Unstoppable (A Country Roads Novel) (3 page)

It cost twenty-five dollars to get into the crawfish boil, but the food was all you could eat, the live band was sure to provide hours of entertainment, and a lot of people had thought the price was worth it. The place was packed, and the line for food was already pretty deep when the four of them got to the end of it.

“So when do you guys start the project?” Brendan asked Mel and Bennett.

“The second week of school,” Mel told him.

“So you raised enough money?” Paige asked.

“To build the first ten bookcases,” Mel said.

Shep had been so kind as to let them do a karaoke night at the bar on Tuesday nights. There was a cover charge to get in, and there was a jar behind the counter for those who wanted to be a little more generous. People tended to get very generous when they were drinking.

They’d also had two movie nights out at the big barn, using a projector to show classics on the side of the building. A lot of people had come out for it, spreading their blankets out on the grass. Mel had even borrowed a popcorn machine, and they hadn’t been able to make enough for everyone who wanted to buy it.

There were going to be some other fund-raisers in the weeks to come, so they still had time to get the rest of the money.

Brendan grinned at Bennett. “You ready for all of those teenagers and their hormones?”

“Really?” Paige asked looking at her husband. “You think you’re any better than a sixteen-year-old?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Paige shook her head at him.

“I’ll be fine. I’m more concerned about them using the power tools,” Bennett said, as the line shifted and they all moved up.

“You think I’d let any of my students lose a limb?” Mel asked.

“Well, I was concerned about
your
limbs, too,” Bennett said with a smile.

Holy cow, was that man’s smile lethal. Mel was pretty sure if she were using heavy machinery when he was around she’d probably lose those limbs he was so worried about.

But no pain no gain, right?

“I’m sure you were,” Brendan said, looking at Bennett with what could only be described as a bemused
I told you so
look.

And Mel
really
wanted to know what that was all about.

O
kay, so maybe Bennett had been full of shit when he’d told Brendan that he and Mel were just friends. Maybe he did think Mel was beautiful, and that her laugh was amazing, and that she had the warmest whiskey-brown eyes he’d ever seen. And maybe it was also true he did want to spend more time with her—a lot more time with her.

When Mel had first asked him to help with the project, she’d only wanted advice on planning it, but he’d quickly realized she was going to need someone to help out during the actual process. He might’ve agreed to help out a bit too eagerly.

But there was more behind it than just Mel. Mrs. Sylvester had been the librarian when Bennett had been in high school, and she was still the librarian now.

Bennett had always loved to read books. It was something that Jocelyn had passed on to him. He’d spent many an hour in that library. He felt like he owed something to the place, and he definitely owed something to Mrs. Sylvester. She was one of the kindest women who ever existed, and that library was her second home.

Mrs. Sylvester had always made suggestions to him on what to read. She’d gotten him into murder mysteries and military crime, and told him which of the classics were up his alley. And she’d always been right. When he’d been overseas he’d filled his downtime with books, most of which had been sent to him by her. Those books had kept him from going crazy. And he wanted to do something to pay her back for what she’d done for him.

Yeah, he was looking forward to this project for many reasons. But if he was honest with himself, Mel was at the top of that list.

Not that this changed the fact that he just wasn’t looking for a relationship. He’d come back to Mirabelle wanting a quiet, uncomplicated life. As he looked at the pretty, curly-haired woman sitting across from him, he had a feeling she would be a
big
complication in his life. She’d have to be—all women were.

He knew he should be smarter about this whole thing. Maybe put a little distance between the two of them.

But he really didn’t like that thought.

Yeah, distance just wasn’t going to happen. He’d spent all of dinner talking to her, watching her mouth move while she talked. She had a pretty mouth, soft and sweet. Her lower lip was slightly fuller than her top, and she was wearing some sort of gloss, and he was more than slightly curious as to what the flavor was.

“You want to dance?” he asked her, as half of their friends left the table to do precisely that. The band was playing country music, and the current song was one that Bennett had heard on the radio. It was fast, and the couples out on the floor were keeping up with the pace.

“Yeah,” she said, smiling.

“Well then, let’s go,” he said, standing up.

He rounded the table and held out his hand for hers. She placed her soft, warm palm in his as she stood. He wrapped his fingers around her hand, held her close to his side, and guided her through the crowd.

When they got to the dance floor he spun her around and pulled her into him. He placed his free hand on her hip, while hers landed on his bicep just below where his T-shirt ended. Her fingers curled around the back of his arm. As they moved around the floor, he couldn’t help but think about how her hand felt on his bare skin, and he wondered what it would feel like in other places.

The band started playing another fast tune and Mel smiled up at him, laughing as he spun her around. At the end of the song he dipped her backward and she stretched her head back, her hair falling toward the floor and exposing her neck. It took everything in him not to bury his face in that sweet spot just below her ear.

The band switched to a slow song, and Bennett looked at Mel, raising his eyebrows. She nodded, and he pulled her in closer. His hand drifted to the middle of her back as she leaned against him.

She was much smaller than him, maybe a hundred pounds lighter and half a foot shorter. The top of her head came in just under his nose. He’d resisted pressing his face into her throat, but only a stronger man than him could’ve stopped himself from pressing his nose into her hair. It smelled flowery; he was pretty sure it was jasmine.

When the song ended she pulled back and smiled up at him, her cheeks a little rosy.

“You want to get another drink?” he asked her.

She nodded, so he held tight to her hand as he led her to the bar. The group of half-naked girls was on the dance floor, so the bartenders were free from flirting it up with them. Bennett held up two fingers and pointed to the farthest bottle on the stand behind the bar. The guy nodded and pulled out two bottles from a massive bucket filled with ice.

Bennett pulled out some cash but Mel put her hand over his.

“I can get it.”

“I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head.

“Who bought my drink earlier?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I don’t know. We just paid for them.”

“But you bought more than one.”

“Yes, but that isn’t the point.”

“And what is the point?”

“That I asked if you wanted to get a drink and I’m not letting you pay for this.” He pulled his hand out from under hers and handed the bartender the cash.

“Fine, but I owe you a drink.”

“Fine.” He grabbed both bottles and handed her one. “The next one’s on you,” he said, clinking the neck against hers.

They brought the bottles to their mouths and drank.

“Wow, that tastes good,” she said, putting her bottle on the bar. She reached back and gathered her hair, then twisted it up to let the air get to the back of her neck. “It’s so hot out here.”

“You can’t handle the heat?”

“No, I can. But my hair can’t. I’m sure it’s a mess,” she said as she let go of her hair. It fell down, her curls expanding as they stretched down her shoulders.

“Nah.” He shook his head and reached out. He wound one of her curls around his finger. “It’s still beautiful.”

Bennett might’ve had a small fascination with Mel’s hair,
small
meaning that whenever she was around he had the urge to plunge his fingers in it and bring her mouth to his. He wanted to touch way more than that one soft strand but he pulled his hand back, letting the curl bounce up around her temple.

Her eyes warmed and her mouth curved up into a small smile. “Thank you,” she said softly.

“You up for a few more dances?”

“Absolutely,” she said, nodding, then grabbed her beer and took another long drink.

“We’ll finish these, and then I’m taking you back out there.”

Bennett wanted her in his arms again, and he was pretty tempted to chug the damn beer to make that happen a little bit sooner than later.

Bennett didn’t leave Mel’s side for the next couple of hours, and she had absolutely no complaints about it. Whether they were dancing, walking through the crowd, or just standing around talking, his hand had a habit of finding its way to the small of her back. This was something else she had absolutely no problem with. She liked the steady weight of his palm on her, liked how he stood by her side and guided her around, liked that he touched her.

“You and Bennett look pretty cozy tonight,” Harper whispered in Mel’s ear as they headed towards the bathroom.

“We’re just dancing,” Mel said.

“Uh-huh.” Harper folded her arms across her chest and eyed Mel skeptically.

“Look,” Mel whispered as they got in line. “I like him, all right. And I’ve liked him for a while now. But I’m just trying not to look too much into it, at least not until he makes a move.”

“He’s been making a move all night.”

“By dancing? Well, if that’s the case, then you and Shep are on the brink of a relationship yourselves.”

“Me and Shep? I don’t think so,” Harper said, shaking her head. “You know I love the man dearly, and I’d be blind if I said he wasn’t attractive, but Nathanial Shepherd is like a brother to me. Always has been, always will be. Besides, Grace told me he’s still in love with Hannah.”

“I’ve always thought that,” Mel said, trying to get Harper onto a new topic of conversation.

Hannah Sterling had spent a summer in Mirabelle almost thirteen years ago, then left and had never come back. Mel had known Shep all her life and seen him with a fair share of women. And even though Mel had been only twelve at the time, she hadn’t been oblivious to the way Shep had looked at Hannah. Nor had she missed the fact that he’d never looked at any other woman the same way since.

“Yeah, me too, but don’t think I’m going to let you change the subject. You and Bennett have been doing way more than dancing. And that boy hasn’t had eyes for any other woman tonight. It’s just you.”

“Harper,” Mel pleaded. She really didn’t want to turn this into something that it wasn’t. She had a crush on him…and as far as she knew that was it. That was all there was, just her insignificant schoolgirl crush.

“I’m serious, Mel. You can bury your head in the sand all you want, but Bennett Hart is totally into you.”

“Whatever you say,” Mel said, trying not to think about the little flutter in her stomach.

But that feeling just couldn’t be ignored, and if it was possible it intensified over the next ten minutes as they waited in line and finally used the restroom.

“Soooo,” Shep said, coming up next to Bennett at the bar. “Are you going to deny there’s anything going on with you and Mel? ’Cause Brendan said you claim to being only friends.”

Bennett groaned internally. He just couldn’t get a break from these guys, could he? “When the hell did you have time to discuss that?”

“When you and Mel were out on the floor dancing a tad too close for
just friends
.”

“You guys gossip like a bunch of old women,” Bennett said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, we do,” he said, placing his hand on Bennett’s shoulder. “So here’s the deal. Brendan, Jax, and I watched Mel grow up right alongside our little Gracie. And like Grace, we look at Mel as our little sister. Well, when I say
we
, I just mean
me
, in regards to Grace being
like
a sister. Obviously she is Brendan’s
actual
little sister,” Shep rambled on. “And as for Jax, he apparently didn’t have brotherly feelings for Grace. But you get what I mean.”

“Not really,” Bennett said.

“You’re a good guy, and really it would be great to see the two of you together, but don’t hurt Mel,” Shep said seriously.

“I don’t know where this is going.” Bennett started to feel more than a little uneasy. He didn’t know if it was going anywhere at all. Yes, he was interested in Mel, but that didn’t make them a couple. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted that. Truth be told, he had no idea what he wanted.

“Just be careful.” Shep removed his hand from Bennett’s shoulder and took a step back. “Now I’m off to get a drink.”

“Good luck,” Bennett said. He started to make his way back through the crowd, his mind a bit of a jumble.

How the hell had everything snowballed so quickly?

Bennett had gone out tonight only to have a fun time with his friends. He’d only wanted to have some food, a couple of drinks, good conversation. He hadn’t intended to focus all his attention on Mel. So what if that was what had happened? It didn’t mean anything. He was just doing what felt good, what felt right. And at the moment that was being around Mel.

He wasn’t doing anything wrong: just dancing with her, and maybe flirting a little bit, and enjoying the feel of her body under his hands. Where was the harm in that? He was an adult, and so was she. They were both capable of making rational decisions and not letting everything complicate matters.

Shep didn’t need to be worried about it. It wasn’t anything serious. It was…well, he had no idea
what
it was, and he didn’t need to be worried about that, either.

When Bennett came back up to the table he slid another beer in front of Mel. She looked up at him, and he smiled back at her.

You’re just friends
, she reminded herself.

Harper didn’t know what she was talking about. Bennett wasn’t interested in Mel beyond friendship. So he’d danced with her and bought her a couple of drinks. That didn’t mean anything.

“Thanks,” she said as she grabbed the beer. “I thought
I
was getting the next round.”

He just shrugged as he sat down. “Now I owe you two drinks.”

“So you do. We’ll just have to figure out how you can pay back your debts.” He smiled as he lifted his beer to his mouth. “I think more dancing might be in order.”

When they both finished their beers, Bennett and Mel returned to the floor. She wasn’t sure how many songs they stayed out there for, but when they got back to the table, Brendan and Paige were getting ready to go.

“We’re going to call it a night. Denise has Trevor all night, so we’re going to take advantage of an empty house,” he grinned.

“Brendan.” Paige blushed as she smacked his chest. “Can you not announce stuff like that?”

“Stuff like what?” he asked innocently. “I meant we’re going to get a full night’s sleep without a crying baby. What did you think I was talking about? Sex?” He shook his head and tried to look shocked. “Your mind is always in the gutter.”

“Shut up,” she said, smacking him again. “That wasn’t what you meant and you know it.”

“I do,” he said, grabbing her hand. “So let’s go and take advantage of every second. Bye, everyone.” He waved as he pulled Paige away from the table.

“Bye.” Paige laughed and got in a quick wave before Brendan practically dragged her away through the crowd.

“Harper left, too,” Grace said, as she and Jax got up. “She has an early appointment tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Mel looked down at her watch to check the time. Jeez, it was past midnight. “Well, can you guys give me a ride home?” she asked, looking at Grace and Jax.

“I can take you,” Bennett said before either of them had time to respond.

“Are you sure?” Mel asked, turning to Bennett.

“Absolutely.”

“So how far are you with
Lost
?” Bennett asked as he drove toward Mel’s house.