Lucky Break

“Hello, is anyone in here?”

“Oh my God.” Lauren took in his equally stunned expression.

She had no desire to get caught up here with her pants off in a small town that thrived on gossip. Gossip about the Perkins gossip. And she was the only Perkins around.

“Get up!” Panicked, she shoved at his shoulders.

They both scrambled to their feet and rushed to find their jeans.

Lauren dressed in record time, but like a man, he was faster.

“Hello? The light’s on so come on down and show yourself!” the female voice called.

Sharon.

Lauren narrowed her gaze. Face her friend or have a heart-to-heart with Jason. Neither choice appealed. Heart pounding in her chest, she wanted nothing more than to get away from them both. Once she gathered her thoughts and feelings, she could deal with what happened much better. She buttoned her black jeans and did the best she could to smooth wrinkles, pick off stray pieces of dirt on her clothes and look as if she hadn’t been having sex on the floor.

She had pride and she had more than a little bit of modesty and she didn’t want to embarrass herself.

She brushed her bangs and hoped her mask wasn’t sideways as she headed for the ladder.

“Wait!” He reached for her arm.

“Not now.”

He shot her an amused glance. “Later, then?”

She scowled at him before starting down the stairs from the loft. As she peeked across the cavernous barn, she saw Sharon standing by the door they’d entered.

Without risking another look in her friend’s direction, Lauren raced for the door at the opposite end of the barn, headed for fresh air and freedom.

She didn’t even pause at the sound of her name.

CHAPTER THREE

“LAUREN! COME BACK!”

Jason recognized the woman who’d interrupted his and Lauren’s reunion.

He climbed down from the loft and faced the mayor’s wife. “Hey, Sharon. What are you doing here?”

Of all people to catch him, Sharon wasn’t the worst choice. At least she wasn’t a nosy relative and she did know how to be discreet.

“Jason!” Her voice rose in surprise, her attention darting from him to the door Lauren had bolted through minutes before. “Richard asked me to pick up his jacket. He thought he left it here this afternoon.” She studied him without saying a word.

She obviously knew what he’d been doing in the loft. Did she expect him to apologize? She was one of the only people who knew about his past relationship with Lauren and she’d never judged. But she looked about to do so now, hands on her hips, frown on her face.

Sharon finally groaned. “Jason, what’s going on? Lauren’s only back in town for a few weeks, until she gets her grandmother’s house ready to sell. If you hurt her again, I swear to God, I’ll kill you myself.”

Women and their damn loyalty to each other, he thought, and then her words registered. “What do you mean hurt her? Her grandmother sent her away. End of story.”

And the tough guy he’d thought he was had hurt more than he’d wanted to admit. He’d thrown himself into his Olympic dreams with everything he had, so he wouldn’t have to think or feel.

Sharon waved her hands in front of her. “Oh, no. It’s not my story to tell,” she said.

A chill shook Jason to his core. “Fine.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’ll find out myself.” Because seeing Lauren again had given him a lift he hadn’t felt in a long time.

She had done that for him. Not even his family had been able to shake his depression and sense of loss over his career. If there was something more to her departure all those years ago, he wanted to know. He also wanted to see her again.

“Fine. I’ll grab the jacket and let’s get out of here.”

They walked back to the festival in silence. Sharon no doubt was consumed with concern for her friend, while Jason was consumed with thoughts of the same person, but for very different reasons.

Suddenly he heard their names being called and Derek and Gabrielle and Amber, his cousin Mike’s wife, descended.

“There you are!” Gabrielle said, pulling her husband along with her. “I’ve been looking for you!”

“And I told you he was perfectly fine,” Derek muttered. He sent Jason an apologetic glance. “Sorry. She forgets you’re a grown man.”

Gabrielle frowned, realizing she might have overstepped her bounds. “I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t gone home early to sit around and watch TV when you could still be with us having fun.”

“And we definitely didn’t want you to be all alone,” Amber said, backing up Gabrielle.

“He wasn’t alone,” Clara objected, joining the circle.

“What do you mean he wasn’t alone?” Amber and Gabrielle asked in unison.

Jason rolled his eyes. This was the way of things every time his family got together. Good-natured meddling. “How would you know I wasn’t alone?” he asked Clara.

“It was a hunch. But thank you for confirming it,” she said, smiling. “I’m glad to know my reading was correct.” She folded her arms across her chest, pleased with herself.

Jason groaned. “Why aren’t you in the booth I spent hours constructing?”

“Because I needed a break,” she explained. “I had a lineup for the last few hours.”

“Well, I’m happy for you,” he muttered.

“Who is she?” Gabrielle asked. “Who were you with?”

“What was the prediction?” Amber added.

Derek grabbed his wife’s arm and started to pull her away. “We’re leaving,” he promised Jason. “And Amber’s coming with us.”

“Not until we hear everything!” the women said in unison.

Jason gritted his teeth.

Beside him, Sharon remained silent. Of all the women, she was the most discreet.

“Sharon?” Gabrielle asked her best friend. “Did you happen to see?”

Jason sighed, resigned to his fate. “Go on,” he said to Sharon. “Tell them.”

Clara leaned in closer so she could hear, too.

“What? Your cards didn’t tell you her name?” He couldn’t help but tease her.

Sharon shrugged. “If you’re sure you want them to know.”

He nodded. They wouldn’t give him peace otherwise.

“He was with Lauren Perkins,” Sharon said.

Gabrielle and Amber stared, shocked.

“Shit, Jason. You do know how to pick them,” Derek said, one corner of his mouth lifting in an amused grin.

Jason speared his cousin with an annoyed glance. “I thought you were taking your wife and leaving.”

Clara stared at him in silence. Unaware of his and Lauren’s past, she was clearly processing the implications of a Corwin man hooking up with a Perkins woman. As far as Jason knew, that hadn’t happened since the eighteen hundreds and the affair had resulted in the infamous Corwin Curse that had haunted the men in his family for generations. He didn’t much give a damn, but knew there were some in his family who would.

“Ooh, wait until the uncles hear about this,” Amber said, ending her comment with a long whistle.

“I’d rather they didn’t,” Jason said pointedly. No sense putting them into an uproar the likes of which his family probably hadn’t seen since the curse was invoked.