up your dream,” she said earnestly.

  ‘That’s okay. Now I get to give you your dream. That’s almost as good.” He smiled and greeted the server who brought them their meals.

  Soon enough they were ready to make their way back to New Hope. “Want me to just drop you off?” She asked It was only eight o’clock, but it was dark as midnight out. There were a few stars scattered in the night sky. It was a mostly c
loudless night, which also meant that it was super cold.

  He thought for a moment. “I guess I’ll just watch some television before bed.” He turned on his heels and started toward the door. She was still sitting there watching him.

  It felt unfinished, the night. It felt like there was something more, something else that they were supposed to do. She couldn’t imagine what. She smiled as she looked down at her charm bracelet that had already filled out so nicely in the few days that she had owned it. As she drove she saw that every place she passed was already closed. This was such a sleepy little town. There really was nothing for her to do.

  The charms jingled on her wrist as she turned the wheel. Then she saw it, the light bulb. A smile spread across her face as she considered whether or not he had kept his word. There was no reason for her rush back to Hope House. She didn’t have a curfew. She had no one to answer to. Really, she wanted to spend more time with him. He helped her. He made her forget.

  When she turned back onto Dogwood Drive, she could see that every light was on in Joe’s house. He had changed. He was wearing a tight thermal knit black shirt with his khaki cargo pants. He looked delicious. She wanted him more than she could ever remember wanting anyone. She had wanted him all the more since she had felt his rock hard erection pressed against her. She had pictured hauling him into the back seat of her not yet Escape and having her way with him. How many times had she read that kind of wording in one of her romance novels, but she had yet to experience it in person. Until now, with Joe, it had been a completely foreign concept.

  Despite warnings to back in, she pulled into the driveway, hers. And when she hopped out of the vehicle and locked it behind her, he was already partway out the front door. It was as if he had been watching for her, waiting, wanting her to come back for him, too.

  She rushed to him, standing there on the front walk. There was nothing cool and casual about her, but there wasn’t anything restrained about him either. He lifted her up into his arms and let her body rub down the length of his as he lowered her. He glanced around conspicuously and dragged her into the house. But the house didn’t feel right.