My Casey Read online

  “What are you getting at right now?”

  “There’s nothing to stop you from making the first move. I don’t like this all-new nonsense that says you’ve got to wait around. Rusty’s probably closing up his shop right about now, so why don’t you go and talk to him?”

  “It’s nearly eight o’clock.”

  “I know, and he’s a hard worker. Here, take him this.” Abby pulled out a lasagna. “Yum. He will love this.”

  Casey took the lasagna.

  “Did you know vegetarians can have lasagna as well?” Abby asked.

  “Yeah, Mom, I know. Seriously, you want me to take this?”

  “Yes, give it to him. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

  “What about Dad?”

  “Sweetie, I’m politely trying to get you out of the house for a reason.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “I’ll distract your father so long as you promise me to at least consider giving your guy a chance.”

  “I will. I will.” She grabbed her jacket and left her home. Her parents were crazy, but she loved them.

  She was just heading back to Rusty’s, to see him about a kiss. That had been some kiss. The moment Lionel had taken him away, she had sat down and hadn’t written, but she’d started to think about what she could write. A story had started to bloom in her mind, and it had been a relief because for the longest time, she’d truly thought she was a fuck-up.

  Complete with lasagna, she walked back to Rusty’s, expecting him to be closed, but much to her surprise, the gates were open and there was a light shining in the garage.

  Entering the building once again, she cleared her throat, and out came Rusty. He was underneath a car.

  “I didn’t think I’d see you until tomorrow.”

  “My mom sent me with lasagna.”

  “She knows about our kiss?”

  “Yes, and it would seem every single person knows about our kiss. It does suck a whole lot.”

  “Does it?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, you tell me?” She was rambling. Of course it didn’t suck. Why would a kiss between them suck?

  It was the most natural thing in the world.

  A kiss.

  He got up from the floor and wiped his hands on a cloth that looked far too dirty to do the job right.

  “You came back here to bring me lasagna?”

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “And my mom thinks I should come and ask you what that kiss meant.”

  “Would you believe me if I told you I don’t know?”

  “Yes.”

  “You would?”

  “I don’t know either. I don’t know anything anymore, and I’m a little confused.”

  “Tell me what you’re confused about, and I’ll try to figure it out.”

  “Okay,” she said, pushing some hair off her face. “First, we go on a date, and it is amazing. I’ve got no complaints about our date. I loved every second of it. Only, when our date ended, you decided not to kiss me. I come to work at your place, and then you kiss me and it was a kiss. The town now knows, and I’m confused.”

  “First, you’ve got nothing to be confused about,” he said. “I wanted to kiss you. I did. I’ve thought a lot about kissing you.”

  “I haven’t been back in town long, Rusty.”

  She watched him take a deep breath. “Let me put it to you another way. I’ve been wanting that kiss for a long time. Let’s go back to maybe high school.”

  “High school? You weren’t into me in high school.”

  “Yeah, I was.”

  “No, you weren’t.”

  He chuckled. “You want to argue about if I was into you or not, or accept that I’ve been wanting to kiss you ever since the first time I saw you fall on your ass and I was there to help you up.”

  Casey paused.

  “That was kindergarten,” she said. “I fell on the playground, and you were the only one to help me back up.”

  “I know, and since then I’ve been wanting to kiss you.”

  “I left town.”

  “Didn’t stop me from wanting you.”

  “You never came to get me.”

  “You didn’t know I had feelings for you. Again, I can’t change what happened.” He took another step toward her. “The only person who doesn’t know how I feel is you. You being back in town, I like.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. Not even saying you want me. I didn’t expect to tell you any of this. You want the truth, and that is all I’ve got to say.”

  “It’s a lot to take in.”

  “I can handle a lot. Can you?” he asked. “This doesn’t change anything.”

  “It should change a lot of somethings. You’re admitting to wanting me, and it’s kind of … a long-time thing.”

  He reached out, pushing a curl out of the way. “So?”

  “Ugh, this is too much.”

  “You know you have feelings for me as well,” he said.

  “I do?”

  “I know you responded to my kiss. I know you enjoyed it and wanted it.”

  “But it doesn’t change anything,” she said. “I may not stay in town. I’ve got no reason to stay in town.” She hated saying those words.

  This was all making her a little scared, a little fearful.

  He sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to make your life difficult here. You know I want you. The kiss, it meant something, and you can scream how it didn’t, but the truth is, we both know it did and nothing is going to change that.” He shrugged. “I’m not going to ask you to change or to be anything different. You’re scared, I get it. You don’t think I am?”

  “What do you have to be scared of?”

  “You’re rejecting me right now, Casey. Don’t you see that?”

  “I’m not rejecting you.”

  “You’re rejecting what we have right now because it scares you.”

  She let out a sigh.

  “It’s fine. I can handle you being scared. I can take this slow.” He leaned in close and brushed his lips across hers.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing right now,” she said.

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I … I want to stay with you.”

  “Then stay. Pull up a chair while I finish the day’s work.”

  “You don’t want me to leave?” She hadn’t exactly been nice to him. He’d been open with her, and she’d shut him down.

  She was the worst bitch in the world.

  “No, I don’t want you to leave,” he said.

  “Why are you working this late?” she asked, sliding down into the only available chair she could see.

  “With all the nosy bastards today, I have to play catch-up. I don’t like running behind schedule, and when I make promises to people, I keep them.” He looked toward her. “Just like I’m going to make a promise to you, Casey.”

  “You don’t have to make me any promises.”

  “I’m not giving up on this. I felt how responsive you were to the kiss. Deep down, I know you want this.”

  “You can’t make promises like that.”

  “I just did.” He smirked. “I won’t give up. You may be used to people giving up on you, but I’m not going to be one of them.”

  She was really glad she didn’t walk away.

  ****

  One week later

  “One smoking hot kiss and nothing else?” Buster asked.

  “We’re not talking about this.”

  “What did you do wrong?”

  “Nothing!” He stood up, glaring at his friend. He was fixing up a couple of the fair canopies. Tourists had been arriving for the past few days for the annual food festival the town liked to participate in.

  This was one of the main reasons he’d not seen Casey all week. She hadn’t been by to write, or set up in his office. He wasn’t going to be upset by her absence. Her mother had stopped
by to drop off more leftovers but also to let him know she was busy, and wasn’t brushing him off.

  He got it, he did.

  She was scared, and he saw it.

  But he also knew she was running once again from her writing. He was going to have to tie her to a chair or something in order for her to do as she was told.

  “You’re supposed to be helping out with all of this. Can’t you go and do something and make yourself useful?”

  “I am making myself useful. I’m resting so I don’t burn out. You know how busy I get during the summer. Also, Claire is looking for me, and well, I don’t want to be seen.”

  “You went on a date with Claire?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you said you wouldn’t do that again. You felt she was a little too needy.”

  “She is a little needy, but you know, she’s fun when she wants to be and I like being around fun.”

  “You like getting your dick wet, and Claire has a never-ending soft spot for you,” he said.

  “That is true. Let’s face it, I’ve got to do something for the two of us. Right now, you’re just an embarrassment with the way you’re acting around Casey. People are already talking about how fast your relationship has been.”

  “We’re not over,” Rusty said.

  “Sure, you’re not over. Of course. Just keep saying that.”

  “I don’t have to stand and listen to this.” He picked up his bag and made his way back to his truck.

  He normally liked the fair, but the thought of Casey avoiding him, it didn’t exactly sit well.

  Just as he got to his truck, he heard her name, and he stopped, watching as she stood on a pair of precariously balanced stepladders as she helped to pin up a really long sign.

  Her legs were shaking, and she wore a pair of denim shorts that seemed to showcase and mold to her generously curvy body.

  There went his cock again. He was aching for her, hungry, wanting another taste, but he didn’t approach her, not at first.

  The shirt she wore covered her butt, but he knew what it felt like in his hands, and he wanted her against him, underneath him, soon.

  Just as he was about to leave it alone, he knew she was going to fall from the ladder. He dropped his bag and rushed toward her, capturing her in his arms just as she was about to hit the ground.

  She’d let out a little gasp, and her eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

  He smiled as she slowly opened them.

  “Rusty,” she said.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  “You caught me.”

  “I wasn’t going to let the prettiest girl fall, now was I?”

  He watched her breathe a sigh of relief. “I guess I can always count on you to come and catch me.”

  “Always. I will always be here for you. Make no mistake.” He was very much aware of the townsfolk watching them. They were becoming a bit of an exhibition.

  “I think it’s only fair that we give them a real show,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “They came here to see something amazing, and well, I don’t want to let them down.”

  “I think a kiss is a bit drastic.”

  “Nah, it’s only just the beginning.” He pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers. She moaned but didn’t push him away.

  Sliding his tongue across her lips, he gave the kiss his all, not wanting to stop, just desperate to feel her against him.

  “You feel so fucking good,” he said, growling the words against her lips.

  “Now, now, you can paw at her after the fair,” Abby said. “We don’t want anyone to complain we’ve turned our family-friendly fair into a sex show.”

  There were a few chuckles.

  “Just tell them how long they’ve been circling each other and people would understand,” Buster said.

  Rusty broke the kiss, rather reluctantly, and glanced over to find his friend with his arm across another woman’s shoulders. He was rarely with the same woman twice as he had this fear that they would grow a little too attached to him.

  Personally, he didn’t see it, but then, he wasn’t the kind of guy to go around sleeping with random women.

  He’d always been pining for the one, and she had returned.

  “I think it is safe for you to let me up,” she said.

  “Yeah, you’re right.” He helped her to her feet, and there was a round of applause.

  “Thank you for saving me,” she said.

  “Always.”

  She nibbled her lip and looked a little unsure. “Would you like to hang out with me at the fair? I’m not helping at any of the stalls as that was all arranged before I got to town, so I’m a guest.”

  “I’d love to.” There was no doubt for him. “Care to join me as I put my case back in my truck?”

  She nodded.

  Still, the town was watching them, and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop them.

  When he held out his arm, Casey took it, and together they walked back to his truck.

  “I sometimes forget how much people like to watch and be part of your life,” she said. “They’re always caring.”

  “You don’t get this back in the city?”

  “No. You blend in with everyone. There is no room for more or less.” She shrugged. “I didn’t think I’d miss the caring elements, where you matter.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, I really think I do.” She put her head against his shoulder. “We need to talk.”

  “Ugh, the dreaded talk. This is about the kiss. Not the one I just gave you but the one back at the garage. The one that you’ve been avoiding me over?”

  “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

  “You haven’t come to write, or even hang out. This is the first time I’ve seen you all week.”

  “It wasn’t intentional. I had stuff I needed to do.”

  “Is this where you procrastinate to stop yourself from doing anything?”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I think I do. You’re afraid.”

  “Okay, let me get this right, you think I’m afraid?”

  “You’ve admitted you are. I think I should order you around.”

  She started to laugh, but he was more than serious. “You’re crazy.”

  “You need to write, and so I’m telling you now, that kiss, it meant something. You and me, we’ve been doing this dance a long time. I told you that, and I’m not backing down. You think you want to go back to the city, but since you’ve been here, I bet you’ve been happier than ever. I will help you, but you’ve got to learn to let me help you. You want to write, and I’m here for you. Always.”

  Casey sighed and stepped right up to him. “I have been writing, Rusty. Every single day, I’ve been writing. I’m not putting it off. I haven’t been by your shop because I have been busy. I wake up, and I start writing. I don’t want to stop the flow, to walk to the garage, because I may lose it. I’m not trying to avoid you. I have been busy, and I wanted to show you just how much I’ve written in the past week, all thanks to you.”

  “Oh,” he said.

  “I don’t run away from my problems. I think you’re right. We’ve got something here, even if we’re only two kisses in, but I want to explore it as well.” She put a hand to his chest. “If you’re willing to?”

  “I am.”

  “Good.” She pressed her lips to his. “I fancy something sweet and a teddy. Will you win me one?”

  His cock didn’t want to go back to the fair. He wanted to take her home and make up for lost time.

  He dumped his bag into the back of his truck, locked it, not that he needed to, but there were a bunch of tourists. Taking hold of her hand, he led her back to the fair, which in the short time they’d been away, was already in full swing. The tents were busy, laughter, and music filled the air, and it was like any other fair, only this time, his date was the woman he truly wanted.

  Chapter Six

  A couple of days la
ter, Casey held a wrench in her hands, or at least it looked like a wrench, as Rusty worked on her car. It was late, and she was tired. She’d been writing all day, but to prove to him she was working, she set up her laptop in his office. There hadn’t been a lunch break, as she ate as she worked.

  “Do you know what’s wrong with my baby?” she asked.

  “You need a new engine. When was the last time you had this serviced?”

  “Serviced?” She climbed off the counter and took a step toward the car as Rusty came out from underneath the car. “You have to do that?”

  “A car that is regularly serviced can find problems that stop your car from conking out on you. I take it from that look you’ve not had it serviced. Last time it had anything done to it was by my dad a couple of years ago.”

  She winced. Thinking about it, her father had told her to either get it booked into a shop, or to bring it back home.

  Now, she winced because she had done neither. It was always on one of her to-do lists, but not something she actually did.

  “It’s okay, well, it’s going to cost to fix it. I’ve got to order the engine. You’re looking at a couple of weeks, maybe longer, depending, as this is an old beauty.”

  “I don’t mind waiting.”

  “I didn’t think you would.” He wrote something down on his chart before closing the car. “I’ll move it to my storage at the back to keep it safe. When the parts arrive, it will take time.”

  “I’m sorry for all of this.”

  “You don’t need to be sorry.” He closed the door, shoving the keys into his pocket. “I like working on cars and what are supposed to be cars, even if they’re not serviced.”

  She groaned. “Don’t take that out on me.”

  It had been a couple of days since the fair, where he had won her a giant teddy bear, food, and a necklace. She wore the plastic pendant around her neck. It was tied together with rope, and she loved it. Yes, it was cheap, but he’d given it to her the moment he’d picked it out with some ducks.

  So for the past couple of days, she’d been waiting for him to ask her out on a date, or to make the next move. He hadn’t kissed her again, and well, she was spending a great deal of her time thinking about his lips on hers, and what it would feel like to have him kiss her again.