And Then One Day (Magnolia Sound Book 4) Read online

  Her hands began to score down his back until she reached the waistband of his briefs and began pushing them away. His deep chuckle against her lips told her he got the message. But when he still made no move to help her, she broke the kiss.

  “Dean?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Lose the boxers,” she said breathlessly.

  “Yes, ma’am.” And as soon as he was done, he surprised her by ridding her of her thong and of her breath when his mouth trailed a hot path from her breasts and downward. As soon as he settled in to please her, Courtney forgot about everything else and enjoyed the ride.

  She was gone.

  Dean rolled over and squinted at how bright his bedroom was and realized he was alone. He lay there and listened for any indication that she was still here but he was only met with silence. Cursing, he kicked off the blankets and got dressed. Stepping out of his bedroom, he looked around and confirmed Courtney had left.

  Why? Why would she leave without saying goodbye? The night was amazing–beyond amazing–damn near perfect, so why would she sneak out on him like this?

  “Coffee,” he murmured. Maybe he could think clearer if he had a jolt of caffeine in him.

  Five minutes later and things still didn’t make sense.

  Sitting on the sofa with his mug cradled in his hands, he thought about what could have happened. He wasn’t a prude, but even he blushed thinking of the things they did last night–from her striptease right here in his living room to the way she rode him like some sort of rodeo porn star. Yeah, it was quite possibly the hottest night of his life and it pissed him off how he was here alone now.

  He’d questioned what he was doing on the entire drive home from the wedding. This was Courtney, his sister’s best friend. He had no right pursuing her in any capacity, and yet by the time they arrived at his house, he wasn’t looking at her like that. Gone were the images of her hanging out with his family because all he could see was a sexy and beautiful woman who he wanted more than anything.

  And look where it got him.

  Was that why she left? Was she unable to compartmentalize their history? Maybe she couldn’t see beyond him being Scarlett’s brother and regretted what they did. That thought depressed the shit out of him. He sipped his coffee and shook his head. How was it possible that they could share such an incredible night after knowing each other for years but she wouldn’t feel comfortable just talking to him about it? What kind of men did she date that she didn’t feel like she could talk to him about her concerns? Didn’t she know him by now? He was the one everyone confided in–the guy who was always ready to listen and help! So then why…

  And then it hit him.

  Everyone came and talked to him about their problems, but not when the problem was him.

  Another curse flew out of his mouth and he wanted to throw something or punch something. He seriously contemplated throwing his mug across the room, but everything was newly finished and he was too damn practical to ruin the new paint job.

  No matter how mad he was.

  So he drank his coffee and stewed until he couldn’t take it any longer. Standing, he walked to the kitchen and put his mug in the sink and decided he needed to get out of the house. He wasn’t going to chase after Courtney; the fact that she left spoke volumes and he wasn’t going to make things worse by showing up at her house and demanding that she talk to him. Instead, he was going to head over to Scarlett’s old place. She wanted to put it on the market but it needed some work and he had volunteered to do it in his spare time.

  This was how he’d get out his frustration–he’d go replace some rotten wood and tear down a wall or two–demolition would be great therapy right now. Feeling invigorated, he threw on a pair of work boots before going out to his shed and grabbing the necessary tools. Within minutes, he was in his truck and making the short drive to his sister’s house.

  Scarlett’s house was only a half a mile away and yet he felt like he couldn’t get there fast enough. He had just turned onto her block when his phone rang. Glancing down, he saw it was his brother Kyle and opted to let it go to voicemail. He was a man on a mission right now and he didn’t want to stop and talk to anyone. Maybe after he’d torn down a wall or used a sledgehammer on the kitchen cabinets, he’d feel a little more civilized, but not yet.

  He turned onto the long dirt driveway that wove through the heavily wooded lot where Scarlett’s little house was. He always hated that she lived in such an isolated spot, but for whatever reason, she loved it. It had always needed a ton of work, but it never bothered her. And now that she was married, she didn’t need this place. Hell, she didn’t need it for the last four or five months–not since she moved in with Mason–but she was procrastinating. Dean had been the one to convince her it was time to let it go and then volunteered to do the renovations.

  And right now, he was glad he did. A day of hard, physical labor was the perfect distraction for him and in his mind, he began a list of what he wanted to accomplish today and what would need to be done first. He was sure that he’d have to hit one of the big home improvement stores for supplies, but he wanted to smash some things first. Then he’d make a list and go buy materials.

  As he got closer to the house, he saw a car in the driveway that wasn’t Scarlett’s.

  It was Courtney’s.

  Shit.

  What the hell was she doing here? He knew she mentioned that her car was still here along with some of her things, but…why was she still here? There was no way he could have a conversation with her right now; he’d just told himself that he wasn’t feeling particularly civilized, so now what was he supposed to do? His phone rang again and without looking at it, he rejected the call. Parking the truck, he sat there and stared at the house for a full five minutes before he said, “Screw it” and climbed out. At the front door, he didn’t bother knocking. He simply used his key and let himself in.

  And froze.

  Courtney was curled up asleep on the sofa.

  Letting out a long breath, he shut the door and stepped into the room. The sound must have woken her up because the next thing he knew, she was blinking and stretching and then gasping in shock.

  “Dean! What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.” And yeah, his tone was a little harsher than he intended.

  Sitting up, she shoved the blanket aside. “What time is it?” She got up and walked into the kitchen and he noted she had on a pair of black yoga pants and a gray t-shirt. He was tempted to follow her and push her for an answer, but the kitchen was literally a few feet away and he could see her. Clearly she was trying to kill some time because he watched as she got herself a bottle of water and drank half of it down.

  She looked at him and must have seen how annoyed he was getting because she finally came back out to the living room. “So, um…yeah,” she mumbled, sitting back down.

  He figured he was going to have to be the one to speak since she went quiet again. “Look, if last night freaked you out that much, then just tell me,” he said, unable to hide his frustration. “We’ve known each other long enough that you should know me, Court. You know I appreciate honesty.”

  She nodded but still wouldn’t look at him or respond.

  “You at least owe me an explanation,” he snapped. “I had no idea you’d even left! And now you’re just going to sit here and ignore me? Seriously?”

  Then she did look at him and her green eyes were incredibly sad. “Last night did freak me out,” she finally said and he felt his heart sink. “I’m leaving town tomorrow and…and you’re my best friend’s brother and I don’t want things to be awkward and now they are!”

  “Court…”

  “I’m serious, Dean! Do you honestly think it will be easy when I come to visit your sister and see you? Do you think I’m not going to immediately think of how I had one of the greatest nights of my life and it was a one-night stand? Like I’m not going to see you and remember how you made me feel or how you saw m
e naked?” Her cheeks flushed and she looked away to study the bottle of water in her hands. “These are things I should have thought of before I went home with you. I don’t want to have to avoid coming to see Scarlett because I’m embarrassed to be around you.”

  Well, damn. He said he wanted honesty…

  Sitting beside her, he sighed. “Okay, I get it. This has the potential to be awkward, but…you don’t think I’m worried too?” He waited until she looked at him and then nodded. “Last night, I wasn’t thinking of you as Scarlett’s friend. All I was thinking was how you look like a damn fantasy and kiss like a dream.” He paused. “You have to know that.”

  She gave him a small smile. “Thanks. I really wasn’t thinking of you as…you know, either. You were this guy who I’ve been crushing on for so long and…” She paused and sighed. “And I knew I was only going to have one chance–one night–and I wanted to know what it was like to be with you.”

  He had no idea what to say. No woman had ever said such a thing to him and he was a little humbled to know Courtney felt this way.

  And it sucked even more that this was all they were going to have.

  Not that he thought they would’ve started dating if she wasn’t moving. That would be awkward. He would definitely catch a lot of flack from his family. His brothers would mock him for being a hypocrite, his sister would be pissed that he was messing around with her best friend, and his father would…well, he had no idea what his father would do or say, but he was sure it wouldn’t be positive.

  So where did it leave them?

  His phone rang again and he wanted to throw it and smash it, but clearly someone was desperate to get in touch with him. Pulling it from his pocket, he saw Kyle’s name and groaned. Swiping the screen, he snapped, “What?”

  “Dude, maybe answer your phone once in a while,” Kyle snapped back. “Where the hell are you?”

  “I’m at Scarlett’s. I’m supposed to start doing the reno on the place. Why? What’s up?”

  “Scarlett’s in the hospital.”

  “What?!” he cried, jumping to his feet. “Why? I mean, when did this happen?”

  “They were at the airport this morning for their flight and Mason said she wasn’t feeling well. She went to the ladies’ room and got sick. Real sick.”

  “Yeah, but…she’s been getting sick ever since she got pregnant. They’re hospitalizing her for that?”

  Courtney instantly stood up, concern written all over her face.

  “It wasn’t like the normal stuff. There was blood and she passed out. Some woman came running out of the ladies’ room to get Mason and they called for an ambulance. We’re all on our way there now.”

  “Holy shit,” he murmured. “Okay, I’m leaving now. I’ll see you soon.” He hung up and looked at Courtney.

  “Give me five minutes to get dressed!” she said as she ran from the room and all Dean could do was focus on breathing and praying his sister and the baby were going to be okay.

  4

  It was getting dark when they finally left the hospital.

  Scarlett had developed an ovarian cyst that burst and that’s what caused the health scare. She was put on bed rest for a week which meant her honeymoon was on hold. They were keeping her overnight at the hospital for observation.

  The whole day was a bit of a whirlwind–and that wasn’t including her confrontation with Dean before they had gotten the call.

  After that, things got a little crazy.

  First, they argued over driving to the hospital together. Courtney was more than happy to take her own car, but Dean had gone into his bossy mode and told her to just get in his truck.

  So she did.

  The drive to the hospital wasn’t long, but they sort of switched gears and went from two people arguing over their wild, sexy night, to two friends concerned about the same person. And she had to admit, they slid back into friend mode easily.

  Throughout the entire day, she sat with Scarlett’s family and was able to forget about last night and this morning. She did her best to keep them all distracted and talking while they waited for word from the doctors. And while everyone was relieved that the baby was fine and Scarlett was going to be okay, it made Courtney re-think her plan to leave in the morning.

  She knew Mason was going to be home to take care of Scarlett during her bed rest, but…what if something else happened? What if this trauma caused the baby to come early and she wasn’t there for it? Either way, she had to be out of her parents’ house and already had a small trailer filled with her stuff. So where did that leave her?

  Climbing into Dean’s truck, she sighed.

  “What’s up?” he asked as he buckled his seatbelt.

  “Nothing. Just thinking of all the things I still have to do when I get home.” It wasn’t a total lie, but she didn’t want to discuss her dilemma with him because…well…she just didn’t.

  “Ah,” he said. He pulled out of the hospital parking lot and they drove in silence for several minutes. “So, uh…you’re all packed?”

  She nodded. “Yup. Probably packed way more than I need, but…I’m hoping to find a place to live sooner rather than later and don’t want to make a trip back here so I’ve got a small trailer that I’m going to hitch to the back of my car.”

  He glanced at her. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  He shrugged. “I just never really think of sedans as towing vehicles, that’s all.”

  Frowning, she replied, “You work on cars for a living and you didn’t realize this?”

  Another shrug. “Like I said, I just don’t think about sedans doing that. And I don’t remember seeing a trailer hitch on your car the last time you brought it in for service.”

  “Oh, um…my dad put one on for me.”

  He stared at her for so long she was afraid they were going to crash.

  “What? What’s the matter with that?”

  “Court, you know I think your father’s a great guy, but he probably wasn’t the best person to install that. I’ll look at it when we get back to the house.”

  And the thing was, this was just Dean being Dean. He was always looking out for everyone and willing to lend a hand whenever needed, but right now Courtney really just wanted to get going. “It’s fine, Dean. Really. I towed the trailer home without any problems. I appreciate your willingness to help, but it’s late and I just need to run into the house and grab my stuff and go.”

  Luckily he didn’t argue.

  Even though he looked like he wanted to.

  And he kept looking that way after they got back to Scarlett’s.

  Standing next to his truck, he waited for her to go in and collect her things. She wasn’t stupid; she knew he was looking at the trailer hitch without her seeing him. But when she walked back out with a duffel bag full of clothes, he was standing in the same spot she’d left him in. Walking to her car, she tossed the bag onto the back seat and turned to smile at him, not really knowing what to do or say.

  Did she hug him? Kiss him? Climb him like a tree and beg him for a quickie before she hit the road?

  He made the decision for her by walking over and wrapping her in his arms and hugging her tight. “Take care of yourself, Court,” he said, his voice unusually gruff.

  Unable to help herself, she held on tight and simply relished the warmth of him. “I will.”

  They stood like that for several minutes before Dean placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and stepped back. He smiled before opening her car door for her. Part of her was a little disappointed that he wasn’t asking her to stay or even mentioning keeping in touch.

  So it was just a night. You said you’d be okay with it…

  That was before she had that night.

  And now she was ruined for all other men.

  Damn him.

  Swallowing hard, she forced herself to smile at him. “Take care of yourself, Dean.”

  “You too, Court.”

  And
with no other choice, she got into her car with her smile in place and drove away. As soon as she was off Scarlett’s block, she let the first tears fall–and they kept falling all the way home. In her own driveway, she took a minute to compose herself because she didn’t want to upset her parents. And really, what would she say–that she finally made love with the man of her dreams and he didn’t care enough about her to ask her to stay?

  Um…no. That would not go over well.

  When she finally felt ready, she went inside.

  “Hey, sweetie! We were expecting you home much earlier today. How was the rest of the wedding?” her mother asked.

  Smiling, she said, “It was good. Really good. You missed some excellent cake.”

  Her father walked into the room. “Who has excellent cake?”

  “Mom was just asking about the rest of the wedding,” Courtney explained.

  “We took a ton of pictures,” her mom explained. “You both looked beautiful.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” Looking around, she saw several pieces of luggage by the door. “So? Are you all packed and ready to go?”

  Donna and James Baker had taken up ghost hunting. For as long as Courtney could remember, they had been interested in all-things paranormal, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that they began to actively get involved with a group who researched, documented, and made it their mission to prove the paranormal. Personally, she found it fascinating and always loved to hear about their adventures but had yet to go on a trip with them.

  And now wasn’t the time to do it either.

  While her father walked around talking about all the places they were going to visit, her mother walked around cleaning. Courtney felt bad about not being around much in the last several days to help out, but all the wedding activities had kept her busy.

  “Mom, can I help with anything?”

  But she waved her off. “You have your own packing to do and I’m sure you’ll remember to clean your room and bathroom before you leave tomorrow. I have a cleaning company coming in tomorrow afternoon and then the property management people will handle our guests.”