Looking over at Falcon we share a smile. It is beautiful to see him really smile. Without the leather jacket, just old jeans and a t-shirt, two baby goats in his arms, Falcon doesn’t look the bad boy so much anymore. Now he just looks like a sexy, mountain man.
“You know, we have the Spring festival in a few days. We could make room for these little babies and their mumma in a pen. The kids in town would love to see baby goats.”
Falcon put his two wriggling goats back in the pen and then takes the one I’m holding to put her back with her siblings. The smile is gone. The friendly moment between us has past.
“I’m not big on town events.”
“But…”
“No.” He cuts me off and walks out towards my truck. I’m guessing this visit is over.
He turns to look at me. Probably wondering why I’m not jumping in the truck and driving away at speed. I cross my arms. “It might be good for you to come to the Spring Festival.”
He shakes his head. “How do you know what’s good for me? You don’t know me at all.”
“We went to school together.” I point out.
“We didn’t exactly hang out.”
“Well…you had kind of a bad reputation back then.”
He steps closer to me. “And what about now? What’s my reputation now?”
I stay silent. He wouldn’t like to know that the whole town’s been talking about him being seen drunk in the pub. It doesn’t take much to get the gossip mills working in such a small town.
“Exactly. I hardly think the town wants me at their Spring festival.” He steps even closer. So close that I have to tilt my head up to continue looking at him. His voice drops a notch. Deep and husky. “You sure it’s safe to be up here alone with me? I’m such a bad guy after all. I might take advantage of having a beautiful woman show up on my doorstep.”
It takes everything I have to try and keep the emotion off my face. I beg my cheeks not to turn pink.Keep eye contact, Willow.
“I don’t like what you are implying.” Although the excitement I felt being here started to pump through my veins like a zap of electricity when he lowered his voice like that. “Just what would you do with me?”
A long pause. I hold my breath. That dark stare sends heat through me. I’m very aware of how close we are. How big his body is next to mine. “I’d put you to work of course. You work at the feed store. I assume you know how to clean out a goat pen?”
Hump. I let out a breath. Now my cheeks are burning red.
“What did you think I’d say?” His voice drops again. A mischievous twinkle in his eye. And eyebrow arched.
I stay silent. No idea how to answer him.
“Did you think that I'd tell you how I’d push you up against that wall and kiss you breathless.” He steps even closer. My breasts tingle. I hold my breath while my heart is about to beat out of my chest. And he’s got more to say. “Did you think I’d tell you I’d like to get my hands on that body and make it obey mycommands. That it has always been a fantasy of mine to get the good girl and make her bad?”
He leans in. His face so close to mine. But when I catch the glimpse of a smile I put my hands to his chest and push him away. And with that, I run to my truck, get in and drive away as though I’m fleeing the devil himself.
Chapter 4
Willow
“He didn’t join a mafia gang. He’s been in the army.” Annie tells me. We are catching up for coffee at my request. “The Kingsley cousins aren’t nearly as scary as everybody makes out.”
I look over at Erika, who makes a face. I went to school with these girls, and while we weren’t best friends back then, we have been hanging out more and more since I moved back to town. Well, we were until Annie fell in love with Thorne Kingsley, the oldest of the Kingsley cousins. And Erika is madly in love with her fire fighter Kingsley, from the good side of the family. So these girls were the source for information about Falcon.
“Really!” Annie says. “I’ve had enough of this bad Kingsleys and good Kingsleys. They were all wild in school, but they haveallgrown up to be wonderful, respectful men.”
“Thorne is proof they can at least be changed.” Erika grins. Though she has told me that it is Annie who has come out of her shell and become bolder since she hooked up with her mountain man.
“Well, Thorne is determined to see his brothers settled here too. And Falcon had a lot of issues. But now he has spent some time on his own, he has his animals, he really is getting better. His cabin is close to ours and we often have him over. It tookhim a long time to get used to me, but now he is starting to relax around me and open up, he is actually a really nice guy.”
Nice guymight be a bit of a stretch. But then, seeing him with his baby goats, his injured chicken, maybe there is a nice guy hiding beneath the bad boy image. Hiding deep, deep down. And for some reason, I get a mental image of Ms. Bubbleworth trying to peck and bite everyone. Maybe Falcon just has his defenses up making him lash out and make inappropriate suggestions.
