the memory of his hands full of her last night stampeded southward from his brain. “You know it. I had to send the kids fishing. I couldn’t keep an eye on them and her, too.” He said it only half in jest. Despite the mess and the work, the past couple of hours with Summer had been fun. Flirting. Teasing. The occasional “come-on” look that placed a repeat of last night’s kiss high on today’s agenda. If his woman radar wasn’t totally off-kilter, the little lady wanted a repeat performance, too. He’d be more than happy to oblige when the right time came.
“You ended up on the best end of that stick.” Buck gave Summer a wink before his manner became all business. He eyed what was left of Kenny’s camper with the tree still slicing through it. “Looks like y’all had a little trouble here last night.”
Rick’s gaze followed the sheriff’s. “That we did, but this is the worst of it. The rest was just downed limbs, most of which we’ve taken care of.”
“Nobody was hurt,” Summer added. “That’s the important thing.”
“You got that right.” Buck took a deep breath, and Rick noticed that he, like Kenny, had dark circles under his eyes. No doubt, the sheriff had had a long night, too. “We had twenty-two from Marshall County taken to the hospital. Some broken bones. A couple of concussions. This county’s huge...covers a wide area. But nobody died, thank the Lord.”
Summer’s face went serious again, but this time she wasn’t faking. “Our security guard would’ve been goners if Rick hadn’t woke him up.”
Buck gave a knowing nod and his hand clapped heavily on Rick’s back again. “Rick’s a true hero. Savin’ lives is what he does best.”
Rick flinched. Everybody but my best friend.
Buck meant it as a compliment, but his words stung just the same.
Summer tilted her head, regarding Rick closely, and it would be only a second before she started interrogating him about things he would rather not discuss right then...or ever. “Summer’s the lifesaver.” He shifted the focus away from himself. “She’s the one who realized Kenny wasn’t in the storm shelter with us.”
“Well, I’d say having the two of y’all around makes Kenny one lucky son of a bitch,” Buck concluded. “’Course, it could just be that Mr. Warren here has a nose for trouble. Seems like he manages to sniff it out no matter where he is.”
Summer snorted. “Well, it’ll have to smell worse than a skunk for Rick to catch a whiff of it,” she drawled.
Buck’s brows furrowed, and his glance bounced between them, demanding details until Rick finally threw up his hands in surrender.
Oh, his friend the sheriff was going to love this.
* * *
SUMMER HAD DRAGGED THIS STORY out as long as she could. Time to let Tara in on the best details... “And then he kissed me,” she sang in a whisper.
Tara let out a surprised shriek in response, then covered her mouth quickly. Easing the door of her bedroom open, she glanced around and quietly closed it all the way. “All still asleep. He kissed you? How was it?”
Summer’s stomach did a quick-step and she chuckled that a sixteen-hour-old memory could still bring on such a response. “Hmm.” She searched for the most appropriate term. “I’d rate it as the best first kiss since Adam and Eve.”
“Oh, wow! I want one like that.” Tara’s voice sounded dreamy. “And I also want a week like this has been for you.”
“This week wasn’t that great until last night,” Summer reminded her.
“Yeah, it was. You just haven’t been listening to yourself talk about it. There’s been fun and excitement...”
“And way too much drama.”
“But look what it’s all led to.” Tara’s eyes glistened with excitement. “Charlie went from wanting to fire you to praising how you handled the kids in a crisis situation. You went from gnashing your teeth about Rick Warren to licking your lips—”
Summer chuckled when she realized she’d licked her lips just as Tara said that.
“—and we still have three more weeks of this session, and then another whole month—”
“During which anything can happen,” Summer inserted.
Tara smiled and sighed. “Precisely.”
“You’re letting your imagination run away with you, Tara. It was just a kiss.”
Her friend gave a knowing laugh. “That’s how it always starts. With ‘just a kiss.’”
Summer noted the time. “And that’s how this conversation’s gotta end. My parents are due here any minute. I’d better finish straightening up my cabin.”