Radclyffe - Homestead

Piles of twisted metal and thick beams smoldered all over the camp, dark smoke roiling in the air. Clay was covered in soot and sweat. When she climbed down from the tractor, her legs trembled, and she had to lean against the big machine to keep her balance. Around her, the men congregated in small weary groups, their faces all alike—dirt covered, sweat streaked, exhausted, and triumphant. She went from group to group, thanking them, checking that none of the crew had significant injuries, instructing them to check in with the crew foreman to facilitate a head count.

Tess stood a little ways away, waiting for her. She looked as bedraggled and weary as any of the men, but she was smiling, the smile Clay had thought she’d never see again and knew now she could never do without. When she reached Tess, she wrapped her arms around Tess’s waist and rested her head on her shoulder. Somehow Tess still managed to smell sweet. “I’m going to have to be more careful about what I say in the future.”

Tess welcomed Clay’s weight against her, liking that she could hold her up, that Clay would lean on her when she needed to. She stroked Clay’s sweaty hair. “What do you mean, baby?”

“I didn’t expect you to take me literally—about following my lead.”

“I would’ve done it anyhow—I’ve been driving a tractor and moving earth since I was seven.” Tess kissed Clay’s temple. “But it was nice knowing you approved.”

Tess laughed softly when Clay grumbled. She was discovering she enjoyed teasing her. All she wanted was to drag Clay away where they could finally be alone, but they weren’t done here yet. “We’ve got to find Kelly. Ella was missing last night. I’m worried.”

Sighing, Clay straightened and slid her arm around Tess’s waist. “Let’s go to the trailer. That’s where they’ll be.”

They trudged through ankle-deep mud, and Tess turned her face up to the sky, letting the cool clean rain wash away some of the grime on her hair and skin. “I want to stand in the shower for an hour when we get home.”

“Does that mean I’m invited to shower with you this time?”

“You might want to let me get the first coat or two of grunge off first,” Tess said, “but yes. You’re invited. Although I have to warn you, my body feels like I’ve been carrying the damn tractor on my back for a week.”

“Yeah,” Clay muttered, “me too.” She laughed. “But I think a shower with you might just make me forget about being tired.”

“I just might let you make me forget about it too.” Tess loved that Clay wanted her—the desire in Clay’s eyes stirred her in ways that made every problem seem solvable. Clay’s desire filled her with strength. “I want you again.”

Clay’s arm on her waist tightened. “I can’t think of much else.”

“I hear voices,” Tess said as they reached the trailer where the door still hung askew. Relief kicked through her. “I think they’re here.”

Clay grabbed her hand. “Let’s find out.”

Tess hurried inside after Clay and abruptly halted. Ella and Kelly stood side by side in front of Clay’s desk in nearly identical postures—legs spread, arms crossed, hard impassive expressions—both staring at the man sitting opposite them on the only chair.

“Jimmy?” Tess said. “What are you doing here?”

Ella glanced at Tess and Clay. “It seems our friend Jimmy here was trying to drive his ATV out through the woods and managed to flip it over. Which is why he didn’t get away after he opened the gas lines and conveniently dropped a match. Isn’t that right, Jimmy.”

Jimmy looked at Tess as if waiting for her to answer. She didn’t want to believe Jimmy was behind the arson, but he had no business being at the camp. “Jimmy? What’s going on?”

“I know you don’t want them anywhere near your land. I was just trying to get them to move.”

“Oh, Jimmy.” Tess glanced at Ella. “I think we’re going to need to get the authorities involved before we talk to Jimmy any further.”

Ella nodded. “We haven’t been able to raise them yet, but Kelly and I will be happy to babysit him until we can get someone out here to take him into custody.”

Jimmy’s eyes grew huge and his head swiveled from Tess to Ella and back again. “What do you mean, custody?”

“We’ll need to talk to the sheriff, Jimmy,” Tess said. “Until then, you need to stay here. This is serious—do you understand?”

For a minute, he looked as if he might try to bolt, but his gaze flickered to Ella and Kelly, and he slumped back, his hands between his knees, his eyes on the floor. “Doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere. I got it.”

“Tell the sheriff to call me when you get a hold of him,” Clay said to Ella. “Are you both all right?”

“I could use breakfast and a shower.” Ella grimaced and indicated her mud-caked boots and soiled clothes. “Chasing Jimmy in the storm was ugly, but otherwise I’m good. You?”

“We’re fine.” Clay ran her hand down Tess’s back. “I want to get Tess home, but I’ll come back and relieve you as soon as I’ve had a shower.”

“We’re good here,” Ella said, “and you’ve both been working all night. Get some sleep first.”

“Thanks. Call me if anything else develops.”

“Will do.” Ella raised a brow at Tess. “Get her out of here, would you? And keep her away for a while?”

Laughing, Tess grabbed Clay’s arm and pulled her toward the door. “I’ll try.”

As they slogged toward the truck, Tess said, “I can’t believe Jimmy did this. I’m so sorry, Clay.”

“It’s not your fault, Tess. You didn’t ask him to do it.”

“But he did it because he thought that’s what I would’ve wanted.”

Clay stopped by the front of the truck, pulled Tess into her arms, and kissed her. “It wasn’t, and I know that.”

Tess pressed her palms against Clay’s chest and kissed her back. Clay felt so good against her, under her hands, under her lips. “People need to understand what you’re doing here, and what it means for them. I’m finally getting it and I know you can explain it to all of us. Give us the good and the bad, and we’ll be able to handle it.”

“I will. I promise.” Clay ran her fingers through Tess’s hair and kissed her, deep and slow. She didn’t care about the rain, or the acrid smell of smoke in the air, or the weary trembling of her muscles. The taste of Tess, the softness of her skin and the warmth of her body drove every other thought and sensation from her being. Tess was all she knew and all she wanted to know.

After a minute, Tess looped her arms around Clay’s waist and leaned back. “Are you paying any attention at all to what I’m saying?”

Clay kissed her throat, nibbled along the angle of her jaw. “I am, I’m paying total attention to everything that matters. You.”

Heart pounding, Tess gripped Clay’s shirt harder, wanting to have her naked, above her, inside her. Right that instant. “We have to go. I need you.”

Clay shuddered. “I need you too. More than I can say.”

“Then all you have to do is take me home, and take me.”

Clay took Tess’s hand as they walked from the truck to Tess’s front porch, unable to remember a time when she’d been as happy. The sunrise blossomed over the treetops to the east, splashing the same blazing reds and oranges across the morning sky as the fire had painted the night’s. The rain had fled at dawn, and only a faint mist shrouded the tall stalks of corn in the fields. The creek running adjacent to Tess’s house was swollen nearly to the tops of its banks, rushing to drench the bordering pastures, finally bestowing the crops with the nourishment the farmers had been awaiting so long.

“Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day,” Clay said, sliding her arm around Tess’s waist.

“Mmm,” Tess murmured, slowing to lean her head against Clay’s shoulder. “It already is.”

Clay kissed the corner of her mouth. “You look beautiful. I like seeing you at sunrise.”

Tess blushed and kissed Clay’s throat. “Do you remember our first?”

Clay chuckled. “You mean the morning when I couldn’t get the outboard’s engine started, and we were stuck on the island until a fisherman came by and gave us a tow?”

“Yes,” Tess said, laughing too. “I was so worried I was going to lose my job when I didn’t get back to the lodge until nine, but Leslie had covered for me.”

“She never did find out you were with me, did she?”

“No,” Tess said. “I told her I went out boating and got stuck for a ride back, which was technically true.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure why I didn’t tell her about you, but I always had the sense we were a secret.”

“That was my fault.” Clay sighed. “I should have told you who I was right away and maybe none of this would’ve happened.”

“Oh, if it was going to happen, it would have whether you told me or not. Maybe even sooner.”

“I would have told you, you know,” Clay said, “before summer ended, but we ran out of time. I just had this feeling that summer was the last thing I’d ever have that was all my own. And you were a big part of it. I knew what my father had planned for me, and it’s not like I didn’t want to take on the responsibility of working for the company, but I knew I would always be following his path.”

“Are you sorry?”

“I like the work—I know it’s hard for you to understand, but I believe in it. We’re not perfect, we make mistakes, but we’re trying to get it right, and in the end, I think we’re going to do something good on a lot of levels.”

“And what about for you, personally?”

“NorthAm is my job. But I found something at the lake no one else could touch, something all my own.” She kissed Tess softly. “Was I right?”