“No,” she admitted quietly. “We’re not close.”
Just then, rockets flew into the sky, followed by a series of firecrackers that sizzled and whistled as they flew over the lake. For the next fifteen minutes, Faith and Gus were treated to the kind of display that must have taken months to plan. It was flawless. Breathtaking even. When it was over and a smoky haze settled over Fire Lake, she found her body had melted into Gus’s side.
He was warm and strong and felt so damn good she would have stayed there all night if she could have.
“Thank you,” she whispered, afraid to break the spell she’d seemed to have fallen under.
Gus’s mouth was close to her ear. His heat slipped over her body like a glove, and she held back a groan when his breath fell across her skin, leaving a wake of shivers and goosebumps.
“We can stay out here,” he said slowly, “or head back to town.”
God, she wanted to stay with him out here, under the cover of a summer night sky.
“We should probably head back,” she replied after a few seconds. “Candy expected me a few hours ago.”
Gus got to his feet and offered her his hand. Faith stared up at it for a few moments. Then, with her heart in her throat, she placed her hand in his.
She felt as if she were standing above a big ass hole without a safety net. The old Faith would have run, but the new Faith was done with that. If she was to make some kind of life for herself here, she needed to be bold about what she wanted.
And I want him.
But careful too, she cautioned herself as she jumped into his truck. Gus David was only in Fire Lake for the summer, and then he’d be gone. Was she brave enough to get tangled up with a man like him?
Or was he the best kind of distraction? Because as she settled in for the ride back to town, only one thought kept making its way into her brain.
Gus was hiding something as well. She’d watched and listened. She didn’t know what it was. Didn’t care to know either because it meant that they had a level playing field for whatever this was between them. Neither one was being completely honest. But more importantly, whatever this was had an expiration date. And she was good with that. Faith’s heart was still in recovery mode, and she had no plansever,to put it at risk again.
She was open to something physical and nothing more. And what guy wouldn’t be over the moon about that?
Chapter Eleven
The ride back to Lawson House was done in relative silence. The radio played softly in the background, and he and Faith didn’t seem to need actual conversation to be at ease with each other — even if he was hyper-aware of the woman beside him. Hell, he’d been like a dog after a bone since he’d tasted her mouth the night before.
She was beautiful, no doubt about that, but his interest was more than physical. Was it because she was holding back a big piece of her life? Was it the mystery? Did it matter?
He decided it didn’t.
As they drove back to town, some sad country song filled the air, and his thoughts darkened.
Being on the lake — sitting on a dock watching those fireworks — had taken him back to a place he generally tried his best to avoid. The past. It was never a good thing for him to visit. Especially now that he’d reacquainted himself with a father, sister, and brother, who A) had no clue who he was and B) were nothing like he’d expected.
He still thought his father was a bastard. That would never change. How could it? Even though she tried her best to hide it, he’d seen the sadness and fear in his mother’s eyes. Gus remembered his father’s raised, angry voice, the crying and slamming of doors. There was abuse of some kind and to Gus, that was unforgivable. He had questions about why Ford and Sunday had been left behind but wondered more about a man who hadn’t come for his mother after she’d taken off. Or made any effort to contact him, Ollie, Harrison, or Iris.
But even with all that shit to unpack, it was hard to keep his feelings black when faced with a dying man who seemed to be choking on regret.
Walker had warned him things would get complicated because his mission in Fire Lake wasn’t cut and dry. He had no end goal because he had no clear reason for being here. Was he back to make his father pay for his treatment of his mother and siblings? Was he curious to know his older brother and sister? To find out if they missed the rest of their family and what they’d been told. Or was it simpler than all of that? Was Gus bored with the life he’d built and needed something new to gnaw on?
He’d gone years without touching this connection, so why was it important now?
In the end, none of those reasons mattered. He was here, and he’d told Walker he could handle complicated. It was the unexpected things that demanded more bandwidth, like the woman who sat a few feet from him. He’d been fine getting his itch scratched by a few locals when the need arose. But none of them interested him anymore. Not since he’d met Faith.
And they were getting naked — no doubt about that. But he wasn’t the guy who did relationships, and before the naked part could happen, he needed to be very clear with the ground rules. Sex with no strings was the only option that could work for a man who wasn’t staying.
They pulled into the driveway, and he cut the engine. The night sky was now covered in a sheen of twinkling diamonds, and the path to the house wasn’t as dark as usual. Gus followed her onto the porch and into the house. She walked toward Candy’s door, and for a moment, he didn’t know if he should wait or head upstairs on his own.
He felt like an idiot when she smiled over her shoulder. “I’ll be up in a minute.”
Gus nodded and took the stairs two at a time, where he stood on the landing and listened to the conversation below. It consisted of Faith thanking their landlady for watching Taco and Candy enthusiastically telling Faith she’d watch the dog anytimebecause, apparently, the canine had become fast friends with her parakeet. When he heard Taco’s nails on the hardwood, Gus moved to his door and grabbed his key from his front pocket.
