Record of Wrongs (Redemption County Book 1) Read online

  “Sounds good.” She could imagine Cruz working on his house. Or changing his oil, or any handy man thing. He’d be good at it, and look so hot doing it. She rubbed her cheek on his cotton T-shirt and breathed deeply. He smelled so good. Strong, hardened by life and yet—still sweet. The spring warmth and her full belly lulled her, and his scent slowly wore down all her anxiety. For a short while anyway, she could spend time with him. Not forever. It was way too early to think of forever. And she wasn’t that kind of girl. Forever didn’t happen to people who were selfish.

  But for now, she relaxed into his strength. She could take a greedy day to feel his strong arms around her and pretend.

  “Rosie,” Cruz whispered, gently shaking her narrow shoulders. She’d fallen asleep on him in the aftermath of their heart-to-heart conversation, and he’d let her snooze. Probably needed it, if she had to be on her feet for hours tonight.

  He’d gone back and forth between feeling like shit for making her talk about the hard times she’d been through, and being damn glad she let him in. Every word was obviously painful for her to speak. That had been as clear as her big blue eyes that gazed at him like he was a hero.

  He was so far from that it was a joke. But her words echoed back to him. Don’t argue with a country girl.

  “Rosie.” He squeezed her shoulder, tempted to kiss her blond hair.

  “Mmm.” Her sigh was pure contentment, with a purring edge that made him want her to fall asleep with him again. “Hmm? Oh!” She sat up straight, blinking. “Oh no. Did I fall asleep?”

  “Sure did.” He showed her his phone. “It’s three o’clock. Are you okay on time?”

  “Three o’clock. Yes.” She yawned, covering her mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to zonk out on you. Oh my god. This turned into like, the worst lunch date you probably ever had.”

  He stretched the arm she’d been snoozing on, getting circulation back into it. “Believe it or not, I haven’t had a lot of lunch dates. So this ranks up there pretty high.”

  She gave a half laugh. “I’ll take you on a better one, I promise. We’ll go have a picnic out in the country. Ever done that?”

  He rubbed a hand over his jaw, pretending to think. “Picnic in the country? Ah…no.”

  “Okay then. It’s settled.” She rubbed one eye and glanced at him. “I hope I didn’t snore.”

  “Woman, you snored as loud as a Mack Truck.”

  She sucked in a horrified breath, then delight flashed in her eyes as she took in his laugh. She smacked his arm. “You’re terrible!”

  He chuckled. “You were pretty darn cute. No snoring. Slept like a baby.”

  “Thank goodness.” She traced a circle on the fabric of the couch. “I should get ready for work.”

  “Okay.” He stood and pulled her up into his arms. “Thanks for lunch, and thanks for telling me about you. And about Shane.”

  “You’re welcome, and thanks for listening.” They walked through the house and out onto the porch. “So…I work every day this week. You?”

  “Palmer said to plan on a lot of overtime. Ten-hour days minimum.”

  “That OT makes for a nice paycheck, but those are long days.” She reached up to fiddle with her wind chime, whose strings had gotten tangled.

  “Can I see you again next weekend? Either day, though he may have us work Saturday morning.”

  “Sure, one of those should work.” She turned back to him and smiled.

  “You can pick what we do. Picnic or another Sundown special.”

  “I’ll think on it.” Pretty blue eyes and pouty lips tempted him and he couldn’t come up with a reason on this earth not to kiss her. He closed the small distance between them and set his hands on her waist. Not higher or lower because god help him, he may never leave if he touched her soft curves. She skimmed her hands up his chest and linked them behind his neck as he lowered his mouth to hers.

  Her lips were just as soft as last night, and while the raw primal part of him wanted to push her against the wall and kiss her until she begged him to do more, the rational part of him threw down a flurry of restraint. Today had turned into more about her than he’d expected. She’d been scared to reveal what had happened, and he was a little in awe that she’d done it anyway.

  It had taken courage, and he wasn’t going to let that go unrewarded.

  He feathered the seam of her lips with his tongue and she parted for him with a sigh. Ah, hell. He moved one hand to settle at her lower back, spreading his fingers wide, and pressed her against him. She fit too damn perfectly nestled up to his body.

  Her tongue darted into his mouth, lashing his with slow, tantalizing strokes. Her fingers ran through his hair. Blood rushed to his groin. Fuck. He could stay here all day, but that wasn’t an option.

  With effort he pulled back. Her eyes, which had been closed, opened with a heated glow. “I like kissing you, Rosie-girl.” The term of endearment popped out of his mouth before he had a chance to think about it.

  “I like being kissed by you, Cruz Zaffino.” She tilted her head. “Now get on outta here before I decide I want another one and you make me late for work.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.” He loped down the steps and turned to give her a quick wave before getting in his truck. The scent of her hair still clung to his T-shirt from where she had fallen asleep on him. Sweet and enticing. And hell, it would have to last him a whole damn week.

  Chapter 14

  The week alternately flew and dragged for Cruz. The daytime hours flew, when he and his crew worked with jackhammers to bust up the road they were currently working on. Then at night, sending Rosie a quick text before he passed out, time ticked by.

  Now, after clocking sixty hours, it was Saturday at noon and he was free. He texted Rosie. Done for the week. Can’t wait to see you.

  Her reply came ten minutes later: I picked up an extra lunch shift today. I’m done at 2:30. I’ll call you. I have a great idea! She ended with a smiley face.

  At 2:30 exactly, his phone rang. “Hi, Rosie-girl.”

  “Hi! I’m about to go home. I wanted to check and see if you want to have dinner, and if you want, I can get some sandwiches from here. George makes a delicious meatball sub.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll reimburse you.”

  “Nope, it’s on the house. I get a meal a day, and I didn’t actually eat mine today or yesterday. I don’t want us to have too heavy of a supper because we’re going somewhere afterward.”

  “Oh? Is it on an unmarked road?”

  “Um…” Her cute giggle carried through the line. “There’s a point where there’s no road.”

  “Oh boy. Can’t imagine what you’ve got up your sleeve.”

  “I’ll tell you about it when you get here. Just plan to do a little walking up a sort of little hill.”

  Cruz pulled up to Rosie’s house later to find her sitting on the swing. She stood up to greet him, and he loved the genuine smile on her face. He strode up the steps to stand in her personal space.

  She gazed up at him, not backing away. “Hi.” Two tank tops hugged her chest, one layered over the other, and she had on tight cropped jeans and sandals. Her curves were covered up, but little was left to the imagination. Sexy and beautiful and happy to see him. Damn.

  “Hi yourself.” He slid an arm around her bare shoulders and pulled her close for a swift kiss. She was as soft and sweet as ever, and seeing her now was the best ending to an insane week. He released her reluctantly, knowing he’d better. Kissing her was like tinder and kindling. It was getting harder to stop while he still had an ounce of self-control.

  Her eyes roamed his face and arms. “You’re more tan than you were last week! Look at you.” She shook her head. “You’re one of those people who turns, like, six shades darker with one day of sun. It takes me all summer to build up even a little color.”

&nb
sp; “You’re perfect the way you are. Plus, that’s not good for you anyway.”

  “True,” she murmured. “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving.” He patted his stomach.

  “Me too. Want to eat out here?”

  He glanced around the furniture on the porch. “Sure. Need me to bring out a table?”

  “Nope, we can just move that end table to here,” she pointed in front of the swing. “And move that chair over, like so. I’ll get the food. You can set up.”

  A few minutes later he sat in a wicker chair across from Rosie sitting on the swing. They were digging in to subs and lemonade, as birds flew around Rosie’s yard in the still evening air. He didn’t mind the lemonade, but it made him curious. Cruz idly wondered if Rosie didn’t drink at all, since her accident.

  Plenty of time to ask her later. Now he was more intrigued with her plans for them. “So, getting to our destination involves a stretch of no road?”

  “Yep.” She licked a bit of marinara sauce off her finger, unwittingly making Cruz stifle a groan. “You’re about to see how Sundown got its name.”

  “Didn’t know there was a story behind it.”

  “There sure is. We’re going to Van’s Bluff to watch the sunset. On clear nights like this, lots of Sundowners go.”

  “Everyone gets together to watch the sunset?”

  “You have to see it from this perspective. There’s nothing like it.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s kinda like people who live in beach towns watching the sunset. Everyone just goes to the beach on nice nights.”

  “You’ve been to places like that?”

  “No.” A hint of disappointment colored her voice. “But Brenda’s been to places in Michigan where they do that. Hey. What about Chicago? You’re on the lake.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, but if you stand on a Chicago beach looking out at the water, you’re facing east. You’d get the sunrise instead of the sunset.”

  “Oh, duh.” She smacked her forehead.

  “And if I tried to watch the sunset, there’d just be miles of buildings in the way. We’d maybe see some colors here and there, but not the sun going all the way down.”

  “Then this can go on your list of new experiences.” She polished off her sub and leaned back in the swing. “Mm, that sauce is the best.”

  “Agreed.” He took a long drink of lemonade. “How far away is this bluff?”

  She leaned her head to one side and a smile twitched at her lips. “This is Sundown, sugar. Nothing’s far.”

  He quirked a brow. “Sugar? Been called a lot of things but that’s not one of ‘em.”

  “Some days everyone is ‘Sugar” to me.” She shrugged. “But I guess it might not fit you. I mean, you’re sweet and all. But I get the feeling you don’t want that to be general information.”

  “Got that right. I’ll deny it up and down.”

  “Okay then. Your secret’s safe with me.” She scooted carefully out from between the swing and the table. “Let’s clean up and then we’ll be off to Van’s.”

  Cruz gathered the glasses and pitcher while she picked up the plates. “Why is it called Van’s?” He held the screen door open for her with one foot, then followed her inside.

  “It’s named for one of Sundown’s early residents, Albert Van Der Voorst. He owned a big patch of land, including the bluff and valley below. Oh—we’ll need a blanket. Do you have one in your truck?”

  He frowned. “Spare tire, flares, rope, ice scraper…no blanket.”

  “No worries, I’ll grab us one.”

  In minutes, the house was spic and span and growing smaller in his rearview mirror as they headed out to the main road. Rosie directed him south and toward a road he hadn’t been down before. It was marked with a series of county numbers, and up ahead it climbed up the biggest hill he’d seen around here.

  “Gotta say, I’m surprised by the hills. I thought all of Illinois was as flat as Chicago.”

  “I don’t know about that. But I do know that on the rare days we get a decent snowfall, every kid in the county is here with their sled.” She pointed to a dirt road that forked off the main one. “Turn right.”

  Cruz’s truck bumped along the tracks left by previous vehicles, still climbing upward. Trees grew in thick rows on both sides. After a minute, they emerged into a clearing with several other cars. Rosie hopped out, clutching her blanket to her chest. She grinned as he joined her. “Prepare to see the prettiest sunset in Illinois,” she said.

  Her enthusiasm was contagious as she led him through a line of trees. On the other side stretched several yards of green grass…and then nothing.

  “Come here.” Rosie pulled him past the dozen or so people who talked in small groups, to the edge.

  He stepped up next to her and peered over the apparent drop off. A vertical stretch of dirt plummeted twenty feet, then the ground sloped at a kinder angle. Beyond, the descent ended in a precise patchwork of fields punctuated by the occasional tree. Green ribbons of newly planted shoots formed orderly rows. The whole thing looked like a damn painting, and he couldn’t help but be struck that places like this actually existed. “Whoa.”

  “Yeah,” Rosie said. “This is pretty enough right now. But you just wait.”

  “Is this all part of Redemption County?”

  “Yep. The land is worked by different owners now. But they know they’re subject to be on display every night. They keep up appearances.”

  “Yo, Cruz.” A deep voice from behind them cut into his thoughts. He turned to see Matt sitting down with a pretty dark-haired woman.

  “Hey, man.” Cruz turned to Rosie. “Matt’s on the crew with me. You know him?”

  “Shoot, Cruz. I spent all second grade competing with Matt Halpern on who could catch more frogs. Do I know him?” She waved to them and walked over. “Hi, you two! Thalia, it’s been forever, honey! How’s your grandma doing?”

  Cruz could only marvel at how much of her was entwined with the town, and vice versa. He didn’t have anything to compare it to, coming from a city of two million. The closest he could relate was his would-be gang. They knew everyone’s business, and used it to claw their way to the top of the food chain.

  Matt strode toward him, hand outstretched, and gave him the standard shoulder-clap man-hug. Rosie chatted with his girlfriend. “What a week, huh,” Matt said.

  “Yeah.” The work was hard, hot, and grimy, but Cruz welcomed spending the whole damn day outside. Not an allotted amount of time where guards watched with rifles ready. “It’ll be nice to get that fat paycheck.”

  “No shit. Thalia’s already planning how to spend it.”

  “I heard my name.” Thalia came over and tucked herself under Matt’s arm. “Hi. I’m Thalia. Welcome to Sundown.”

  “Thanks. It’s a pleasure to be here.” He glanced around their little group. “Rosie tells me I’m in for some kind of special sunset.”

  “Is this your first time here? Oh my god,” Thalia gushed. “It’s like, out of a movie.”

  Rosie sidled close to him. “See? It’s a county-wide sensation.”

  “All right then. Bring it.”

  Rosie spread her blanket next to Matt and Thalia’s, and they all sat down. Matt and Thalia murmured in quiet tones.

  Cruz draped an arm around Rosie, inhaling her sweet smell, the clean country air, and just took a second to absorb where he was.

  Three months ago he was sitting in a cell with a crappy cot and a metal toilet next to it. This, what surrounded him now, was the last thing he could have ever expected. He’d wanted to start over, and this was as far from familiar as he could get.

  The sun dipped toward the horizon. Wispy clouds drifted across the sky as if they knew they were purely decorative. Nothing substantial about them, and no way could they obscure what was abou
t to happen.

  Pink and orange streaks painted the sky. Birds chirped in the trees behind them. Next to him, Rosie was warm and vibrating with energy. “It’s starting,” she whispered.

  “What, exactly?” he asked. Sure the sky was pretty. But he had the sensation something more was going to happen.

  “Look at the fields.”

  He followed her gaze and at first he didn’t notice anything. Then the patchwork of crops and grasses changed. They took on a glow that matched the sky above, starting from the westernmost point and stretching east to the bluff where they all sat.

  As the sun dropped and the colors above intensified, so did the tints highlighting the ground. In minutes, the entire landscape was lit with sunset colors. Pink and orange sliced across the crops in a blaze of intense hues. Red light dusted the canopies of the trees. He’d seen pictures of sunsets on water, but never on farmland.

  “That’s pretty cool,” he said. “Though that’s not a description to do it justice.”

  “No one can describe it proper,” she murmured. “I think you did fine. It takes some time to sink in.”

  “It’s nice to look at,” he said, “but not as nice as where I’m looking now.”

  She gazed up at him. “There you go, being all sweet.”

  “Just being honest.”

  “I think you’re flirting with me.”

  “Might be.”

  She leaned up enough so that her lips brushed his. “You’re something else, Cruz.”

  He stole a brief, chaste kiss from her plump lips and then rubbed his nose along hers. “So are you, Rosie-girl.”

  The sun disappeared from view, and the wash of color gradually receded in the reverse of how it had arrived. Around them, people got up and murmured goodbyes.

  “So, guys, we’re gonna call it a night.” Matt spoke from somewhere above them.

  Cruz stood and tugged Rosie up with him. “All right, man. See you Monday.”

  “Um, Cruz?” Thalia peeped, a shy hesitant expression on her face. “I’m sorry about what happened to you. I saw some stuff online…”