Josh & Hannah (Redwood Falls 1)

They kissed for long, long minutes. They kissed until they were lying side by side on the sofa, his arm cushioning her head as he held her. His hand slid up and down the outside of her thigh, and then over her arm and shoulder, and then back again.

Over and over again, his hand made long swipes of her body, and only once coming close to her breasts that were aching for his touch. And when he did come close, he didn’t give Hannah what she wanted. He didn’t take her breast into the palm of his hand like she was dying for him to do. He lifted his mouth from hers and focused his attention on the top swell of her breasts where he ran his finger back and forth. As a warm, sweet ache built in the pit of her stomach, Josh’s eyes remained glued to her chest and to his finger touching her there. His eyes narrowed and his face took on a primal expression as his lips flattened. “There’s gonna be some bad, bad shit go down if somebody tries to touch these.” His territorial words slammed through Hannah in heated bliss, but he gave her no time to react. His lips fell back down and consumed hers again, and when she broke away to breathe, his mouth fell to her neck and he began kissing and licking and sucking with a strength that made her belly quiver.

They made out for close to an hour, and during that time, Hannah fell deeply under his spell. She learned every nuance of his kisses, learned how the stroke of his hand could be gentle, or so strong she thought he’d never let her go. If her foundation had always trembled before when she saw him, from this moment on, she knew her world would shake off the Richter scale when Josh was around.

Slowly, his kisses eased until his mouth closed and only his lips ran softly over her skin. Disappointment bled through her when she realized he was calling a halt and what they’d just experienced would now only be a memory. She closed her eyes and tried to imprint it on her brain as she lay quietly in his arms.

Josh kissed Hannah on the forehead, and pulled her head into his shoulder so they could rest together. Her eyes were already closed, but his were wide open as he stared blankly into the dark room. He’d just fucked up and fucked up badly. The kiss in the school parking lot had been one thing, but this? There was no excuse for it. Never before had he been desperate to just kiss a girl. He was always on the make and when he was with a girl, getting her pants off was his number one priority. But with Hannah, he’d just experienced a first.

He knew he couldn’t risk taking her clothes off. He knew he couldn’t touch her the way he wanted to. But he didn’t care; he’d had to kiss her. And if he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind before tonight … if his thoughts had turned to her time and time again after that first kiss in the school parking lot, then there was no question that he was damn fucked now. He wanted her with an ache in his gut that he knew couldn’t be appeased by someone else. There was no sense in even trying. It had to be Hannah. Only Hannah. And with turmoil settling in his stomach, he knew that he couldn’t have her. At least not yet.

He had so much crap he needed to do tomorrow, he needed at least a few hours of sleep. But damn if he’d let her go sleep in one of the bedrooms. This was probably the only night like this that they’d ever get to have.

And he wanted to hold her for as long as he could, so he tightened his arms around her, letting the soothing comfort of having her in his arms wash over him, and closed his eyes.

****

Around nine the next morning, Josh was leaving the feed store after picking up his paycheck. Things would be much simpler if Mr. Clack would get a clue and sign up for direct deposit, but Josh figured the old man would go to his grave before he did something like that.

He was deep in thought and frankly, nervous about meeting Hannah’s dad at ten. Josh hadn’t called ahead and wasn’t going to, but ten o’clock was the time he’d set in his own mind for the meeting to take place. He still didn’t know exactly what he was going to say. He and Hannah had spoken briefly about it only an hour ago. He’d left her on the couch this morning, after dropping a kiss on her forehead and asking her how she was getting home. She’d told him that her mom was coming for her later, so he wanted to warn her dad about Jesse before Hannah got home.

Deep in thought as he walked down the sidewalk, he barely noticed the two young teenaged boys skateboarding along the narrow pathway, until they almost plowed down an old woman coming from the grocery store, pushing a cart of groceries. Josh vaguely recognized her as the organist over at the Methodist Church. Or she had been, at least, when he was young and his aunt and uncle had tried dragging him to church with them a few times.

The two boys didn’t stop, they just kept going and within seconds were out of sight. Josh couldn’t remember the lady’s name, but he reached her side and steadied her and asked her if she was all right.

“I’m fine, but the scare cost me a few years, I tell you.” Her voice was rickety as she looked him over.

Josh absently smiled and went down on his haunches and picked up her purse and began gathering everything from the ground that had spilled out when it hit the sidewalk. Within minutes, he’d walked her to her car, and quickly loaded her groceries inside as she’d babbled on about this and that.

“Thank you, sweetie,” she said as he closed her trunk and handed her back the keys.

“No problem.”

“You’re the Turner boy, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Josh really hoped she wasn’t going to want to talk long, he needed to get out of here and over to the McIntyres.

“Diana raised you right, young man. But we miss seeing you in church. You should come, you know.”

Yeah, Josh understood what the older woman was saying. Diana had been the only mother he’d ever known and Josh knew that his aunt loved him as if he were her own. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll try.”

“All right, bye then.” She dismissed him with a distracted nod and a smile.

Josh dipped his head in a goodbye and walked to his pick-up and opened the door and began sliding inside. As he turned the key, he noticed the sheriff leaning against his patrol car watching him with a sharp eye, no doubt monitoring his every move, maybe even expecting him to try to steal something from the old lady’s purse.

His stomach sank. Goddamnit. Would he ever get out from under the dark cloud that being Chris Turner’s son had cast over him?

****

Josh knocked on the McIntyres’ front door at ten sharp and when it opened, he stared down at Hannah’s mother, more than a bit surprised. He’d seen her around, of course, but he’d never noticed how closely she resembled her daughter. The two were as identical as any mother and daughter could be, and he knew, without a doubt, that this was what Hannah would look like when she grew up.

They were both small and blonde, and at around forty, Hannah’s mother was still impossibly beautiful, and Josh realized that all the rumors were true; Jeff McIntyre had undoubtedly taken one look at the woman in front of him now and that was that. Josh knew from what Aunt Di had told him, that Jeff McIntyre had lost his first wife to cancer when Zachary was only six years old. He’d been alone for seven years or so, raising his son by himself, until Janet Smith had landed in Redwood Falls with no job, no money, and a six-month old daughter to support.

As the story went, within days, Jeff had the young woman living in his home and working as his housekeepe

r. Within weeks, he’d married her, and his family was complete, once again.

“Well, hi, honey. Can I help you with something?” Janet McIntyre’s voice was soft and pleasant, without a trace of animosity, even though Josh knew that she knew exactly who he was … and that her stepson’s wife was sleeping with his father.

He sucked in a breath, gritting his teeth in sheer determination. He had to do this, because Jesse Whitaker was a danger to Hannah. “Yes, ma’am. I need to speak to your husband.”

Her eyes became wide as she blinked up at him. “Are you sure, honey? There’s nothing that I can help you with?”

Good God, was she trying to protect him from her husband’s wrath? He hadn’t expected that. Maybe this was where Hannah had inherited her sweetness. “No, thank you, though. I really need to speak to Mr. McIntyre.”

She opened the door and ushered him inside. “Have a seat and I’ll tell him you’re here. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thanks.”

“Your name is Josh, isn’t it?”

Josh knew that Hannah’s mother had to know he was a Turner. He’d grown up a few fields over and the Turner look was stamped on his features. “Yes, ma’am.”

As she left the room, Josh remained standing and looked around. The room was huge, with vaulted ceilings and large pieces of furniture that looked sturdy enough for even the biggest of men.

Within minutes, Hannah’s mom walked back into the room and began ushering him inside a masculine office. Jeff McIntyre was waiting for him, and stood to his feet when Josh entered. Hannah’s mother led him inside and to the front of her husband’s desk. “Jeff, this is Josh Turner. Josh, this is my husband, Jeffrey McIntyre.” Her eyes left his and fell on her husband’s, as if in silent warning. “If y’all need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Her husband nodded at her, and she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Josh remained standing, as Hannah’s father looked him over. Josh swallowed hard, and put his hand out, and the other man took it and shook it. “Sir,” Josh said.