Megan stood in the open doorway to the garage, motioning him to follow her. She skirted around the two cars and out a side door, Josh close on her heels. A dark blue Ford Explorer was parked on the gravel next to the house.
“This was your car? Why didn’t I notice it before?” Josh asked.
“It was a hand-me-down from my dad. When you’re sixteen, you’ll take whatever you can get.” She pointed to a tarp next to the house, shooting him a grin. “Mom won’t let it in the garage, and Dad can’t stand the thought of leaving it to the elements. He keeps it covered.” She opened the driver’s door. “Get in.”
He climbed into the passenger seat, setting his damp wallet on the console. “How are you going to get out? There are cars parked in the driveway.”
She grinned, the Cheshire cat grin that told him she was up to no good. “Desperate times, Josh. Desperate times.” Shoving the car into reverse, she put her hand on the back of his seat and looked over her shoulder. “Knickers is going to have a fit over her lawn.” She backed up, driving through the grass, then angled the Explorer over the bottom half of the driveway and into the street.
Josh shook his head. “Good job.” He laughed as he looked back at the yard. “And you’re right. Your mother is going to have a fit over those tire ruts as soon as she finishes having a fit about the backyard.”
“All the more reason to never come back.” She rolled her window down and turned up the radio, driving through town and out into the farmland surrounding Blue Springs. Her hair blew around her face, and she looked almost as peaceful as she did when sleeping.
“Do you have a destination in mind?”
She leaned her head toward him, grinning. “Yes, and you’ll love it.”
He leaned back in his seat, watching her. “I trust you.”
Her face turned serious. “Thank you.”
She made several turns, and then she was on a back road, driving by a small lake. He almost asked her where they were going, but he’d told her he trusted her. He could ask her about it after they got there.
She drove for several more minutes, then turned down a gravel road and parked. “This is it.”
He opened the door and realized they were at an empty campsite. The crickets and cicadas filled the night with their loud calls, and while it wasn’t too hot, the temperature felt several degrees cooler here.
She got out and went to the back of the car, lifting the hatch. “My dad used to take Kevin and me camping here when we were kids. Knickers didn’t go, of course.”
“Are we camping?” he asked, in surprise.
“I don’t know yet,” she answered, handing him a small cooler, then grabbing a stack of blankets. “Let’s decide that as we go.”
For once, Josh was happy to not have a plan.
Chapter Sixteen
Megan had driven here out of instinct. This was where she used to come when things got to be too much with her mother back in high school, which had happened a lot. While she hadn’t been here in years, it still felt familiar and safe. It felt even more right that Josh was here with her, which was surprising. She’d never taken anyone to her special spot before.
“Let’s go down this path.” She turned on the mini-flashlight attached to the car key.
“That’s handy,” Josh said.
“My dad. He was a bit overprotective when I was in high school.”
“Smart dad. He’s not going to come hunt us down like a couple of kids gone parking, is he?”
She laughed quietly. “No. He has no idea I used to come here on my own. We’re safe. Besides, I think he has his hands full.” She followed the dirt path, turning left onto another less used path, which ended in a small clearing. “This is it.”
He gasped from behind her and set the cooler down on the grass. “This is amazing.”
“Thanks.” She beamed with pride. They stood on top of a small bluff overlooking the lake. A wooded shoreline was on the opposite side of the small lake, with no visible electric lights. But the real showstopper was the view of the sky. With few lights around the lake, the stars shone brighter than she usually saw them.
She handed him a blanket and two pillows. “Hold this for a minute,” she said as she spread out a sleeping bag and then a sheet.
“You came prepared,” he murmured, his husky voice sending a shiver down her spine.
“I used to like to lie out here and look at the stars.” She grabbed the pillows from him and tossed them onto the makeshift bed.
She knew how it looked, like she had purposely brought him out here to seduce him. And maybe that was partially true. What would he think of that? For once, she didn’t care.
“I like stars.”
She sat in the middle of the bedding and patted the spot next to her. “Bring the cooler with you.”
He picked it up and watched her with a wary face before sitting next to her and setting the cooler at the edge of the sleeping bag. “What’s in here?”
“Open it and see.”
Josh opened the lid and laughed. “I already had three of these before the disaster from hell. I’m not sure if I should have another.”
“Suit yourself.” She leaned forward, resting her stomach across his thigh, and pulled a bottle out. She sat up and re-crossed her legs. The skirt of her dress had hitched up her thighs, and Josh’s gaze followed the hem. She almost rearranged the fabric, and then decided the hell with it. She was tired of playing it safe. She wanted to live a little.
Holding the bottle toward him, she asked, “Will you open this for me?”
He stared at the bottle as though undecided, then took it from her and twisted off the cap.
“You like beer?” he asked, sounding uncomfortable.
“Love it. Blair and Libby are more wine drinkers, but give me an IPA from Black Raven Brewery in Seattle any day of the week.”
He grinned. “You’re kidding.”
“That I like beer?” she asked in surprise as she took the bottle from him.
“No. That you like Black Raven Brewery. It’s one of my favorite places.”
She took a sip and leaned back on her elbows, her head above the pillow. “Who knows? We may have been there at the same time and never realized it.”
His gaze had returned to her legs before reaching into the cooler for a bottle, twisting off the cap and taking a long drink.
“You grew up in Seattle?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Never thought about moving away?”
“No. My father’s business is there.”
She took another drink, scrutinizing him as she asked her next question. “Your father’s entrepreneurial business?”
His shoulders tightened, and he took another drink. For a man who’d declined a beer, he was downing it pretty fast.
“Are you and Noah close?”
His gaze rose to her face, and he seemed to hesitate before saying, “Not particularly.”
“But he came out here to find you anyway.”
He seemed to think over his response. “He was worried.”
“About you or something else?”
He looked startled, and she laughed before taking another drink. She closed her eyes and let the cool liquid run down her throat. She hadn’t had a drink all evening, not wanting to lose more control over the situation than she already had. And with her stomach a ball of nerves, she’d hardly eaten either, so the beer was quickly going to her head. While part of her was screaming for her to remain on guard, the rest of her said screw it. She knew that Josh had some ulterior motive for helping her. But she knew he liked her, too, and in this moment, it was all that mattered.