“Where are we going?” she asked him.
“You’ll see.” He tugged on her hand and led her toward the bleachers that were also filled with people.
“So far I’m not impressed with the privacy level,” she teased.
They rounded the stands, walking behind and then underneath the bleachers where only the echo of footsteps against the metal slats above reminded her they weren’t alone. He’d found them a modicum of privacy amid the crowds. “Okay, now I’m impressed.”
“Hey, I told you I wanted a secluded place where we could be alone.” Warmth resonated in his voice and in the trembling heat of his body as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
The relief of finally being in his arms along with the possibility of being caught making out like two teenagers upped her level of excitement and awareness. Her heart fluttered rapidly in her chest and white-hot darts of fire sizzled in her veins. It was always this way with Rick. Whether she was thinking about him or actually with him, the heat was all-consuming.
“Well, you found the perfect place for us.” She nuzzled her nose into the warm spot in his neck, between his shoulder and his ear, eliciting a distinct groan of pleasure in response. “I don’t know how we’re going to see the slide show and at this moment I don’t care. But we’re alone like you promised.”
“I’ll always keep my word, Kendall.”
“Then you’re going to have to find someplace else to hang out,” a familiar male voice called out. “Because we were here first.”
“Roman?” Rick asked.
“Who else?”
“Shit,” Rick muttered.
Kendall wasn’t able to stifle a laugh. “So much for originality.”
“Like I said, we were here first.”
Rick snorted in disgust. “And you think that gives you squatter’s rights?”
“Is this what they call sibling rivalry?” Kendall wouldn’t know considering she hadn’t grown up with a brother or sister in residence long enough to experience the phenomenon firsthand. But despite the unwanted interruption, she was enjoying the heated yet humorous exchange between the brothers.
“It’s what they call males marking their territory,” Charlotte explained, laughing along with Kendall. “Besides, neither Roman nor Rick can claim this spot. According to town lore, it was Chase who put the Chandler mark here first.”
“Ooh, do tell.” Kendall couldn’t imagine serious-minded Chase getting into trouble. However, even if Kendall preferred Rick’s more outgoing personality, she could see many girls falling for Chase’s strong, silent demeanor.
“Well, I heard that back when Chase was in school here, he got caught with a girl beneath the bleachers. They were cutting class and he was suspended,” Charlotte said.
Kendall let out a whooping laugh. “You’re kidding.” Rick shook his head. “It’s the last kidlike story we really know about Chase before he took over as head of the family.”
“Before he became the straitlaced, stern-faced brother we know and love,” Roman added.
“I wonder what it takes to tame that Chandler man,” Charlotte mused.
Roman let out a low growl. “I’m the only Chandler you’re going to be taming. Now hit the road, Rick. No offense, Kendall.”
“None taken.” She laughed. How could she not? She liked how possessive Roman sounded when thinking about Charlotte. And she appreciated that Charlotte had tamed her wanderer, and now trusted him not to betray her as she’d feared her father had done with her mother. All of which made Kendall wonder what it would take for her to make that ultimate leap of faith in any person.
In any man.
In Rick.
She was so close, she knew. Close to believing she too could have the happily ever after and stability that she’d always viewed from the outside looking in.
But lingering questions remained. Like what would she do with that all-encompassing fear of abandonment and betrayal? Where would she put the memories of being left and how could she overcome the years she’d spent teaching herself that being alone and moving from place to place was safer for her heart?
“Let’s go,” Rick muttered, breaking into her thoughts. He grabbed her hand and started for the field. “You owe me big time, little brother.” He was clearly not happy with being displaced by Roman.
Ten minutes later, they’d retrieved a blanket from the car and had joined the masses on the field. Despite the fact that they were surrounded by people, Kendall cuddled on a blanket with Rick. Music played from speakers around them and she couldn’t be more content. The show finally started with slides of Yorkshire Falls dating back to its founding.
Rick had been right. Though many of the pictures and some of the narrative were interesting, it made for more intimate moments under the stars than a movie that held anyone’s interest. Still, Kendall could see why it had become a town tradition and she was glad to know she’d been a part of it.
Rick pulled her closer, his arms wrapped around her waist and his face buried in her hair. “Did you mean what you said earlier?” he asked.
She could pretend to not know what he meant but that wouldn’t be fair, not now that she knew his past and understood his latent fears. Turning so she could see his face, she met his serious gaze. “You mean about staying here?”
He nodded, saying nothing. But the way he looked at her—so full of longing and desire—sent shivers running through her. He waited for her to respond, like Rick, so full of patience and understanding.
And while he waited, his strong hands moved upward, brushing through her hair, tugging at her scalp, and creating both an erotic sensation and a sense of bonding and trust that slashed through her fears and reservations.
That made her want to trust for the first time. “Rick, I . . .”
He placed a finger over her lips. “Before you answer, there’s something I want you to know.”
He didn’t need to say anything. Everything she needed to see and hear was written on his expressive face. But he obviously needed to talk. “What is it?”
He cupped his palms against her cheeks. “I love you, Kendall.”
Her heart nearly stopped beating. Just as she’d reached a tentative agreement within herself, he offered her the ultimate, permanent expression of faith and commitment. One she wasn’t sure she knew how to return considering she’d never been shown how.
But she wanted to. He was a special man who deserved so much from life and he’d been denied it all for too long. He loved her. “Rick, I . . .”
Loud gasps all around cut off anything she’d been about to say. Kendall turned to see what the cause of the commotion could possibly be and jerked around toward the large screen that seconds earlier had held black and white, then sepia-toned pictures of the town. But instead of muted, boring photos, there was a huge, blown-up photograph Kendall recognized well.
She should considering she’d posed for it. Back when she’d needed money to get her aunt into the optimal nursing home and before Brian had come up with classier shoots, Kendall had posed for a lingerie catalogue in a variety of outfits. Some had included leather. In this one she held fur-lined handcuffs and a silk scarf. And though she’d never choose to wear or use the products she’d modeled, at the time, none of the photos had embarrassed or shamed her. Until now.