Josh & Hannah (Redwood Falls 1)

“I can’t believe I bought that much. I only have twenty, let me put something back—”

She stopped speaking and turned when a tanned, masculine hand laid down a five-dollar bill on top of her twenty and pushed the money toward the clerk.

She began speaking in a rush as she turned, “You don’t have to do that, I can put—”

Her voice died when saw Josh standing over her, his eyes glittering down into hers. “It’s no problem, Miss McIntyre.”

As Mr. Rigsby went about his business ignoring them and making change, Hannah’s skin flushed and her heart began beating so hard she thought it would come out of her chest.

Josh set down his Coke on the counter and as he paid for it, Hannah silently gathered her small bag of cosmetics and her Cosmopolitan magazine.

They turned toward the door at the same time, and moved out of hearing range of the store owner, who had picked up a box and taken it toward the back aisle of the store.

Hannah paused beside the door on trembling limbs and looked up into the face that she knew she’d never forget as long as she lived. He’d kissed her again last night! Just a few hours ago, he’d had his hands wrapped around her. Even more than that. They’d made out as if they couldn’t get enough of each other. “Thanks,” she managed to remember to thank him for the money.

“No problem,” Josh answered back, his eyes running up and down her body.

“I’ll pay you back,” she said softly.

His eyes swallowed hers whole for a few seconds before he responded. “You want to pay me back, princess?”

Hannah pushed down a lump in her throat. “Yes.”

Josh reached out a long, tanned index finger and lifted her chin. His fingers wrapped around her jaw and softly caressed her skin, while his eyes seemed to memorize the outline of her face, and Hannah’s heartbeat hammered erratically. And then steel seemed to stiffen his spine and his breath hissed out, “You’re only fifteen years old. You shouldn’t even be reading Cosmo. I don’t like it.” His fingers tightened in possession. “So if you want to pay me back, don’t try those damn magazine tricks on somebody else.”

Hannah shuddered as sweet sensation from his demand slid through her body and she agreed by nodding her head with predictable haste.

As he continued to look down at her, his eyes glittered. “I talked to your dad this morning.”

Hannah sucked in a breath. “And?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’ll take care of Jesse, but either way, you need to take care. You avoid him at all costs, understand?”

“Okay.”

His touch lingered on her skin as he turned his head to see exactly where the store owner was. Mr. Rigsby was still occupied, and Josh faced her once again. “I was right. Your dad would seriously come unglued if he even caught a hint that I’m interested in you.”

Hannah’s heart stopped beating for a moment before it went haywire at Josh’s description. She licked her dry lips as she looked up into Josh’s beautiful green eyes. “I know he’s protective but it’ll be okay in a few weeks when I turn sixteen.”

“I don’t think so, Hannah. I’m fairly sure he’s never going to forget that I’m my father’s son.”

“But, Josh—”

“You really need to understand … my father is … not a good person. And the whole county knows it.” His thumb caressed her chin as his eyes looked deep into hers as if debating what to say to her. His eyes became expressive, almost tortured. “You’ve figured out where I got these scars from, haven’t you?” he asked in a quiet, gentle voice, as if he was afraid to upset her.

Hannah studied the intensity in Josh’s eyes and realized what he was trying to tell her. Oh, dear God, his father had physically hurt him? No, she hadn’t known. Tears filled her eyes. “Josh—” She swayed on her feet and thought she might fall down in agony for what he’d been through. His hand shot down to steady her at her arm.

“It’s okay, Hannah. I’m okay now. But we need to wait awhile for … you and me. You’re too young and I’m … ” His words stalled as they both heard Mr. Rigsby come back to the front of the store. It must have been obvious to Josh that they couldn’t say anymore with any degree of privacy and he finished up quickly. “Stay sweet for me, okay?”

With tears in her eyes, Hannah nodded her head as Josh stroked her cheek one last time and then turned and walked from the store.

As Josh walked to his truck, he was struck again by his feelings for Hannah and the fact that he’d trusted her enough to tell her anything at all about his father. Trust was something he’d never learned; trust didn’t come easy. It was goddamn hard to trust anyone when he’d been used as a punching bag for the better part of his life by his own father. If there was one thing he’d learned from his father, it was that you were on your own in life. You didn’t trust easily, and you rolled with the punches to the best of your ability. But suddenly, he realized that he’d opened up just a bit and let Hannah see inside of him. He couldn’t imagine ever doing that with anyone else. Just with Hannah. Only with Hannah.

****

An hour later, Hannah shut the car door and began buckling her seatbelt and then looked up expectantly when her mother didn’t begin driving immediately. Instead, her mom was watching her with a gentle expression in her eyes. “Hi, baby.”

“Hey, Mom.” What now? First Josh treating her as if she would crack in half, and now her mother doing the same. Somehow, Hannah knew this had something to do with Josh’s visit to the ranch this morning.

“Did you have fun last night?” her mom asked.

“Yeah, it was cool.” Hannah infused her voice with fake enthusiasm. It had been great, but did she really want her mother asking her a million questions?

“Cool?”

“We won the game. Even though we didn’t get to be there, that’s still pretty cool.”

“Is that the only reason you had fun?”

Hannah frowned at the subtle interrogation. “I don’t know. Ava and I get along, we like to hang out.”

Janet McIntyre turned the radio completely off and then finally began driving, but she didn’t quit talking. “Josh Turner came by the house this morning.”

And there it was. What was Hannah supposed to say to that? She already knew he’d been there, of course, and didn’t want to act as if she didn’t. But she and Josh really should have compared notes this morning. She didn’t want to lie, but that didn’t mean she had to give out too much information. “He said he was going to.”

“Honey, do you like that boy?”

“He’s okay.”

“Okay? Is that all?”

Hannah signed in partial defeat. She knew her mom, and she knew she wasn’t likely to give up without pulling more information from Hannah. Her mother could be tenacious when she wanted something, especially if it had anything to do with Hannah. “He’s nice.” As a vision of Josh ran through Hannah’s mind, the truth spilled from her lips, “Actually, he’s freakin’ hot. But—”

“But what?”

“He’s a senior and I’m only a sophomore and even if I was interested in him, I’m sure he probably thinks I’m way too young or something.” Whew. That was pretty close to the truth, right? Actually, it was the truth.

Hannah glanced over at her mother who was both concentrating on her driving and looking deep in thought while she pondered Hannah’s answer. Hannah swiveled toward her mom, putting her back against the door. “What’s up?” Her mom obviously had something on her mind, something that had to do with Josh, and Hannah wanted to know what it was.

“I think there are a few things you need to know before … anymore time passes by. Josh was an intense child and he’s grown into an intense young man.”

“Yeah, I know that.” Okay. This was the second person in a matter of days warning her about Josh Turner. First his cousin Katie, and now her mother.

Hannah’s mom continued to drive for a couple more miles and when they were about halfway between town and the

ranch, she pulled into a small roadside rest area and turned the engine off. Facing Hannah, she sighed heavily as she studied her daughter. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, mom. What’s this all about? I don’t think it’s about Jesse Whitaker, is it?”

“No. But your father did let Jesse go this afternoon.” Her mother was saying little although it was obvious she had something heavy on her mind.

Hannah absorbed that information as she watched her mom carefully. “Please, just say whatever it is you want to say about Josh.”

“Josh spoke to your father alone, but after he left, your Dad told me that it was more than obvious the boy has some feelings for you. And we both believe he’s going to act on those feelings and pursue you.”

Hannah’s heart accelerated but she managed to keep her face expressionless. She wanted what her mother was saying to be true, with everything she had inside of her. “Y’all have to know that I’d start dating eventually. I’ll be sixteen soon.”

“That’s true. But it never occurred to us that it would be with someone like Josh. You know he’s had a hard life, don’t you?”

“Yeah, he told me a few things.”

“Did he tell you about his father?”

“Enough to know that he was abused when he was young.”