I Saw Her Standing There (19 page)

“I’d love to go. Thanks for asking me.”

He slid his arm around her and held her close to him. “I know you’re spun up about tomorrow and what happens next and what happened this weekend and how everything changed between us. I want you to know I’m spun up, too. I’m in this thing every bit as much as you are, and I have to believe we’re going to figure it all out. Eventually. So don’t give up, okay?”

“I won’t.” Sitting here with him in this peaceful place with the warm sunshine beating down upon them and his gorgeous dogs lying at their feet, it was hard to believe they had a single problem or challenge to confront. Everything seemed possible as long as he was sitting right next to her. What would happen once they parted company was the big question that continued to nag at her.

She blinked his front porch into focus and then sat up for a better look. “What’s all over your porch?”

“Huh?”

“Look.”

“Oh shit,” he muttered under his breath. He got up to walk across the yard to the house, and Lucy followed him. Sensing something was going on, Elmer and Sarah came, too.

The porch was littered with coolers. There had to be at least ten of them.

“Are you having a party that you didn’t tell me about?” she asked.

“Um, not exactly.”

“Then what the heck is all this?”

“Um, well, now don’t get all, you know . . . bent out of shape or anything, but I’d venture to guess that the word is out that I’m
injured
, and some of my friends were concerned I might be hungry. My appetite is somewhat legendary around here.”

“These are all from
women
, aren’t they?”

“Not all of them. I’m sure one or two are from my guy friends.”

“Why do I seriously doubt that?” Lucy went up the stairs to investigate further. She flipped open the lid of the closest cooler to find a note on pink paper that was covered with lipstick kisses. “I suppose you’re going to tell me
this
is from one of the guys?”

“Maybe not that one, but I bet that one over there is.” The cooler he’d pointed to had seen better days.

Lucy opened the lid and found more food along with flowers and a note that had been drenched in perfume. “Definitely one of the guys.”

Colton smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “What can I say? I have nice friends.”

“You’re a man whore, Colton Abbott.”

“Now, Lucy, that is so not true.”

“Does your mother know you have so many women tending to you up here?”

At the mention of his mother his aw-shucks grin faltered. “You wouldn’t dare tell her. You wouldn’t want her to stop cooking for me, would you? I’m a growing boy.”

“What’re you going to do with all this stuff, man whore?”

“Just for the record, I like when you call me
mountain man
better.”

“I’m sure you do. So what are you going to do with it?”

“Um,
eat
it? This rumor of yours might be the best thing to ever happen to my always-empty belly.”

She elbowed him in said belly.

“Ow!” He rubbed his midsection and pouted like the little boy she suspected he really was. “That wasn’t nice.”

“Neither is you having a harem to tend to you when I’m not around.”

The pouty little boy morphed quickly into stormy, sexy man.
All
man. “No one will be
tending to me
when you’re not around. I need you to believe me when I tell you that. Do you?”

Lucy wrapped her arms around herself. “I want to, but all these coolers make me wonder.”

He came up to the bottom step, which put him nearly at her eye level. “I
need
you to believe me.” He didn’t touch her with anything more than his vehement blue-eyed gaze.

Staring at him staring at her, Lucy decided to believe him. She decided to believe
in
him and in them. “I believe you.”

“Do you really or are you just saying that?”

“I really do.”

“I don’t cheat, Lucy. If I tell you you’re my girlfriend, and you tell me I’m your boyfriend, then that’s that. I don’t need anyone else.”

“Even if weeks go by between our visits? We’ve been lucky so far—” She didn’t get to finish that statement because he kissed her, effectively shutting down her arguments. Many minutes of erotic persuasion later, he said, “I don’t care if it’s a week, two weeks, a month or two months between visits. If I tell you I won’t betray you or us, then I mean it.”

“Okay,” she said softly. Maybe one day she’d regret believing in a guy who’d obviously gotten around in the past, but for right now, today, she chose to have faith.

“Now what about you? How am I supposed to know what you’re up to in a city full of guys chasing after you?”

Lucy rolled her eyes at his foolishness. “The guys in that city have never chased after me, so no need to worry.”

He kissed her again. “That’s completely and totally their loss.” More kisses, each one more intoxicating than the one before. “I said you’re my girlfriend, but I haven’t heard the B word back from you?”

“Which B word are you looking for? Brat? Baby? Boy toy? Or maybe boy whore? That’s a good one for you.”

His eyes twinkled with mirth. “Very funny. You know exactly what I’m looking for, you brat.”

“Oh! Do you mean boy
friend
? You want me to call you my boyfriend?”

“I’d very much like that, as you well know.”

“We’ll take that under advisement and let you know before we leave tomorrow.”

“You do that,” he grumbled. “In the meantime, help me carry this stuff over to the ice box in the sugarhouse. And if you’re really nice, I’ll show you how sap becomes syrup.”

She shuddered with faux excitement. “It turns me on when you talk about your sap.”

“Is that right?”

“Uh-huh.”

They each picked up a cooler and headed across the yard. “So when I tell you that after the boiling comes filtering of all the sugar sand and any other crap that’s gotten into the sap, and then finally we bottle, that makes you hot?”

“
So
hot.”

“Huh. Well, wait till I show you my woodpile. That ought to make you positively incendiary.”

“I can’t wait.”

Boiling continues as we slowly slide down the backside of the season. The nights are not freezing but neither are the days heating up. In town, crocuses must be blooming, but up on the hill the snow persists, and the buds aren’t popping yet. The brook is speaking up though—and the birds. Always a good sign that spring is near.

—Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, April 10

D
riving across Northern Vermont the next afternoon, Colton was tied in knots so tight his stomach ached. He hated that he was taking Lucy to catch a flight so she could go home to her real life. He hated that he had to go back to his mountain without her, knowing he’d see her everywhere he looked there.

They’d had an incredible afternoon and evening, during which they’d eaten like kings thanks to the generosity of his “friends.” Lucy had blown him away by coming to bed in a sexy, silky nightgown that he would think about every night that he spent alone until he could see her again.

And the last time they’d had sex this morning . . . They’d truly made love. At least he had. He was almost certain he was in love with her. If the agony he felt at the thought of letting her go was any indication, he was deeply in love and getting in deeper all the time.

She’d been quiet since they left the mountain and set out for the airport in Burlington nearly an hour ago now. With only one more hour to go until he had to say good-bye to her, he was feeling more desperate by the second, needing to make sure she left feeling confident in him and their relationship.

“So I’ll be down there Friday for the trade show. Hunter said I can get a hotel room.”

“You can stay with me if you want.”

“I’d love to stay with you, but I thought the hotel might be kind of fun.”

She smiled over at him. “Yes, it probably would be fun. Let’s do that.”

“I want to meet your dad and Emma and Simone while I’m there. And your friends, too.”

“Sure. We’ll do all that.”

“You sound really sad, Luce. I hate that.”

“I’m sad I have to go home. I had a really fun time this weekend.”

“I did, too. Except for the awful injury I sustained.”

That made her laugh, which he’d hoped it would.

“Only you could end up with enough food to feed an army because of a rumor.”

“They don’t know it’s a rumor.”

“True. Just don’t go proving it to anyone.”

“I told you I wouldn’t, and I won’t.”

“I know.”

Long before he was ready, they arrived at the Burlington airport. They’d already agreed he’d drop her at departures, since she’d be going directly to security. Colton parked at the curb and got out to retrieve her things from the backseat.

She was already standing on the curb when he came around carrying her weekend and computer bags.

“You never used this,” he said as he looped the computer bag over her shoulder.

“Turns out I had better stuff to do this weekend than work, and I’ll pay for that royally this week.”

“Sorry to screw you up at work.”

“You didn’t. It was well worth it.”

He put his arms around her and leaned his forehead on hers. “This is hard, Luce. I don’t want you to go.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t want to go.”

“It does make me feel better.” He held on tight, breathing in the rich, sexy scent of her one last time.

“We’ve really screwed this up, huh?” she asked after several quiet minutes spent holding each other.

“How do you figure?”

“I never signed on for a boyfriend in Vermont.”

“You used the B word.”

“So I did.”

“You may not have signed on for it, but I’m really,
really
glad to be your boyfriend in Vermont.”

She drew back to look up at him and slayed him with the tears he saw in her eyes.

“Aw, Luce, don’t cry. Please don’t.”

“I’m not. I won’t.”

He hugged her again and then kissed her, lingering for as long as he could before he had no choice but to let her go. “I’ll be down Friday night for a whole week, and then we have Hannah’s wedding. Lots to look forward to.”

She bit her lip as if she was trying hard not to cry and nodded.

“I’ll call you tonight.”

“You don’t have to. I know it’s a hassle for you to get to a phone.”

He kissed her forehead and then her lips again. “I’ll call you tonight. Now go ahead before I give in to the temptation to toss you over my shoulder and drag you back to my mountain.”

“You say that like it’s a threat.”

“I say that like I wish I could. See you Friday.”

“See you then. Make sure you change the dressing on your wound yourself.”

He matched her cheeky grin with one of his own. “Wouldn’t dream of asking for help from anyone but you.” Leaning back against his truck, he watched the gentle sway of her ass and the movement of her hair in the breeze until she stepped through the big sliding doors and disappeared into the airport. Her walk was stiffer than usual, but she’d refused to admit that she was sore from the hike up the mountain. He stood there for a minute before he pushed off the truck and walked around to the driver’s side.

Buckled into the truck, he sat there for a long moment, unsettled by how truly awful he felt. Christ, what the hell was wrong with him? He’d see her in three days and they had an entire week to spend together then. There was no reason to be feeling like the world had just ended. Except that was exactly how it felt, like the sun had suddenly decided to stop shining or something equally ridiculous.

He pulled away from the curb, not really certain of his destination. He’d made plans to do some shopping while he was in Burlington, but rather than head for downtown, he found himself at the bungalow his youngest brother, Max, had rented for the summer with his girlfriend, Chloe. Max had been running himself ragged commuting between Burlington and Butler, where he worked on the mountain with Colton several days a week.

Parking in front of the house, Colton was surprised to see Max sitting on the top step, head in hands.
Uh-oh
, he thought as he got out and walked through the gate to the tiny yard. “Hey, bro.”

Max looked up at him. “Hey. What’re you doing over here?”

“I had to bring a friend to the airport in Burlington.”

“A
friend
? Would this be the so-called mystery woman everyone is talking about?”

“Move over.”

Max slid to the right to make room for Colton, who stretched his legs out in front of him and propped himself on one elbow.

“She’s not such a mystery anymore. Our cover was soundly blown this weekend, first by Will and Cameron showing up at the lake house and then by Mom and Dad being at my house when I tried to bring her there to get away from the crowd at the lake.”

Max laughed, but it wasn’t his usual belly laugh. “Totally busted, huh?”

“Yep. Hard to keep a secret for long in this crowd.”

“Well, you kept it for weeks, so props on that. Do I get to know who she is?”

“I’m surprised you haven’t already heard.”

“I’ve been a little tied up this weekend.”

“I’ve been seeing Cameron’s friend Lucy.”

“Oh wow! And Cameron caught you with her at the lake? That must’ve been interesting.”

“You could say that. It’s kind of a relief that people know now. I wasn’t digging all the secrecy, but it was what she wanted so I went along with it.”

“Why did she want it?”

“Mostly because of Will and Cam and giving them a chance to get settled. Or something like that.”

“So you like this girl, huh?”

“Yeah, I like her. I hated taking her to the airport just now. We had a really great weekend.”

“I’m glad someone did.”

“How’s Chloe feeling? I heard she was really sick.”

“She was. She’s better now.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“What
isn’t
wrong?” Max ran his fingers through hair that was much lighter and longer than Colton’s. “This isn’t working out at all.”

“You and Chloe?”

“Yeah. It’s a fucking mess. All we do is fight. Nothing I do is good enough. I say the wrong things. I do the wrong things. I’m getting to the point where I don’t even like her anymore, which makes me feel like shit to even say since she’s pregnant with my kid.”

“Just because she’s pregnant with your kid doesn’t mean you have to be in a relationship that makes you miserable.”

Max blew out a deep breath and shook his head. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I have an idea that might give you a break from it all. I’m going to New York next week, and it would help me out if you could hold down the fort on the mountain while I’m gone. It would give you an excuse to get out of here for a while and give you both some breathing room.”

“Does it make me an asshole if I say that’s the best offer I’ve had in a long time?”

“Nah, it doesn’t make you an asshole and trust me, I’d tell you if you were.”

Max barked out a laugh that was much more in keeping with the way he usually laughed. “I have no doubt you would.”

“Look, just because she’s your baby’s mama doesn’t mean she’s it forever, you know? As long as you take good care of her and the baby, you’re holding up your end of the deal. Nowhere is it written that you and she have to make a go of it romantically to be good parents to the kid.”

“I know, and I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately. The thing is . . . Before the baby and everything, I thought she might be my forever. It was that good between us. Now . . .” He shook his head. “It’s a goddamned mess.”

“I don’t know much about pregnant women, but from what I’ve heard it does a number on their hormones and emotions and everything else. You probably ought to let it ride until after the baby comes before you make any big decisions. I’d hate to see you have regrets later.”

“That’s true.” Max glanced over at him. “When did you get so wise anyway?”

“I’ve always been wise. You’ve just never noticed before.”

“Oh my God, I think I just threw up a little.”

“Ha ha.”

“So if I wanted to take on more hours on the mountain, you’d be cool with that?”

“I’d love it, but when Lucy’s there, you have to stay at Mom’s.”

“You’d really make me stay at Mom’s?”

“If it meant being alone with Lucy, yes, I would. And besides, Mom will cook for you.”

“That’s true.”

“Let me ask you this . . . If a guy happened to be in the market for a cell phone, where would he get one around here?” Unlike most of his siblings, Max had had a phone for years.

Max stared at him as if Colton had just told him he’d seen Bigfoot in Lake Champlain. “Are you freaking kidding me?
You
want a cell phone? Holy shit! You must be in love!”

Colton resisted the sudden urge to squirm as Max tossed the L word around. “Shut the fuck up and just tell me where to get one.”

“Better yet, I’ll take you.
This
I’ve got to see.”

“I don’t think I want you there.”

“Too bad. I’m going. Let me just tell Chloe I’m leaving.” Max went inside, leaving Colton alone to ponder whether he was in love with Lucy. He still wasn’t sure, but if the shitty way he’d felt watching her walk away from him was any indication, he was well on his way.

“Let’s go,” Max said brusquely as he came back outside.

“You just had
another
fight?” Colton asked.

“Everything is a fight. Every. Fucking. Thing.”

Colton followed Max down the sidewalk to the truck. “Dude, that’s no way to live.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Go over to the mountain while I’m away. Take some time off from the situation. It might do you both some good.”

“I’m going to. Even though I feel like I should be here, clearly she doesn’t want me here, so I’m probably doing more harm than good.”

“She can call you if she needs you.”

“Yeah.” Max turned to him. “Thanks for listening and everything.”

“No problem. Sorry it’s such a shitty situation.”

“So am I.”

They rode in silence into downtown Burlington, where Max directed Colton to a store that sold cell phones.

“How are you planning to charge this phone on your mountain anyway?”

“Aw shit.”

Max howled with laughter. “You’re such a dumbass.”

“Screw you.”

“I can show you where to get a generator, too.”

“Fuck,” Colton said with a groan. This whole thing was getting way too complicated for his liking.

“Welcome to the twenty-first century, bro. Allow me to be your tour guide.”

“I hate you right now.”

“Whatever. You’ll
love
me when you’re talking to your lady later.”

“If you say so.”

“I say so.”

*   *   *

By three thirty that afternoon, Lucy was home at her cozy Soho apartment, and all she wanted to do was sleep. The muscles in her legs were so sore from the hike up the mountain that she wanted to cry from the pain that she’d tried to keep hidden from Colton. She didn’t want him to think she was a total out-of-shape mess, even if she was. Curled up on the sofa, she tried not to think about the piles of work she’d let slide during the fantastic weekend in Vermont. She tried not to think about Colton and the many ways he’d turned her world upside down during said weekend.