Hot & Bothered. Kate Hoffmann
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nodded. “You got a place here in town?”
“The motor lodge out on Highway 32, though it took a bit of sweet-talking since I have my dog with me. I’m thinking of buying a place and renovating it in my free time. You guys know of any properties I could pick up quick?”
Garland chuckled. “Boy, the apple don’t fall far from the tree. You’re just like your daddy, boy! Clay Marbury was always on the lookout for a good buy. He had the Midas touch, he did.”
Trey had heard just about enough about the great Clayton Marbury II. He grabbed the bag and nodded, a tight smile pasted on his face. “Thanks, Garland. Be seeing you boys.”
The storekeeper scratched his chin. “Now that I think of it, the old Sawyer place is goin’ up for sale. They moved Mrs. Sawyer to an old folks’ home up in Florence, where her daughter lives. The house is fallin’ down, so I reckon you could get a good price for it. My daughter’s a real estate agent. I’ll have her give you a call.”
Trey waved at Garland as he counted out his change. “Keep it,” he said. “Buy the boys a beer on me.”
As Trey backed the Jeep out of the parking lot, he knew it would be a matter of minutes before all the town gossips knew that he was back in Belfort. No doubt, there’d be all kinds of speculation about where he’d been and what he’d been doing these past twelve years. “I should have taken a place in Charleston.” He sighed. “Maybe it’s true—you can’t go home again.”
Trey swung the Jeep back onto Center Street and headed for the old residential section of town. Belfort sat at the junction of two rivers, rivers that emptied into the Atlantic about fifteen miles downstream. Most of the huge white clapboard homes were located on the wide peninsula of land that split the rivers in two, set on streets shaded by centuries-old live oaks and boasting huge lots that backed up on the water.
Trey knew where the Sawyer house was located and headed down Charles Street. As he pulled up in front of it, his gaze drifted to the house next door. This had always been considered Parrish territory, the east side of the historic district. Since the War Between the States, Parrish supporters had lived east of Hamilton Street and Marbury supporters lived west of the dividing line. A person declared their allegiance by where they chose to buy their home. Trey chuckled softly. Buying in enemy territory would have sent his father into an apoplectic fit.
Trey reached over and grabbed a beer, then popped it open and took a long sip. Even if there were still Parrishes living in the house next door, the feud was over now. As the only Marbury heir, he had no intention of continuing the hostilities. And to his recollection, there was only one Parrish heir left and that was Lisbeth Parrish; she’d probably taken off for parts unknown at her first available opportunity.
He hopped out of the Jeep and strolled up to the Sawyer house, the facade looming darkly among the overgrown bushes and trees. Like the house next door, it boasted wide verandas that circled all four sides on both stories, shading the house from the relentless summer sun. He could see the place was badly in need of paint, and the verandas were sagging in spots. But even if it were falling apart inside, a guy didn’t come across a house like this every day. The craftsmanship was incredible, the detailing probably untouched since it had been built in the mid-1800s.
Trey wiped his hand over a dusty window and tried to see inside, making out an old carved mantel and furniture covered with sheets. Suddenly, he’d found a reason to set up housekeeping in Belfort. Smiling, Trey turned back to the street. Hell, he didn’t care what they wanted for the house—he’d pay it. After eight years designing everything from shopping centers to condo complexes, it would be fun to wield a hammer and saw again.
Halfway to his Jeep, Trey turned around. There had always been a secret path around the back of the old Sawyer house, a path that he and his buddies had taken numerous times on a hot summer night. It led through a dense thicket of trees and kudzu to a tiny inlet in the river, a deep pool with a sandy bottom. The high school had built a swimming pool the year after he’d graduated and the spot probably had been long forgotten. A swim might be nice before he headed back to the motel.
He retrieved the rest of the six-pack from the Jeep and then walked past the empty house into the deep backyard. Crickets chirped and unseen night animals rustled as he searched for the entrance to the path. Though the inlet required trespassing on Parrish property, that had never stopped Trey and his friends. If they didn’t get too loud and cleaned up after themselves, they usually went undetected.
As he pushed through the brush, Trey recalled one time when he had been caught, and not by old man Parrish. His memories of that night, just a few days before his eighteenth birthday, were still strangely vivid, for they had represented a turning point in his life. Maybe it had been the setting or the events leading up to the encounter. Or maybe it had been his unbidden reaction that had burned the memory so deeply into his mind.
It had been his last night in Belfort before leaving for summer football practice at Tech. He’d started the evening embroiled in an argument with his father, who had insisted he’d pay nothing for Trey’s education. Though Clayton Marbury II had been born into wealth, he had somehow gotten the idea that his son would benefit from working his way through college. At the time, Trey wasn’t sure how he’d be able to juggle football, architecture courses and a job, but he’d seen the advantage of being completely free of his father’s control.
He’d stormed out, ready to find a cold six-pack and some buddies to drink it with. But in the end, he had decided to spend his last night alone, away from all the big talk about athletic accomplishments and his bright future in college football. In a few days, he’d be considered a man. It was time to start acting like one.
He’d found himself at the inlet, angry and overwhelmed, confused about the direction his life was taking and scared that he might not be able to cope. She’d appeared sometime between his third and fourth beer and, at first, Trey had thought he might be hallucinating. But once he’d realized she wasn’t just a by-product of a drunken buzz, Trey had been glad for the company.
Libby Parrish hadn’t run with the in crowd at Belfort High School. Shy and bookish, she’d never stood out in the midst of prettier, more popular girls. She was also just a junior. And she was a Parrish, the only flaw that made any difference in his world. But that night, in the moonlight, she became something more to him.
The moment he saw her, he almost bolted. But then she spoke, telling him he didn’t have to leave, that she wouldn’t tell her father. Trey still remembered the look in her eyes, the curiosity mixed with a little bit of fear. Hell, he hadn’t wanted to go home anyway, so why not? Besides, spending time with Libby Parrish was as good as thumbing his nose at his father.
Trey let the memories drift through his mind as he stepped around the last clump of bushes and walked into a small clearing. Moonlight sparkled on the river, and in the distance, a duck took flight, its wings flapping in the dark. Trey found an old log near the spot where they used to build a fire to fend off the mosquitoes. He sat down on the ground and leaned back against it, taking another long sip of his beer. For the first time since he’d driven into Belfort, he felt like he’d found a memory worth reliving.
But a moment after he settled in, Trey heard rustling in the bushes behind him. With a soft curse, he crawled behind the log and lay flat on his stomach, then reached over to grab the rest of the beer. Though he hadn’t minded breaking the law as a kid, Trey was pretty much a stranger in town now and he wasn’t sure how the owner would feel about his presence on private property.
He waited, holding his breath, half expecting a group of kids to appear. But a single figure stepped through the bushes, a woman, her slender body outlined by a loose cotton sundress, her pale hair shining in the moonlight. She reached for the hem of her dress and in one easy motion, pulled it over her head, then kicked off her sandals and walked to the edge of the water.
Trey sucked in a sharp breath, nearly choking as he did. She wore nothing beneath the dress and the shock of seeing a naked woman just a few feet away made his pulse suddenly quicken. He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. She was just about the most beautiful thing