Sara Stone - Full Exposure

He wanted to draw her close, wrap his arms around her. Instead, he settled for leaning down and brushing a kiss over her lips, inhaling her sweet, freshly showered scent. And then he stepped back, knowing Nate would be down soon. Plus Eric had to get to work.

“Morning to you too.” She smiled at him. “You look fancy today. You’re probably the only logger in the county who owns a three-piece suit.”

“Another meeting with the Department of Forestry today,” he said. “I need to head out now. Can you take Nate to school?”

“Of course.” She held out a plate. “Do you have time for breakfast first?”

He shook his head. “Tell Nate I’m sorry and I’ll make it up to him this weekend. He’ll be in bed by the time I get home tonight. You OK to work late again?”

“Sure.” She moved to the table, setting the plate in front of Nate’s booster chair. “I’ll cancel my hot date.”

Eric froze, his briefcase in hand. The pond. The shower. The look in her eyes as she came beneath him on his bed. The images paraded through his mind. She’d been right there with him, open, trusting, and completely his.

“I’m kidding, Eric,” she said. “I don’t have plans. No hot dates. Go kick butt in your meetings today. Don’t worry about us. I’ll take care of Nate. We’ll be fine.”

He nodded. “Thank you. If you’re still up, maybe I’ll see you tonight.”

“You will,” she said. “Count on it.”

Eric headed for his car, trying to focus his thoughts on work. But Georgia’s words, the soapy smell of her skin, and the mental picture of her smiling up at him, stayed with him as he drove down the drive and turned onto the main road.

Last night, Georgia had shared pieces of herself that she’d kept buried for the past few months. Her trust was like a living, breathing thing, right there beside them as she’d looked at the book Liam had given him, and then back at him. It had followed them into the shower, and into the bedroom.

But was that enough? Would it keep her from walking away?

Eric parked his car in front of the Department of Forestry building, mentally leaving his uncertainty at its side. Right now, he needed to focus on the investigation threatening his company and his best friend, and have faith Georgia would be waiting for him at the end of the day.

ERIC HEARD THE knock on his office door and lifted his head, glancing out the window. The last time he’d looked up the sun had been dipping behind the mountains. Now it had vanished. He’d been going over crew logs and paperwork ever since he’d left the meeting with Caroline Smith, the DOF director leading the investigation. If she’d been interested in a dinner date at some point, she wasn’t today. She’d been 100 percent professional. Not that Eric had offered. He was following the straight and narrow when it came to their investigation. He wanted to find out what happened as much as they did. It was his land and his responsibility.

“Come in,” he called.

Liam walked into the room, still dressed in his work clothes after pulling a long day in the field. Eric had assigned him to a BLM land harvest, but that was government property. Caroline Smith had pretty much told him to sideline Liam, especially when it came to Bureau of Land Management projects, until he was cleared of wrongdoing. She’d said if, but Eric wanted to believe it was a when.

“I got your message. What’s up?” Liam said, pausing in the doorway.

Liam never seemed comfortable in the office. And Eric could relate. It was hard to transition from working outside to a clean, refined office space. When Eric came in from a job, he often felt out of place in his boots and work clothes.

“Want a water or a beer?” Eric asked, pushing back from his desk.

“Water’s fine.”

Eric went to the minifridge he kept in the corner of his office and pulled out two plastic bottles. Handing one to Liam, he sat in one of the two leather chairs on the other side of his desk. Liam took the other.

“I heard the DOF was rough on you yesterday,” Liam said.

Eric nodded. “I met with Caroline again this morning. They received an anonymous tip that our crew was running the equipment and felling trees past one in the afternoon on the day the fire started. It was called in yesterday afternoon.”

“Shit.” Liam shook his head. “We weren’t. You know that. I was pushing the crew to get as far as we could so we could focus on loading the trucks. I had the guys from B&B Trucking waiting. We started loading by twelve forty-five that day.”

Eric nodded.

“It had to be the lightning that passed through the night before,” Liam said, leaning forward, resting his forearms on his thighs.

“It didn’t rain in the section you were cutting?”

“No.” Liam’s grip tightened on his water bottle.

“You walked the perimeter of the work site that morning, checking for signs of smoke before you fired up the equipment?” Eric asked. Caroline had poised a similar question that morning. If lightning started the fire, how did they not see the smoke?

“You know we did.”

Eric sighed. “I wasn’t there.”

“Yes, damn it! I sent two guys out to check for signs of fire. They came back and we fired up the chainsaws and got to work.” Liam’s eyes narrowed, his expression fierce. “Do they have a point of origin yet?”

“Not yet. The DOF is working on it. They plan to share their findings in the next few days.” Eric drew a deep breath. “Until then, I need to pull you off the BLM harvest. Craig can take over.”

“What the fuck, man?” Liam leapt out of his chair, running one hand through his hair. “You don’t believe me? I was born and raised here too. I remember what it feels like to walk away from everything you own not knowing if it will be there when you come back. I was ten the last time, but that’s not something you forget.”

“No, it’s not.” Eric understood the heartache that went hand in hand with fire. His mother often waited until the last minute before evacuating. He’d been terrified they wouldn’t get out in time. His father, who understood the threat a forest fire posed, demanded full custody of him and his sister after the last time. His mother had agreed without a fight, quickly moving in with her latest boyfriend. Of course, it hadn’t lasted long. His dad had passed them back as soon as he met someone new.

“Knowing I’m the reason another kid has to wonder if he’ll lose everything, that is my worst nightmare,” Liam said. “I’d do everything I can to prevent that from happening.”

Eric hesitated. He believed Liam. But he had to remain objective. If it were any other employee, Eric would have sidelined him immediately pending the investigation.

Liam stopped in the center of the room. “I’ve been your best friend since first grade. I have always been one hundred percent honest with you.”

Eric closed his eyes, the guilt like a lead weight in his stomach. “I know. And as your friend, I believe you. But the DOF doesn’t want you working on government land until we’ve cleared this up.”

Liam looked him straight in the eye. “I can’t believe this!”

“I’m sorry,” Eric said. “There’s nothing I can do. We need to play ball with them until we know what happened.”

Liam raised his hand, pointing his index finger at Eric. “Keep Georgia out of this. She doesn’t need to worry about me and this shit. Not right now.”

Eric nodded. “I won’t say a word. But if I were you, I wouldn’t be afraid of her finding out. She’s stronger than you think.”

“You can’t tell her, Eric,” Liam ground out. Eric knew his friend was barely keeping a leash on his anger. “Not about this. I want your word.”

“You have it.”

Liam stormed out, slamming the door to Eric’s office. Running his hand over his face, Eric stood and returned to the other side of his desk. He wanted this mess behind them. Of course, it would disappear only if the investigators came back and absolved Moore Timber of wrongdoing. Even then, putting things right with Liam would take time. And after he told his best friend about his relationship with Georgia? It might take damn near forever.

Georgia. She was opening up to him. Now he had to keep this from her. But he had a feeling she’d understand. Her faith in him felt solid. It was something he could count on. But was it enough? Was she falling for him because her heart wouldn’t have it any other way? That was why he was close to putting his friendship with Liam on the line. He couldn’t walk away from what he felt for Georgia. She was his.

He’d always cared for her. But now it felt as if he were tumbling headfirst over a cliff. He’d made the first leap, but caught himself on a branch. If he let go, if he allowed himself to free-fall into this relationship, he needed to be sure she was right there with him, committed to today, tomorrow, and the day after that.

But he wondered if the woman who’d been running scared from her feelings up until last night could handle words like long-term and serious, or if they’d sound like a foreign language. Sharing her memories didn’t change the fact that they’d happened. And it didn’t make them go away.

Eric shut down his computer, and with it his concerns. It was close to eleven. If he left now, Georgia might still be awake. She’d said she’d wait up, but he hadn’t anticipated working this late.

He locked up the office and headed for his car. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the garage, cut the engine, and climbed out of his vehicle. Briefcase in one hand, he opened the back door.

“Nooo!”