The last thing traveling nurse Evie Steele expects to find aboard the RV housing her mobile health clinic is her brother’s best friend. As always, Deke’s close proximity stirs her forbidden desires and long-suppressed dreams. But his sudden reappearance in her life and curious interest in her patients makes Evie wonder what he’s hiding.
Special agent Deke Conrad is in big trouble. Not only does he have a thing for his friend’s little sister, but what should be a routine mission is turning into a tour of temptation and survival. He fooled himself into thinking he could keep the beautiful and dynamic Evie in the dark while he used the cover of her Med Mobile to track down a merciless wildlife trafficker. But he didn't anticipate the lure of her scent or the warmth of her smile…or the string of dead bodies littering their path.
When Evie winds up in his enemy’s crosshairs, Deke must unleash every weapon in his arsenal to save her, including his heart. But will he be too late?
July 31
Steele Ridge, Western North Carolina
Deke pushed through the door of Blues, Brews, and Books—or,
as the locals liked to say, Triple B. It was good to be back in Steele Ridge,
which had formerly been named Canyon Ridge. His family had moved here right
before he entered the fourth grade and stayed through his junior year before
returning to their hometown of Rockton.
For him, Steele Ridge would always be his true home. He’d
made lifelong friends here, and it was the place where he’d become a man.
His eyes took a moment to adjust before settling on the lone
figure stationed at the bar. Zigzagging his way around islands of low and high
tables, he slapped his friend’s broad shoulder. “Hello, shit for brains.”
Rather than be startled by such an abrupt greeting, Britt
Steele angled his lumberjack body around and held out his hand. “You’re late.”
He shook Deke’s hand before bellying up to the bar again. “Some of us have to
return to work, you know.”
Deke slid onto the barstool kiddie corner to his friend’s.
“Can’t even work up an ounce of sympathy.” He nodded to the bartender, Grady.
“My last vacation was over a year ago. I’m going to enjoy every second of the
next fourteen days.”
Britt eyed the sling cradling his arm. “What happened?
Keyboard attack you?”
Deke did his damnedest not to lie to those he cared about.
As far as his friends and family knew, he worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service’s Office of External Affairs, traveling all over the Southeast Region
in search of his next story. Or he could be found cooped up at the Asheville
field office banging out articles for the Service’s quarterly newsletter. All
true—but not the whole truth.
“You have no idea how threatening the office environment can
be.”
“And I hope I never do. How are you healing?”
The dull, throbbing pain in his shoulder served as a
constant reminder of how quickly a mission could go wrong, even with hours of
careful planning. Matteo had gotten the worst of it, though. SONR’s engineer
had spent three days in the hospital after the surgeon had dug the arrow out of
his leg. The damned thing had gone so deep that the tip had embedded in bone.
Clenching his jaw, Deke flexed his fingers and lifted his
elbow until the action caused an involuntary wince. Better than yesterday, but
he wouldn’t be playing basketball anytime soon.
“Getting there.”
“What do you have planned, besides lunch with a friend
you’ve blown off for months?”
“Not a damn thing.”
“You’re going to stare at your apartment walls for the next
two weeks?”
“Maybe. If the mood strikes.”
“Don’t see it. I’ve never known you to be idle, in over
twenty-five years.”
“I’m hoping to sleep away the first two days.” Deke rubbed
his tired eyes. “I’ll see where things go from there.”
“Tough assignment?”
He chose his words carefully. “They get more complicated
every time.”
“Complicated how? Don’t you just go into an area, interview
people, take some pictures and then write up an article?”
“I wish it were that simple.”
“What can I get you?” Grady asked.
“Surprise me.” He glanced at Britt. “You order food yet?”
“Yeah. Hope you’re in the mood for a burger.”
“Do you order for Randi?”
“Not a chance,” a new voice said.
Randi Shepherd cuddled against Britt’s side and kissed him.
Although she kept it short, Deke could feel the power of their intimacy from
two feet away. A pang of envy clutched his chest, and he shifted his attention
to Grady’s nimble hands. What he wouldn’t give to have a woman love him as
Randi loves Britt. It was a notion that had filtered through his thoughts a lot
lately.
“He knows better.” Randi wrapped Deke in a warm hug. “Seems
like forever since we saw you last. You gonna hang around Steele Ridge for a
while?”
“I’d planned to. Mind if I rent the loft above the bar for a
few days?”
“Of course. I’ll have someone run up there to see if it’s
habitable.”
“Thought you didn’t have a plan,” Britt said.
“My plan is not to have a plan.”
Randi laughed. “Let me go check on your food.”
He watched his friend’s gaze follow Randi from the room.
“How’s domestic life treating you?”
“Bit of an adjustment at first, but we’ve settled into a
groove now.”
“A good one?”
“The best.”
“How’s the Center?”
Thanks to a hefty investment from Britt’s younger brother,
he was running a Wildlife Research Center on the outskirts of town.
“I hired a botanist to study the red wolves’ habitat and the
surrounding conservation area.”
“Is that trepidation or skepticism I hear in your voice?”
“Fear.” Britt lifted a beer mug to his lips. “She’s my
cousin.”
He searched his memory for another conservationist in the
Steele family. “Not Riley.”
“Ding, ding, ding.”
“The Kingston menace?”
Britt smiled.
“What the hell were you thinking? She used to plant shit
bombs in our sleeping bags.”
“She just got back from a research expedition in Costa Rica
and needed a job. The Center needed a botanist, so everyone’s happy.”
“Can’t wait to see how long that lasts.”
A gust of air signaled the arrival of a newcomer to Triple
B. Even before Deke turned, a buzz of awareness sprinted down his spine. Only
one person had ever had that effect on him.
The last person who should.
Evie Steele.
Even though he’d known her since she’d toddled around on
chubby legs, he’d first noticed her crystal blue eyes, silken black hair, and
long, long legs right after she turned sixteen. He’d come upon her sunbathing
in a gut-socking white bikini. The sight had stopped him cold. Then the heat
had come. Scorching, blood-searing heat.
When she’d glanced at him over her bare shoulder and thrown
out her sweet Evie smile, he could only stare at the way the triangle of white
material molded her firm ass. She’d twisted around, and his attention had torn
from her rounded bottom to mouthwatering breasts that would fit his hand
perfectly.
Somewhere between fifteen and sixteen, his Squirt had…developed.
And he’d stirred. For her. Evie. The girl who, up to that point, had
been like a sister to him. Guilt had consumed him.
For years afterwards, he’d done everything he could to avoid
her.
Avoidance hadn’t stopped his thoughts. His vivid dreams. His
comparing every woman he looked at to Evie’s perfection.
Evie Steele had squirmed her way into every conscious
thought and desire he possessed. No amount of cursing, women, or distance had
managed to shake her hold.
At one point, when she’d cleared high school, he’d
considered braving Britt’s big brother wrath and asking her out. But she’d
plunged into college and nursing school at the same time he’d been invited to
join a newly formed black ops unit with the Service.
Now, four years later, their journeys were still worlds apart.
With a degree under her belt, Evie would be starting a career. Whereas kids,
family, and settling down had begun visiting his thoughts, as of late.
Britt had found soul-searing happiness with Randi. She
smoothed his edges, cared for him in a way no one else ever had. And he’d
almost lost the love of his life to a greed-driven trophy hunter.
The power of that kind of love struck fear in Deke’s heart
and warmed it, at the same time. Problem was, he didn’t have a wife, fiancée,
or even a girlfriend. Not one viable candidate.
His gaze locked on Evie’s across the bar, and the pressure
on his chest intensified, became crushing. Time had passed, and his lecherous
guilt had faded. They were both adults now. If not for the twelve years
separating their ages, Evie might have been the one.
But he could never ask her to put her career on hold to be
with him and start a family. What if she did and then couldn’t stomach the
demands of his career? She would’ve given up so much, for what?
Heartbreak.
Resentment.
Anger.
Hate.
He swallowed back his longing and returned to his beer,
allowing the familiar mask to drop in place.
Forcing away the memory of last year’s stolen kiss.
* * *
Evie Steele spotted her brother the moment she entered
Triple B. Over two hundred pounds of muscle and shaggy blond hair was hard to
miss, even in this lunch crowd.
Her big brother held her attention for about a half a second
before her Deke radar blared.
There he was. Every bit as tall as Britt, but with the
sleek, muscled planes of a leopard rather than the thick sturdiness of a tiger.
Deke’s coloring was even darker, deeper. As if he’d spent all the hours of his
days outside. Curly ebony hair shaved close at the sides and back and tamed at
the top by a hint of hair product.
What she wouldn’t do to see that beautiful mane grow wild,
to run her fingers through his thick curls. To feel their softness whisper
against her bare breast. Evie shook off the erotic fantasy before she made a
fool of herself in front of the good residents of Steele Ridge.
Instead, she braced herself for their reunion. At the
moment, she was quite unhappy with him. But Deke Conrad could charm the
cantankerous out of any farmer and he had every woman in town holding their
breath for one of his lopsided grins to float their way.
Deke was a dangerous man.
Especially to her. She’d crushed on him since before she’d
known what the word meant. Then her young girl’s worship transformed into
something deeper, hotter, more stirring than a simple attraction. She ached
to draw imaginary lines over his broad, bare back, to trace her lips down the
center of his glistening chest, to inhale his musky, masculine scent as her
tongue explored his most intimate parts.
Gah!
She had to stop with the naked, entwined images.
The big lug refused to see her as a beddable woman. Scratch
that. He’d noticed. She’d caught him looking at her behind a time or two. The
most memorable moment, the time that had given her the most hope, was when
she’d been sitting in front of the picture window in her mom’s front room.
At that time of the day, silhouettes from inside the house
reflected onto the glass, giving her fair warning should any of her brothers
try to sneak up from behind. But her brothers hadn’t filled the picture window
that day. Deke had.
He’d stopped by to pick up Britt for some outing or other
and spotted her reading. He hadn’t announced his presence. He’d just stood
there, watching her.
Even now, years later, her flesh heated, her breasted
tightened, her center dampened at the memory. All for a guy who couldn’t get
beyond the fact that she was his best friend’s little sister.
Sometimes she’d like to flick his ears. Knock the fog from
his eyes. Last year, at the groundbreaking ceremony for Britt’s wildlife
research center, she’d thought he’d set aside the ridiculous barrier he’d
erected and decided to see where their mutual attraction led. But the next
morning, the scaredy-cat had disappeared.
For eleven months, eight days, and…never mind. It was a long
frickin’ time.
His dark gaze honed in on her across the bar. A spin top
tore across her chest, then idled on her stomach, burrowing deep. She slapped
the damn thing away.
Who disappeared after a first kiss? Caveman Conrad, that’s
who. When he’d vanished without a word of goodbye, he’d lost his chance with her.
Not that he was rolling any dice in that direction, but if he were, he’d hit
snake eyes. Too many loved ones had ditched her over the years. She wasn’t
about to get tangled up with a guy who couldn’t see past her last name to the
woman she’d become.
At least that’s what she told herself. One come
hither-glance from those iridescent eyes, and all her hard lines would go limp
like a spaghetti noodle. No getting around it. She was a hot mess when it came
to her feelings for Deke Conrad. “Evie-girl, what are you up to today?” asked a
woman with a thick salt-and-pepper braid resting over one shoulder.
“Here to pester my brother before I set off for another
MedTour. Speaking of which, how’s your knee? Still painful when you bend it?”
“Nah. Those exercises you gave me did the trick.”
“Happy to hear it. Have a nice afternoon, Mrs. Grossman.”
As she wove her way to the bar, several diners gave her
quick waves, big smiles, and warm hellos. She mustered a half-hearted
acknowledgment. She didn’t stop to chat like normal. She couldn’t. No words
could get past her air-locked throat.
Deke was in her midst.
Damn the man!
“Hey, Squirt,” Deke said when she neared.
The nickname was like a palm to the forehead. Blunt. Hard.
Crushing.
She met his gaze. Held it long enough to determine whether
or not he remembered their kiss. Those ice-blue eyes held the same warm
friendship they always had. No longing. No passion. No glimmer of hope. “Hey,
Deke.”
Britt turned around on his barstool, and she hugged him
before sitting on his opposite side.
“What? No squeeze for me?”
Somehow she produced her most mischievous smile. “I don’t
hug strangers.”
“Ouch. It hasn’t been that long.”
“Guess that depends on your perspective.”
Britt eyed the two of them, big brother suspicion creasing
the area between his brows.
Time for a subject change.
“Thanks for the lunch invite,” she said. “I’m glad we could
get together before I head out.”
“Need anything?” Britt asked.
“I’m good, thanks.” She nudged her shoulder against his. “I
have a job now, you know.”
“I know.”
She let the issue alone. Britt would always look out for his
younger brothers and sisters. No matter their age or economic status. Heck,
Jonah was a billionaire and Britt still tried to buy his lunch.
“Taking a trip?” Deke asked.
“Yep.”
He waited for her to explain. She didn’t. She was that
annoyed with him.
“Here you go.” Kris McKay slid plates in front of Britt and
Deke. “Can I get you boys anything else?”
“Not in front of the kid,” Deke said, winking at Kris.
“What in the world are you talking about, Deke Conrad?” Kris
asked, throwing a conspiratorial grin her way. “Evie’s my age.”
Deke glanced between Kris and Evie.
“That way lies trouble, my friend,” Britt said, biting into
his burger.
Evie raised a brow in Deke’s direction, waiting.
He grabbed the ketchup bottle and squirted a blob next to
his steak-cut fries.
Noticing his sling, pressure squeezed her chest. “What
happened to your arm?”
“Hunting accident.” He popped a ketchup-coated fry in his
mouth. “I’ll be rid of it in a couple weeks.”
“How’d it happen?”
“A second of inattention.”
She wanted far more detail, but his expression closed like
an iron gate protecting the castle.
“Want something to eat?” Britt asked, forcing her attention
away from Deke’s injury.
“I’ve been thinking about Randi’s bruschetta all the way
here.”
“What about your meal?”
“That will be my meal.”
Smiling, Kris said, “I’ll put your order in.”
Britt scooted his plate over to her. “Have some fries.”
“Afraid I’ll waste away?”
“No chance of that.”
She smacked his shoulder. “Rude.”
“Do you have a job lined up now that you’re done with
college?” Deke asked.
“I’m not done yet.”
He glanced a Britt. “Didn’t you tell me she graduated?”
“She did. Evie’s starting a Master’s degree.”
“Master’s.” Deke’s flat tone drew her gaze. His expression
remained neutral, but his eyes…his eyes revealed…loss.
Her throat closed at the small tell of his feelings. Why
loss? Why wouldn’t he be happy for her?
Breaking eye contact, he lifted his beer bottle to his lips.
“Is that why you’re taking a trip? A little me time before classes start up?”
“No me time.” She
stared at the tray of quartered limes and lemons. A strange hollowness filled
the area where her heart used to be. Why couldn’t she figure him out? Why did
he persist in ignoring this thing between them? Why did she let him?
The bartender set a glass of ice water in front of her.
“Thanks, Grady.”
“MedTour,” Britt said.
Evie sipped her drink, wishing her brother would’ve let the
subject drop.
“MedTour?”
“She’s going to travel around the mountains in an RV,
patching up patients who don’t have health care or reliable transportation.”
“By yourself?”
“I’ll be working under the direction of a Nurse
Practitioner. Lisa Frye. She went to school with you and Britt.”
“I remember her. She’s an old friend.”
The softening around Deke’s mouth and eyes lanced her
insides. She reached for her water again. “Then you’ve heard of her MedTours.”
“I knew she went to different towns to offer up her
services, but I didn’t realize it was so structured. Definitely didn’t know
about the RV.”
“One serving of Randi’s bruschetta.” Kris set a rectangular
dish in front of her. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thanks, this should be more than enough.” Evie picked up a
piece of toasted bread piled high with tiny cubed tomatoes, herbs, onions,
garlic, and balsamic vinegar. She bit into the mound, and the mixture of
flavors burst into her mouth. She closed her eyes, chewing slowly,
appreciatively. Enjoying something besides yogurt and Ramen noodles, for a
change.
“Good?”
She opened her eyes to find Britt smiling down at her. She
grinned back until she caught Deke staring at her mouth. She licked her bottom
lip, hoping like hell she didn’t have basil stuck in her teeth.
His focus intensified, burned, until his gaze lifted to hers.
Blink. And
the fire disappeared.
Deke cleared his throat. “How does this MedTour thing work?
Are people scheduling appointments? Or do you make house calls?”
Evie released a painful breath, wishing she could blink away
emotion as easily as he. “Every month the MedTour visits impoverished
communities all over the Smokies.”
“Residents come to expect you, then.”
“Yes, Lisa has set up a regular route. Every once in a while
she’ll veer off-course because of an emergency or something. But the whole
thing runs like clockwork. Takes two weeks to complete the route, barring
anything crazy coming up.”
“Two weeks on tour, two weeks off?”
“Yep.”
“What towns are you hitting?”
“I don’t recall the entire schedule, but I know Haden’s
Hollow, Niles, and Creede are on the list.”
“Creede?” His gaze sharpened on her. “Isn’t that close to
Bamford?”
“I have no idea.”
“Just to the north of Bamford,” Britt interjected.
“When are you headed out?” Deke asked.
“Three days from now.”
Deke took several bites of his burger, throwing them all
into a thoughtful silence. Then he asked, “Do you enjoy the work?”
She nodded. “After four years of nursing school, I’m glad to
finally put what I’ve learned into practice. Everyone we treat is so grateful.
It’s an amazing program.” She aimed another mound of bruschetta toward her
mouth. “This is only my second tour. I live in fear I’ll screw something up and
cause someone more harm than good.”
“If you treat enough people, the odds are good that you’ll
screw up something,” Britt said in his most pragmatic voice. “The important
part is what you do afterwards.”
“Are you trying to terrify me?”
“No.” His eyebrows pushed together. “All I’m saying is when
you mess up don’t dwell on the mistake. Figure out how to fix it and how not to
do it again.”
Deke chuckled. “I think your sister needs a peppier talk.
Something like, ‘You’re doing great. I’m proud of you.’”
“Of course I’m proud of her. But no one’s perfect, especially
not when starting a new job. Mistakes happen.”
“It’s okay, Britt,” she said. “I knew what you meant.” Britt
didn’t waste words, nor was he one for chitchat. For him to say as much as he
had on the topic told her that he was as nervous about this new adventure as
she.
“I’m proud of her, too,” Deke said.
Startled by Deke’s quiet statement, Evie stared him.
“Many people talk. They empathize with their neighbor about
the poor in Appalachia, while enjoying lattes at the local coffee shop. But
they don’t act. The poor have no impact on their daily lives, so their empathy
wanes with the next weighty topic.” He lopsided smile appeared, the one that
always, always melted her heart. “You’re a doer, Evie Steele. Always have
been.”
Needles stung her nose and the backs of her eyes. Words of
thanks clogged her throat, refusing to emerge for fear of their inadequacy.
He tossed his napkin onto the bar and drew a twenty-dollar
bill from his wallet. “Gotta go.”
“You just got here,” Britt said.
“Just remembered I need to follow up on something for work.”
“I thought you were taking some time off.”
“I am. Or will be.” He shook Britt’s hand and hesitated a
second before nodding to her. “See y’all later.”
“Hey,” Britt called, angling around. “If you’re free this
Sunday, give me a call. Found a new fishing spot with bluegills the size of
your hand.”
“Sounds like my kind a hole.”
She followed Deke’s departure until his dark head was no
longer visible. A familiar ache of loss filled in her chest.
“What was all that about?” Britt asked.
“All what?”
“The tension between the two of you was so thick I nearly
suffocated.”
“So melodramatic.”
“I’m waiting.”
“We’ve always teased each other.”
“Exactly. Tease.” Britt rubbed a hand over his face and
released a harsh breath. “Listen, I recognize when a man—”
“There’s nothing going on between us. All I did was call him
out on staying away for so long.”
He regarded her for several uncomfortable seconds, disbelief
storming in his eyes. But he didn’t press her. Simply dipped a fry into his
ketchup and handed it to her.
Gratitude made her smile. How could she tell her brother
that the tension he sensed might have been sexual on her side, but avoidance on
Deke’s? One humiliation per day was more than enough. Thank the sweet Lord she
wouldn’t see Deke Conrad again anytime soon.
Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional contemporary romance. A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, and three Bengal cats. Visit Darcy online at www.darcyburke.com and sign up for her newsletter, follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/darcyburke, or like her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/DarcyBurkeFans.
