Wet(13)

Both lost in their own thoughts, neither spoke as they listened to the seagulls squawk out over the water. A few cars passed, and horns sounded, but in the small town most folks simply walked to their destination.

When they reached the pub, Trent tossed her a warm, reassuring smile—one that reminded her of the sweet, caring boy from her childhood—and pulled open the door for her. Before they stepped inside, two black vans passed, vehicles similar to the ones used by the stations. Katy shrugged it off. Maybe the local news had come to town to cover the upcoming reunion  .

Katy stepped into the pub, which was alive with activity. Almost her entire graduating class had overtaken the place. They were bustling about in the darkened room and getting reacquainted. Katy had already spoken to most of them as one by one they made their way to the Seafarer after their arrival, which once again had her wondering why her granddaddy thought business was down.

She redirected her thoughts as Trent slipped his arm around her waist and guided her through the throngs of people to the teak bar overlooking the water. Katy climbed onto a stool and rested her foot on the brass rail as Trent grabbed a drink for each of them.

Trent handed her a cool amber beer and looked past her shoulder. She turned to see him staring at Brody. He leaned in and whispered into her ear. “Wait here for me. I want to talk to Brody about the noises at your cabin.”

Katy took a sip of her beer, and swiveled on her stool. She smiled as she perused the room and took in all the familiar faces. She waved to a few girls she hadn’t seen in years, and was about to go talk to them when Adam slid onto the stool next to her.

“Hey, Katy,” he said, flashing a familiar, charming smile, one that undoubtedly still had the women around town shedding their panties. Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, with his dark hair a little long and a whole lot wild—like him—Adam still looked as good as he did the day they all graduated. She’d seen him at the Seafarer the other day, but she’d been too busy to stop and chat.

“Adam,” she said, and leaned in to give him a big hug. “Sorry I didn’t get to speak with you the other day. How are you?”

Always the flirt, he winked and said, “Better now that you’re here.” He tipped his bottle and Katy clinked her glass with his before taking a drink.

Katy laughed. “So I take it you haven’t found anyone and settled down yet.”

“Nah, life’s too short for that. What about you?”

“Nope, still on the prowl too,” she teased.

Something in Adam’s expression changed and his eyes turned dark, serious. “So what’s going on with you and lover boy?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You two getting…reacquainted?”

She was intelligent enough to know what he meant by reacquainted, but she didn’t kiss and tell and Trent was a guy who liked his privacy. Katy respected that. She waved her hand about the room, not about to get into the logistics of her relationship with Trent—partly because it wasn’t any of Adam’s business, and partly because she didn’t understand it herself—and offered Adam a coy smile. “Isn’t everyone?”

They both looked up and caught Trent’s glance from across the room, and a scowl slid across his face when his gaze went from Katy to Adam. He said something to Brody then started back toward the bar.

“Listen, Katy,” Adam said, humor long gone from his expression. “Trent is my best friend. There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for him and I don’t want to see him hurt.”

“What are you getting at, Adam?”

His eyes locked on hers. “Don’t start something you can’t finish this time. Okay?”

She nodded, but before she could answer, a strong arm slipped around her waist and lifted her from her seat. In a possessive move, Trent pulled her to him, anchoring her body to his.

His glance locked with Adam’s and Adam offered them both a wide grin that could melt the butter cream paint off the walls.

“Come on, Katy. I’ve got us a table,” Trent said, and gestured toward the pool hall in the other room.

Adam gave them a wink. “Want to play three ways?”

“No,” Trent burst out, his hand fisting on her back. He turned to Katy. “Stay away from this guy. He’s trouble.”

The sound of Adam’s laughter echoed behind them as Trent led her to the pool table.

As Adam’s warning words echoed in her brain, her stomach tightened. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Trent. In fact, she wanted to love him, and not just in the bedroom. She wanted to put things right between them, wanted to find her way back home to him.