Temptation Ridge

“Thank God for that, huh?”

Mel chuckled and took her stool, snapping on the gloves. She selected a speculum, then selected a smaller one. “Easy does it,” she said, slipping it in. “Well, here’s a surprise. Hymen is still partially intact. After all that riding, I’m amazed.” She collected the Pap smear and removed the speculum. “I was able to slip past it with the swab, but what’s left of the hymen might be sacrificed when I palpate the uterus and check your ovaries.”

“It has to go sometime,” Shelby said. “I was sort of hoping to lose it the way the other girls do.”

Mel chuckled. “This is going to work out better for you. We’ll get everything checked out and find you a dependable pill. No shocking surprises for you, Shelby.”

“A twenty-five-year-old virgin. How often do you see that outside a convent?”

“You’re not the first,” Mel said, standing. She gently palpated the uterus. “Since you don’t have any symptoms or problems, I’m not going to stretch my hand in there any farther today. Your periods are regular?”

“Extremely.”

“No pain between periods?”

“None.”

“It’s all good, Shelby.” She pulled off her gloves. “I usually do the breast exam first, but under the circumstances I wanted to get the pelvic out of the way. Let’s have a look,” she said, pulling the gown to one side, then the other to gently examine her breasts for lumps.

“I’ll take you up on the birth control pills, even though I don’t have any use for them at the moment,” Shelby said.

It would be unethical for Mel to ask Shelby if she had someone in mind for that position. Another handicap of being a small-town practitioner—seeing the hot little glances exchanged in a neighborhood bar. “Well, I think it’s healthy to have a sex life with a responsible partner,” she finally said. “I think it’s unhealthy to have an unplanned pregnancy. Choose very carefully. Be prepared. Play it smart,” she said. “There’s one more thing. I probably don’t have to lecture on this, but—”

“Condoms,” Shelby said. She smiled and a flush reached her cheeks. “I should probably have some of my own, in case…”

Mel patted her hand. “I love having beautiful, intelligent women for patients. Get dressed and I’ll round you up some supplies.”

Shelby was leaving the clinic for the day when something caught her eye. She made a U-turn and went right back inside. “Mel?”

“Hmm?” Mel said, looking up from the computer. “What’s up?”

“Is there some old guy living in the boarded-up church?”

“What?”

“Come and look,” Shelby said.

Mel walked out on the porch and looked across the street. Slumped in the doorway wearing a ragged coat, baggy men’s pants and boots, Cheryl Chreighton. “My God…”

“What?” Shelby asked.

“She’s back.”

“Who?”

“When I first got to town, I met Cheryl. She’s an alcoholic and young, only about thirty years old. I was determined to find a way to get her into some kind of treatment, but she disappeared. We haven’t seen her in about a year. I could have asked around more, but…Well, I didn’t pursue her because she wasn’t my patient. And I was pregnant, then pregnant, then…” She sighed. Then had two babies and a hysterectomy, she thought. It was hard enough to keep up with the patients in her actual care. Cheryl might not be a patient, but still, a resident of the town. And Mel couldn’t stand the idea of a thirty-year-old woman being the town drunk. It ate at her. She should get a second chance.

And she was back.

Luke stayed away from Jack’s for a while; stayed away from Shelby. He hoped he’d forget about her, but lust has a life of its own. He thought about her, then damned himself for being an idiot. But, nonetheless, she preoccupied his thoughts. And while she rested in a sweet place in his mind, he made progress on his house and cabins and drank his own beer.

The army delivered his household goods, things that had spent almost as much time in storage while he was in barracks or out of the country as in a home.

Luke had owned a duplex in El Paso, renting the other half to another G.I., which he sold upon discharge from the army. He didn’t have a lot of furniture, which turned out to be a good thing, but what he had was quality stuff. He had decided to put his big, old-ash bedroom furniture in one of the upstairs rooms. He had a plush velour L-shaped sectional, an extra-large chair and an upholstered piece that doubled as a coffee table or bench—a little something to put your feet up on. He kept a tray on the ottoman to rest a glass or cup on. He put everything in the living room and covered the furniture with sheets until the sanding, painting and staining could be completed.

There was a nice Pottery Barn dining set that was perfect in the dining area; a dark, square table and eight chairs—a real good poker table. He could get matching bar stools, but he planned to rebuild the breakfast bar first. The kitchen looked a lot better with new appliances, but it would really shape up when the countertops and cupboards were replaced. He made a trip to Home Depot in Redding to place his order—he could install everything himself. While he was there, he bought the stain, varnish and large area rugs for the hardwood floors.

Among his household goods were kitchenware, linens, stereo, large-screen TV for which he had a satellite dish on order, tons of tapes, DVDs, books, CDs. Not many clothes; he’d been in uniform a long time. His closet had always been pretty lean and functional, which suited him fine.

He was ready to venture back to Jack’s. There was a part of him that hoped she wouldn’t be there so he could be at peace with his decision to stay away from her. Another part wanted her there, within reach, because the decision just didn’t seem final.

She did something to him. At first he figured the attraction stemmed from being in this little town with so few options, but then he remembered Luanne and that bar in another town and realized it wasn’t quite that. Even if Luanne hadn’t appealed, it was very likely a more alluring woman would come along. Usually if he got the hots for a woman he shouldn’t be around, it didn’t exactly take an act of Congress for him to move on to someone who didn’t jam him up so bad. Whatever it was about Shelby, he was having a damn hard time letting go of it.

But he just wasn’t done with her. Not hardly.

Luke was just coming out of the shower at the end of a long workday when he happened to see a figure pass too closely to the house. The river was far enough away so that people walking, fishing or jogging there should not come so close. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he looked out the bedroom window. Nothing. He went through the living room to the kitchen and looked out the dining-room window. There was a large boy or man digging through his Dumpster. He was heavy and slightly humped. He’d heard there were transients living in the forest. He could have yelled at him to get out of there, but what did it hurt, him digging through the trash? He wasn’t making a mess or anything. Besides, with the threat of bears, he didn’t leave food scraps out there.

The man turned and Luke nearly jumped back in surprise. He couldn’t be sure of his age, but two things were glaringly obvious. He had Down syndrome. And a big, nasty black eye.

Luke stayed out of sight. He didn’t want to frighten him.

An hour later he was leaving the house for an early-evening beer at Jack’s and as he went down the driveway to the road, he saw the door to cabin six slowly swing closed. The farthest cabin from the house.

So. He had a tenant.

Luke had been putting in some real long, solitary days. Nothing was going to fix him up better than a cold beer and a little company. When he walked in, Jack welcomed him like an old friend. “Hey, man. Haven’t seen much of you lately. How’s it going?”

“Dirty and ugly.” Luke grinned. “But I’m making incredible progress.”

“Beer?”

“Oh yeah. What’s Preacher got cooking tonight?” Luke asked.

“He’s got some venison stew going back there,” Jack said. “It’s about the best I’ve ever tasted. You staying for dinner?”

“I’m going to have to now,” Luke said.

By the time Luke was halfway through his beer, Paul walked in, still dirty in his work clothes. He looked down at one upturned boot and walked back outside. The banging that could be heard in the bar was Paul kicking the porch steps, knocking the dried mud off his boots. Then he was back, up on a stool beside Luke.

“How you doing, Luke?” Paul asked.

“Pretty good. I was planning to give you a call. Can I get you to send someone out to look at a couple of things? I need to have a professional examine the roofing on the house and cabins and check wiring for me.”

“Be glad to. In fact, I’ll do it myself. Jack,” he said, lifting a finger. A cold beer instantly appeared in front of him. “How’s tomorrow afternoon? Say, around five, when I’m wrapping it up out at the houses and we still have light?”

“Perfect.” Luke glanced over his shoulder a couple of times. He hadn’t seen her in too long. He hoped she’d stay away, prayed she’d be there soon. “You staying for dinner?” he asked Paul.

“Nah,” he said, taking a deep drink. “A beautiful redhead’s cooking for me tonight. And if there’s a God, the general has other plans.”

The bar filled up, some neighbors, a few fishermen and a small gang of young hunters wandered in. Luke had a second beer, opting to wait on the stew a while, and then it happened. She finally came in. He had just about convinced himself he was going to escape temptation tonight. But no, it was going to be worse than usual. Tight jeans, silky blouse under a denim vest, all that hair unbound and flowing free, begging to be crumpled up in his hands.

She came right up to the bar. Paul dropped an arm around her shoulders immediately. “What’s up, kiddo?”

“Not so much,” she said. “Hey, Luke.”

“Hey, yourself,” Luke said.

“Getting any better out at your cabins?” Shelby asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “A lot better.”

“I’m heading home,” Paul said, draining his beer. “Coming home for dinner?” he asked Shelby.

“Uncle Walt’s out for the evening,” she said. “Why don’t I have dinner right here. Luke looks lonely,” she said with an impish smile. “I’ll be home later.”

Paul kissed her forehead and said, “God bless you. And God bless Muriel.” And he was gone so fast it made Shelby laugh.

“Do you think he could be any more obvious?” she asked Luke.

“Muriel?” Luke asked.

“A beautiful neighbor lady moved in, right across the pasture. Uncle Walt’s been tied up a lot of evenings ever since.”

“Really?” Luke asked, eyes widening slightly. The general was into a woman?

She leaned her elbow on the bar, her head against her hand. “You don’t mind a little company, do you?”

“Actually, I think I’m going to have to shove off…”

Then Jack was standing in front of them, obviously hearing that last comment. “I thought you were staying for dinner? Beer, Shelby?”

“Thanks,” she said. When the beer was delivered and Jack gone again, she said, “You were going to stay till I got here? That’s not very flattering.”

A little embarrassed, he said, “I guess I could manage dinner.”

“Don’t put yourself out,” she said. “I can find someone to have dinner with.”

“No, this’ll work.”

“I don’t come here every night, so I thought maybe we just missed each other. But I asked Jack—you haven’t been around for a beer at all. A couple of weeks, I think….”

Eleven days, he thought miserably.

“And you were going to make a break for it once I showed up. I hadn’t even considered you were avoiding me. Do I make you nervous or something?” she asked.

“Whew,” he answered, shaking his head. “I haven’t been out of the army long enough to get over that rank thing. Your uncle—”

“Isn’t anywhere in sight,” she said, cutting him off. “Is it just my uncle?”

“You’re a pretty girl, Shelby,” he said. “And you’re just a girl. Puts me on edge, yeah.”

“Well then, we’re even,” she said. He gave her a perplexed look and she said, “You’re a good-looking guy, obviously been around a lot more than I have, and you’re older. Scary.”

He laughed at her candidness. “There you go—like water on a grease fire. Let’s play it safe, huh? Now tell me about your day.”

“Nothing to tell. Besides, this is interesting. I’d like to know what’s going on here. So, it’s pretty much that I’m a lot younger than you are. Or you just don’t like me.” And then she blushed, which made him squirm. It obviously took guts for her to push on this issue. But she wanted to know. So he decided to tell her.

“You know what it is, Shelby,” he said. “You’re young and tender. A sweet young thing. I’m hell on sweet young things.”

She laughed at him. “I bet anything you usually find a way to get past all that.”

Well, she didn’t scare easy, Luke realized with some admiration. And here was what had him screwed up—it wasn’t just that he had taken one look at her and felt that familiar tug of lust. Sounded like maybe the same thing had happened to her. Except that she had feelings deep enough to fall into and drown, and his feelings were all superficial, physical. Once his lust had been satisfied, he wouldn’t have much left for her. She’d end up sorry. He had always been able to avoid things like this, but this one, she was real tough on the nerves. It was going to be torture, just holding back. And it could be suicide, giving up the fight.

“I just wish your Uncle Walt was a retired master sergeant,” he said.

Luke usually confined his prowling to a town or two over so when the affair had run its course, he didn’t keep bumping into the woman again and again. Or her uncle. Before crawling between the sheets, he’d always give them “the talk”: he didn’t fall in love; wasn’t interested in long-term deals or commitment. He had his reasons, serious and personal reasons, for believing that a serious relationship wasn’t possible for him.

He wondered how Shelby would take to “the talk.” Given her age, she would probably cry.

He had been attempting to give not touching her a try, but just sitting next to her, having a beer, smelling her sweet scent and looking into those large hazel eyes, it was increasingly apparent he was destined to fail. It was just a matter of time; maybe a matter of hours.

“Well, I admit, you’re not exactly what I have in mind, either. I was thinking around twenty-six, more hair, polo shirt, or maybe a sharp, crisp, white button-down,” she said, and then she grinned at him.

He was totally shocked. He’d spent all this time fighting the attraction and she had something else in mind anyway? “I’m too old for you, plain and simple,” he pointed out.

“Probably, but there don’t seem to be many single men around. You kind of stand out.”

“You should throw your net wider,” he suggested.

“Until I do, let’s not get ridiculous. It’s a beer and some dinner. It doesn’t really matter how old we are or who my uncle is.”

He smiled. Sometimes she seemed a little older than twenty-five. She was awfully bright. Quick. Usually the problem with girls her age was they were dimwits. Not this one. She was honest and direct. Luke respected that. “You’ve been riding,” he said. “Your cheeks are sunburned.”

“Every day. Sometimes twice a day.”

“How long have you been riding?”

“Since I was real young. I’m Uncle Walt’s only sister’s only child, and my parents were divorced when I was just a baby, so my uncle kind of took me under his wing. He taught me—he thought it would build my confidence to learn to handle big animals. It turned out I only got more confident around big animals.” She shrugged and looked down. “I used to be real timid.”

The memory of seeing her on that big American paint came to mind. “You’re sure not timid on that horse,” he said. “And you’re not so timid with me.”

“I know. I’ve worked through a lot of that. I don’t know very much about you besides that you flew helicopters in the army. What about your family? All I know is you have a brother in Black Hawks in the Middle East.”

Luke’s dad had been a hardworking teamster, an electrician, and while he was a good provider, there hadn’t been a great deal left over for things like college educations. There were five boys to raise and educate. “I was the oldest and first one in. It wasn’t a hard decision for me—I always liked the idea of the army. It was a place for me to show my stuff—and I did fine. Loved the challenge. Colin followed me—into the army out of high school, into Warrant Officer School and the Black Hawks. Aiden upped it a notch—went into college ROTC and got a navy scholarship for med school. Don’t ask me how—but Sean scored an Air Force Academy slot and got into the U-2. Sean is the brother who went in on the cabins with me. Paddy—Patrick—got into the Naval Academy and F-18.” He smiled because her mouth had dropped open.

“Holy crap, there are five of you!”

“Yeah,” he said. He thought he was going to have to sit on his hand to keep from touching her hair. “Prolific Irish family. Sean and Patrick and their jets—they think faster is cooler. But they think that because they’ve never been in the Black Hawks.”

“Faster, higher and maybe safer,” she said.

“Possibly.” He laughed.

“How many times have you crashed?”

“I’ve never crashed,” he said, straightening proudly. “But I’ve been a damn good target three times. Mogadishu, Afghanistan and Iraq. I’m all done getting shot out of the sky. Right now, I want my most dangerous experience to be hammer versus thumb.”

They talked about building for a while, about the plans he had for the cabins. He would concentrate on the exteriors while the weather was still nice and when it cooled off and the Pacific winds brought the wet and cold, he could work inside. “Chapman left the house a wreck, but the structure seems sound. It’s going to take some doing to get it right. It’s small, but big enough for me. And if a brother or two shows up, there’s room. But this is temporary for me. By the time the work is done, I’ll be looking for a flying job—rescue or news chopper, or maybe even private industry. But chopper jobs are pretty tight, so it’s good I have something to keep me busy while I check out the job market.”

“Where will you go?” she asked.

“I’m flexible,” he said with a shrug.

She learned the brothers were close—when they were in the same part of the world, they got together. His father was deceased, but his mother was in Phoenix and they met there regularly. And each of them was willing to travel if there was a chance to meet. When she asked if he had a lot of nieces and nephews, he said, “All single. No kids anywhere.”

She didn’t tell him a whole lot about herself, just that she was finally ready to get on with her education, that she would be applying for degree programs. “I have my tuition money set aside from the house sale. I’d like to take a couple of trips first, maybe a cruise, since I can’t get back to full-time school till next fall anyway. I’m pretty nervous about that, it’s been a long time since I’ve been a student.”

“You’ll kick ass,” he said, taking curious pride in her ambition.

“For now, I’m just hanging out.”

“For how long?” he asked.

She answered with a shrug. “Till the first of the year, anyway, that’s the plan. There’s not too much for me to do except help everyone out, and I’m already getting a little bored.”

He made her laugh, put her at ease. She had a second beer and he had another. “You about ready for some dinner?” he finally asked her.

“I’m starving,” she said.

By the time Jack put stew in front of them, many of the locals were leaving, but there were still a few fishermen, so there was no hurry for Luke and Shelby to clear out.

They asked Jack for coffee and talked for another hour before Shelby looked at her watch and said, “Do you think I’ve given the lovebirds enough time alone?”

“By the look on Paul’s face, there isn’t enough time.”

“Tell me about it.” She stood up and slipped a hand into her jeans’ pocket.

“Nah, Shelby. Let me,” Luke said. He pulled out his wallet and put some bills on the bar.

“Careful, Luke,” she teased. “If you buy my dinner, I’ll think you like me.”

He put a hand on the small of her back. “That’s the problem,” he said. “I do.” He was past the jitters about her age, her uncle. He was moving on this. And when it was over, he was going to be shot, he was pretty sure. But he was into her; she had him. He hoped his death would be quick and painless.

An excited shiver ran through her as she preceded him out the door. When she got outside, she stopped on the porch and looked up at the clear, cool sky, peppered with a million stars. The wind through the pines made a whirring sound; an owl occasionally hooted.

Luke moved behind her and, with his arms around her waist, drew her back against him. She let her eyes softly close, enjoying the feeling of his sturdy body so close to hers. He nuzzled her hair and despite the noise of the wind through the pines, she heard his breath as he inhaled. Then she felt him move her hair aside; his lips and tongue were on her neck. “Hmm,” he said. “That’s nice. Real nice.” Then she felt him sucking and she tilted her head to one side to give him more of her neck.

That tilt of the head, that was more invitation than Luke usually required. He pulled her away from the bar’s front door to the edge of the porch, to a dark corner. He’d begun feeling light-headed just from the sensation of her neck against his lips. Her soft, sweet fragrance swirled around him and he wanted to take her somewhere, undress her, taste the rest of her body.

He faced her and looked down into her eyes. “I’m sure this is a huge mistake,” he said in a throaty whisper.

She rubbed her hands up and down his upper arms and just smiled that soft, sweet, beguiling smile.

“You’re pretty irresistible, Shelby. And I never did have much willpower.”

“I’m kind of new at this flirting with dangerous older men,” she said. “Is this where I apologize?”

“New at it?” he asked. “I think you might be a natural. It’s working.”

“Well, maybe I have more social skills than I thought,” she said with a laugh. There was no maybe about it—she had made a sudden and crazy decision. She wasn’t going to wait for the younger, more stylish man. The very thing he was warning her to be careful about, she decided, would work to her advantage. He was experienced. He knew what he was doing. She needed that. His arms around her and his lips on her neck felt wonderful. He would do nicely.

“Do you know what it means to get mixed up with someone like me?” he asked, his voice husky.

“Danger? Heartbreak?” She took a breath. “Adventure? You don’t scare me as much as I scare you, Luke.”

He slowly lowered his lips to hover over hers. “You sure about this?” he asked. “Because I think you know where all this flirting is headed. I’m no kid. This is headed someplace real naked.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she said with a weak whisper. “I’m not taking my clothes off.”

“Not yet?” he asked, his lips so close to hers she could feel his breath in her mouth, warm and sexy.

“Maybe never,” she whispered.

“Maybe,” he whispered back. “I like that word, maybe.” Then he lowered his lips to hers and pressed against them softly. He ran his hands up her sides, catching her under the arms and stretching them out, bringing them around his neck, showing her how to hold him. His arms went around her waist and he pulled her against him, kissing her more deeply. He could feel her firm breasts against his chest and he’d like nothing so much as to lower his lips to one, but this was not a woman to ravage. This was a woman to lead. Besides, Jack’s front porch was not the place. For the things he wanted to do, they needed to be assured of more privacy. He opened his lips, sucking at hers. And she opened hers, letting her tongue make a gentle, silken swipe of his mouth, bringing a deep and passionate groan from him. He ran a hand down over her bum and pulled her hard against him. He was already aroused; she just knocked him out.