Page 97 of Blue Jean Summer

I couldn’t if I tried. The world went silent. The trees closed in around us and, for a split second, it felt like Hayes had snapped his fingers to suspend time.

I floated in his arms as ripples of ecstasy raced through me like a lightning storm. Hayes set my body ablaze, and I was happy to be consumed by him.

Chapter 24

Hayes

Letters and numbers swirled around as I tried to refocus on the data in front of me. My workday had ended hours ago, but I was cramming for a last-minute trip to DC.

Early in my career with the Triticum Group, I had fallen prey to the never-ending rat race. I would get into the office hours before anyone else, then work through dinner and often into the evening. It took quite a few cycles of hitting burnout and then flooring it again to realize that things were rarely ever that pressing.

Most tasks and emails could wait for a few hours.

Now, I tried not to work past five, or whatever five was if I started my workday early for meetings with international buyers. Tonight, it was nearing seven o’clock and I was still at Granddad’s desk. Well, my desk. It was still strange to think of the house as mine.

Most of Granddad’s things still lived where they always had. I used his pens and his notepads. Ledgers and handwritten accounting books were still stuffed in the drawers. I had made space for my computer on top of the desk, but that was it.

A gentle tap on the door’s glass pane caught my attention. One glance at Catherine and I was done for the day.

I closed my laptop and waved her in as I stood. Catherine was in a smart pair of pink trousers, a billowy white blouse, heels, and pearls. I let out a slow whistle. “Look at you, all dressed up. No cabin work today?”

“Actually, I was in town,” she said as she tucked her softly curled hair behind her ears.

“Errands?”

“No, I held a meeting at the elementary school with some teachers and administrators from across the county and pitched the concept for the Learning Cottage. I wanted to go ahead and grease the wheels so that when school starts in August, I already have an in with educators to host field trips or after-school programs. Some reps from the local FFA chapters came too, so that was exciting. I think it went well.”

I blinked. “You did all that today?”

She shrugged. “Well, Mason had some guys tearing out the steps, putting in the ramp, and painting the Learning Cottage, so I couldn’t exactly mess around in there.” She was being humble, and I hated that. I also hated that she hadn’t looped me in on it. I would have cleared my entire schedule to be there for her.

“And you didn’t tell me?” I didn’t want to admit how much it stung, but it did. I loved hearing her talk about her project. Catherine lit up like a firecracker when she was passionate about something. She truly came alive. I didn’t want to take that away from her. I wanted to stand in the shadows and watch her shine.

Catherine shrugged and trailed her manicured fingertips along the edge of the desk. “You’ve been cramming for when you go to that conference the week after next. I didn’t want to bother you. You’ve got enough on your plate as it is.”

“You’re never a bother. I would have gone with you.”

She smiled. “And as chivalrous as that is, you have your own responsibilities. How’s prep going?”

“I’ve got everything memorized already. I’m just overthinking it.” I raked my hand through my hair. “I need to get out of the house.”

Catherine twirled the keys to her Mustang around her finger. “Wanna take her for a spin?”

I chuckled. “I have something else in mind. Have you had dinner yet?”

She shook her head.

“Change clothes. Nothing nice. Meet me at the stables in half an hour.”

—

“Darn, I was hoping we’d be streaking from the stables to the pond to go skinny-dipping again,” Catherine teased as she let herself into the stables.

I thought back to the night I had found her out there, floating in the pond with those beautiful breasts peeking out of the water like something elusive and arcane. I thought about the way she wrapped her body around mine and clung to me, how fucking good that felt. Not just because she was naked, although that was definitely a plus. But because I had gotten to hold her.

I shouldn’t have been greedy for more, especially because we had spent the last few nights sharing the same bed, but I was.

Catherine always fell asleep on the far side of the mattress. Maybe she was trying to be a respectful bedmate. Maybe she was trying to redefine what was real and what was a business deal. Maybe she was just exhausted.