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Carly grabbed Regan’s hands and pulled her into a crushing hug. “Just promise me one thing. Be careful. Wyatt Blackwell is lethal. He’s freaking sex on two legs. Got it?”
“Yes. I got it.”
“The key to sex with no strings is that you have to make sure the damn strings stay unattached. The moment you get an inkling that feelings are involved, you bail. Promise me.”
“You’re being silly, Carly.”
Her friend didn’t look silly. She looked serious as hell. “Promise me.”
“Carly. It’s Wyatt Blackwell. There will be no strings.”
Her friend arched a questioning eyebrow, which Regan ignored. Hell, at this point, she wasn’t even sure if there would be sex. And if there was? Definitely no strings.
Chapter 9
A knock at the door caught Wyatt off guard. He checked his watch and frowned. It was nearly five thirty, and he had to get his ass in gear if he was to be in Crystal Lake by six. He grabbed his leather jacket from the chair where he’d tossed it days earlier, and strode from his room, making it to the front door in seconds. When he flung it open, he was surprised to find Darlene standing there.
A pretty woman, she wore a spring-green coat with a matching wool hat. Her simple boots were fur lined, and a soft smile graced her face. If not for the silver hair that hung around her shoulders in waves, she could easily get away shaving ten years off her age.
“Wyatt! I took a chance that you’d be here.” Her gaze traveled the length of him, from the top of his head to the bottom of his black leather boots. “Are you going out?”
“I am, but I’ve got a few minutes to spare for one of my favorite ladies. Come inside.” He enveloped Darlene in an affectionate hug. “Did you want something? Coffee or…”
She was shaking her head. And though she took off her hat, she didn’t bother with her boots or coat. “I won’t stay long.”
“That sounds ominous.” Wyatt kept his tone light, but inside, everything was tightening up. This had something to do with his father. It always had something to do with John.
“Well, I suppose I should get right to the point.” Darlene gave him a look he was all too familiar with. She was a tiny thing—barely over five feet—and yet she managed to make Wyatt feel like he was ten again.
“You need to come home, Wyatt.”
Shit. No holding back for this little lady. She was going for the jugular.
“Darlene—”
She put up her hand. “Sweetie, I don’t mean to come and live with us. I know you’re well beyond that scope. But you do need
to see your father. You’ve been back in Crystal Lake for over two weeks and not once have you been by the house. Even Hudson is running out of excuses that John will listen to. Enough is enough, don’t you think?”
Wyatt glanced away and took a moment. How in hell did he make Darlene understand the complicated relationship he had with John when he didn’t even understand it fully? Sometimes there were no words.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Oh but it is.” Darlene took a step closer. Her chin was lifted to that imperious angle she’d used many times when the boys were young. “It is that simple. He’s your father, Wyatt. That has to count for something.” She sighed, a painful sort of sound that tugged on his heartstrings. “I know things got…difficult for you boys after your mother passed. And I think, for you in particular, it was an especially hard road. But he’s getting old, Wyatt. We almost lost him in the fall. You need to make peace with your father before something happens and you don’t get the chance. Life is too short to carry around the kind of pain and anger that lives inside you. Let it go.”
“Darlene.” He tried to interject, but she wasn’t having it. The woman was stubborn, always had been.
“No. Let me finish.” She stepped toward him. “I see how you keep all your emotions bottled inside. It’s not healthy. You keep everyone at arm’s length. You take chances when you shouldn’t and think you need to deal with life on your own. One day it’s going to be too much for you to handle.” She pressed her hands against his chest, and he wondered if she felt how fast his heart was beating. “All that stuff inside you, it will explode, and I’m so afraid for you.”
“Darlene.” His voice was thick, and he had to work to clear the knot in his throat. “I’m fine.”
“Look, I didn’t come here to start something. I don’t want to upset you.” Her voice was soft and cajoling. “But it’s your father’s birthday on Saturday. His seventieth. And we’re having a get-together. Nothing big, just friends and family. It would mean the world to him if you could come.”
Right. He’d forgotten about the birthday. “Darlene, I…”
“Please come.”
She spoke quietly, and he knew he was done. How could he say no to her? The woman had come into his life when he’d needed someone the most. Within weeks of his mother’s death, she was there, in the midst of the chaos that had been their home. In a storm that had become the norm for the Blackwell boys, she’d been the one to tame it.
