Sunkissed Days Page 9

  “Leave it to Pops,” Parker laughed. “I swear, it’s like he’s not even ninety. Everyone’s still a bit afraid of him even though he wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

  “It’s called respect,” Peyton said, looking over her shoulder to where Pops was sitting and talking with some of his friends. “He’s the glue that holds everything together so we should all pay attention to what he wants and listen to him.”

  The three of them fell silent for a moment as they studied their family’s patriarch. Mallory had always been a little envious of all her cousins who lived here in Magnolia Sound just for the mere fact that they got to see Pops all the time. Part of her considered moving here once she finished college, but there wasn’t much call for tech careers here in the small town. Still, a move to North Carolina might not be a bad thing. Especially once Jake was done with college too. She knew he hoped to come back and continue with Coleman Construction in more of a management-level position – engineer or architect. How amazing would it be to live close by and be able to come see her family whenever she wanted?

  It was her dreamy sigh that had her cousins turning back to her.

  “Are you thinking about Jake? Is that why you’ve got that goofy look on your face?”

  “I do not have a goofy look on my face,” she argued. “I was just thinking about the possibility of moving to North Carolina after graduation.”

  They both squealed with delight and hugged her. “That would be amazing!” Peyton said and then instantly frowned. “No. Wait. I’ll be away at school and Parker will be leaving too! Sure, you decide to move here when we all can’t be together to hang out. How fair is that?”

  “Oh, stop. You’re staying in-state for college,” Mallory reminded her, “and Parker will probably do the same, right?”

  Shaking her head, Parker said, “Oh, no. I can’t even think about college right now. It’s not even on my radar.”

  “Oh, shut up,” her sister said with annoyance. “You’re just waiting to see where Tyler goes so you can go to the same school. Admit it.”

  “Wait…who’s Tyler?” Mallory asked.

  Before Parker could reply, Peyton did it for her. “He’s her best friend and I swear they do everything together. Every. Thing. He’s always over at the house and she’s constantly talking about him, but she swears there’s nothing going on between them.” Then she laughed. “Just admit it, Parks, you love him.”

  It was typical sibling teasing, Mallory knew that, but it was obvious it bothered Parker because she muttered a heated, “Shut up!” before storming away.

  “I think you hit a sore spot,” Mallory said.

  With a smile, Peyton replied, “I know.”

  “Nice to know Sam and I aren’t the only siblings who do this sort of thing to each other.”

  “You should see some of the stuff we do to Mason.” Her smile turned a little devious. “It’s why he doesn’t come home nearly as much as our parents would like.” She sighed. “Never a dull moment, that’s for sure.”

  Together they walked around and mingled until Jake walked over with a smile, carrying a couple of plates. “Mind if I steal your cousin?” he asked Peyton.

  “Go for it! I’ll talk to you later, Mal!”

  “C’mon. I grabbed us two of the most perfect burgers ever grilled,” he said, leading her down toward the boathouse. “And I thought we’d eat up on the party deck. Is that okay?”

  “It sounds perfect. But we need to grab some more food.” While there were only burgers on their plates, there were about five tables lined with all kinds of food. “Let’s grab some salads and maybe some desserts before we go.”

  He readily agreed and it took a little longer than either wanted before they were finally sitting up on the deck. They were the only ones up there, but for the peace, quiet, and view, it was worth it.

  “Burgers are a little cold now,” he said with a frown. “That’s why I grabbed them up so fast – so they’d be hot when we ate them.”

  “Oh, stop. They’re fine.” Although, once she took her first bite she had to admit they would have been better five minutes ago.

  But she kept that to herself.

  “So…I guess we’re probably not going to see each other later tonight. With your whole family here and all, it wouldn’t be right,” he said, looking out at the water.

  “Probably not, but between all the activities today and the fireworks tonight, we’ll have the entire day together.”

  Jake placed his food down and reached for one of her hands, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. “I know. I’m finding I enjoy sleeping with you in my arms. Even if it isn’t for the entire night, it’s just something that makes me feel good.”

  “Me too,” she replied softly. They finished eating in silence when an idea came to her. Quietly she cleared her throat. “Um…is anyone over at your house?”

  He shook his head. “They’re all over here. How come?”

  She shrugged. “I just thought maybe we could take a walk and…you know…have a little alone time now. You know, in private.”

  A slow grin spread across his face. “Why, Mallory, are you suggesting we sneak off and get naked for a little while?”

  She could feel her cheeks heating. All she could do was nod.

  In the blink of an eye he was on his feet and clearing the table. “We can throw this in the trash inside the boathouse. There’s a path right along the water that no one really uses. It can get us around to my place without anyone seeing.”

  With a giggle, Mallory was on her feet and giddily following him. And as they made their way up the pier and then into the woods, her entire body tingled with excitement.

  And a few minutes later, it tingled with absolute pleasure.

  12

  It was the end of July and Jake was walking around the property with Zeke and going over all of the work they accomplished over the summer.

  “The pier’s in great shape as is the boathouse. We hung the swing over in the garden like you asked and built several benches which we placed along the path. The landscaper came through and put fresh mulch in all the places Mallory cleared out.” And just the mention of her name had Jake’s mind going to how cute she had looked in her cutoffs, with dirt on her face, and her hair in a ponytail all those days she’d worked out there. It was hard to see her like that – like the girl he’d always known – and then reconcile the fact that she was also the incredibly sexy woman he was falling in love with.

  “My girl did quite a good job out here,” Zeke said as they examined the freshly mulched beds.

  Jake agreed. “We put some reinforcements on the deck, replaced about a third of the boards and re-stained them all to match.” Beside him, Zeke nodded. “You know, you’ve often talked about doing a gazebo over on the east side of the property. The weather’s been cooperating and it wouldn’t be that hard to draw up some designs and get that built for you. It would make a nice addition for all the fall events you host back here.”

  Zeke stopped beside him, considering Jake’s words. “I don’t think we’ll have time for that before you leave for school. And you’re the only one I’d trust to do it and make sure it’s done right.”

  Oh, right. That.

  For the better part of a month, Jake kept the news about not going to Boulder to himself. He wasn’t ready to talk about it and certainly didn’t want to deal with anyone’s pity. Although, he almost brought it up to Mallory several times – especially when they were talking about the end of the summer and how sad she was that they were going to be so far apart.

  And yet for some reason, he kept his mouth shut.

  “Of course, with you not getting your scholarship, I figure you might be considering staying around for a while.”

  Wait…what??

  Jake knew his jaw was just about on the ground and he tried to find the right words to say. Shock, however, kept him mute.

  “Don’t know why you didn’t come to me,” Zeke went on, as if oblivious to Jake’s despair.
“I went and talked to your folks because I wanted to throw a party for you and…well…they told me. They were reluctant, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out something was wrong.” He paused and gave Jake a firm look. “You’ve been planning for this for years. Why would you just give up?”

  Dammit.

  Raking a hand through his hair, Jake walked over to one of those new benches they’d been talking about and sat down. “It’s not like I want to give up,” he explained, “but I don’t really have a choice.”

  Zeke studied him for a moment before slowly ambling over and sitting beside him. “We’ve talked about his before, son. You know I’m more than willing to give you the money you need for school.” He placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “No one has to know about it if you don’t want them to. You’ve always been like family to me and it would mean a lot to me if you would let me help you with this.”

  He shook his head. “I…I just can’t, Zeke. That’s not how I was raised.”

  “You were willing to let some faceless committee give you the money via a scholarship, but you won’t let me do it? What kind of logic is that?”

  How could he even begin to explain it when he didn’t quite understand it himself? For his entire life, Jake dealt with the fact that he lived next door to one of the wealthiest families in the county. Only…they’d never made him feel like he was less of a person. That was Zeke’s doing. But there were many years when his own family had struggled – years after his father lost his job and they had to go on public assistance just to survive – and his father refused any handouts because of his pride.

  Clearly that stuck with Jake.

  “Don’t consider it charity, son,” Zeke went on. “Consider it that I’m investing in your future. A future you say you want with Coleman Construction. The way I see it, me helping you get the education you so desperately want, is gonna benefit me and my company just as much as it’s going to benefit you.”

  “Zeke…”

  “Had I known you were gonna be this stubborn, I would have created my own damn scholarship and awarded it to you anonymously,” he said with a hint of annoyance.

  “It’s not that I don’t appreciate what you’re wanting to do…”

  “Pfft…”

  Unable to help himself, he let out a long sigh and hung his head. “Look, this was something I wanted but maybe…maybe it’s just not meant to be. Maybe all of this is a sign that I’m not supposed to go.”

  “Bunch of nonsense,” Zeke muttered.

  With a huff of irritation, Jake turned his head to look at his old friend. “No, it’s not. Sometimes things aren’t meant to be!”

  Zeke didn’t even blink an eye at his tone. “Is this about Mallory?”

  “What?” Seriously? That’s what he was getting from this conversation?

  “Your hearing is just fine, Jacob. I want to know if you’re suddenly so willing to give up on your dream because of Mallory?”

  It was a large factor, he realized.

  Not that he was going to admit it to Zeke.

  “It doesn’t matter, Zeke. None of it does. The scholarship is gone and I’m not able to take on any student loans. I don’t want to start out my life with that much debt – especially when I’m already starting this six years later than the average student. Call me crazy…”

  “Crazy,” Zeke muttered.

  Jake sighed. “Or call me stubborn…”

  “Like a mule…”

  “But I need to be smart. My parents didn’t make good financial decisions when they were starting out and that’s why we were so devastated when Dad lost his job. I don’t want to live with that kind of stress.” He paused and sighed again. “I don’t expect you to understand, okay? The truth is that I can still grow within Coleman and learn on the job. I may not learn everything I want or need to know but…maybe someday I’ll get to take some classes and fill in those gaps. Probably some online courses I can take,” he murmured, hating it even as he was saying it.

  After a long moment, Zeke nodded. “I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”

  It would be so easy to say yes, to say that he’d gladly take the help because deep down Jake knew this was his one chance to go to the school of his choice and get the degree he so desperately wanted.

  He and Mallory were already making plans for how and when they’d see each other. She had no idea he’d hit this snag and she would never have to know it was her great-grandfather helping him out.

  No one would.

  “I…I don’t know…”

  Again, Zeke nodded and then rose to his feet. “You think about it, son. The offer ain’t going anywhere.”

  And without another word, Zeke began the long walk back up to his house.

  Jake sat where he was for a long time – could honestly say he had no idea how long. It wasn’t until he spotted Mallory off in the distance that he seemed to snap out of his thoughts. She was walking down to the boathouse with a big basket. He chuckled softly. Why she loved that structure so much, he had no idea. But she did. Every afternoon she could be found up on the party deck getting some sun. Her skin had a sun-kissed look to it that he knew she loved.

  And he got a kick out of discovering her tan lines every day.

  Just the thought of that had him standing and making his way across the yard to follow her. His mind was still spinning with thoughts of his conversation with Zeke, but right now he needed to not think about anything except her.

  Mallory.

  He wanted a few hours to lose himself in her arms – to claim her and love her and have her love him in return – and maybe, just maybe, it would help him believe that everything was going to be okay.

  The walk to the boathouse seemed to take forever, but once he was at the door, he took a minute to simply breathe. Mallory hadn’t noticed him yet. His smile was slow and a little wolfish as he watched her dance around the room – something she always seemed to be doing when she was down here. There was always music and it was the norm to see her dancing like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  He wanted that.

  He wanted some of her joy, some of her freedom to simply live in the moment, to wear off on him.

  It was an odd thing to even think about considering that for the most part, he was a pretty carefree kind of man. He didn’t let anything – or anyone – hold him down. He was never afraid of a challenge and took great pleasure in doing what he wanted, when he wanted to.

  I want to go to Colorado…

  Okay, that wasn’t quite so simple. Usually the things he wanted weren’t quite so complicated.

  I want Mallory…

  No sooner had the words come to him than she was turning and facing him – a smile of surprise on her face. Before she could take one step toward the door, Jake was opening it himself and walking in.

  “Close the blinds,” he said, his voice a little harsh. She looked at him curiously but did as he asked. When the last window was secured, he was already behind her, his hands on her hips. Mallory’s soft gasp was like hitting the launch button.

  He wanted her.

  He needed her.

  Now.

  There would be other times to talk – other times to tell her exactly what was going on and what he was struggling with. But for right now, the only struggle he had was keeping a tight hold on his control so he didn’t scare her.

  Turning in his arms, Mallory reached up and caressed his cheek. “Hey,” she said softly. Then licked her lips as her eyes scanned his face and that was it.

  He was done.

  He had to have her now.

  His lips crashed down on hers but she didn’t seem to mind. If anything, her arms wound around his shoulders as she pushed in closer – almost climbing him in her own quest to be one with him.

  Damn.

  His kiss was wild and untamed, but she met him and gave as good as she was getting. His hands went to her t-shirt and slid beneath so he could cup her breasts. Her soft purr of delight spurred hi
m on. Roughly, he broke the kiss and whipped her shirt up and over her head. They were both breathless and when he reached out and cupped his hand behind her head, fisting her hair, he said, “Tell me if I hurt you.”

  Maybe it was a warning.

  Or maybe it was plea.

  Right now, he couldn’t be certain.

  “You’d never hurt me,” she whispered and then lowered her gaze. “But…I wouldn’t mind if you weren’t so…careful.”

  Holy. Crap.

  “Mallory…” This time it was definitely a warning.

  But she shook her head. “I’m not afraid, Jake. Not of you or of anything that we do.” As if to prove it, she shimmied out of her shorts even as his hand tightened in her hair. “I’m yours,” she said softly. “Take me.”

  And he did.

  13

  Never before had Mallory felt so alive – so thoroughly loved, adored, and vital. She had no idea what triggered Jake’s actions, but she wasn’t going to question it. If anything, she wanted more of it.

  All the time.

  Forever.

  Right now, she never wanted the summer to end. If anyone asked – if it were even an option – she’d say that she wanted to quit school and follow Jake to Colorado or have them both just stay here in Magnolia Sound together. Surely there had to be schools close by where they could both go, right?

  Although…wouldn’t Jake have taken that option if it were available before now? She questioned herself.

  Okay, maybe.

  His lips and tongue were working their way down her spine. It was late – so very late – and they were up on the party deck where no one could see them, making love under the stars. Oh it felt so very decadent! His breath was so hot on her skin, his hands were doing wicked, wicked things to her body and it didn’t matter how exhausted she was, she was unwilling to do or say anything to break this spell.

  When he rolled her over onto her back, he was surrounded by the night sky which was full of stars. There was a full moon and just enough light to see the intensity on his face.

  The face of the man she loved.