Time drifted by with no signs of life in the cemetery. A couple of ants bit me on the ankle and I continued scratching it as the heavy afternoon sun became a scorcher. Sweat trickled down my brow and my upper thighs began to get stiff. The cicadas in the neighboring trees were chanting up a song that lulled me into a state of relaxation.
I jerked back to alertness when thunder rolled in the distance. No, not thunder, but an engine. It sounded like King Kong roaring as the car increased in speed and a cloud of dust appeared on the other side of the cemetery, moving around the winding road.
Down below, the dog perked his head up and grew skittish, pacing frantically in a circle. The car ate up the road in my direction and I waved to get their attention. The dog suddenly hauled ass and relief swam through me.
The engine cut off and heavy footsteps crunched across the gravel road, treading over the soft grass until Austin came into view.
For a fleeting moment, I wanted to stay up in the tree. There he was, looking sexy as hell with his shaggy brown hair, all disheveled with bedhead. His black T-shirt was thrown over a pair of jeans.
Thrown. Wrinkled and untidy, like a man who had been pulled out of bed and barely had time to zip up his pants. I even glanced down at his zipper before giving myself a mental slap.
Austin’s style had always been casual and cool. Back in the day, it was all about muscle shirts and jeans that were shredded at the knees. Now he filled out his clothes like a man, and they wore him more than he wore them. There I was, sitting in a tree wearing flip-flops, black jogging shorts, and a pink tank top. Not to mention I was wearing a ponytail and sans makeup.
Perfect.
Austin scanned his eyes around the cemetery. “Where did he go?”
“Who?”
He slowly looked up. “The wolf.”
“The dog,” I corrected. “I don’t know. To take a piss, I guess.”
After a quick glance over his shoulder, Austin rubbed his jaw and then looked up at me again. “Climb down. I got you.”
Well, getting up a tree is a piece of cake. But I can testify to the fact that going down is no easy feat. Now I knew why cats got stuck in them and needed a fireman to come to their rescue. Of course, having seen some of the sexy local firemen in their gear, I’d pretend to be stuck in a tree too. Damn, that story would have totally made Naya’s day.
As I swiveled, my shoe fell off and I froze. “I can’t.”
“You will. Sit on the branch and put your feet on the one below it.”
My legs were locked up and stiff, and what scared me was the branch below was farther down than I thought. I’d have to let go of the trunk and sit down, but as I did this, I wobbled. “I’m going to fall,” I warned.
“Then I’ll catch you,” he said, not attempting to conceal his soft laugh.
Screw it, I thought. I spun around, lowered my legs, gripped the branch, dangled in midair, and slipped.
I squeezed my eyes shut and Austin caught me from behind.
His right arm tightened around my stomach and it punched the air out of my lungs. My legs were shaky and he held me for a minute before I noticed my tank top had slid out of place. As he let go, I quickly pulled it down and wiped pieces of bark off my shorts.
“How long were you up there?”
I picked a leaf out of my hair and turned around. “Long enough that I have to pee.”
He spun on his heel to give me privacy. I walked over to Naya’s phone and stuffed it in my pocket, then limped toward the car and grabbed my shoe.
“I’m not sure what kind of girl you think I am, Austin, but I’m not going to pee in a graveyard.”
“I seem to remember you having no problem reliving yourself behind a church.” Austin looked away, no doubt to hide his smile.
“Hey, you said you’d never bring that up again. That was supposed to go to the grave.”
Then I looked around at where we were and snorted.
The back of my arm burned and my joints were stiff. Austin jogged up beside me and pulled a piece of bark from my hair.
“What were you doing out here?” he asked.
