Beyond Intent

  BEYOND INTENT

  KARICE BOLTON

  Copyright © 2014 Karice Bolton

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, and events either are the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  To my husband and mom. I love you both so much.

  Contact the Author

  To contact the author, please visit her online at http://www.karicebolton.com or via

  Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest @KariceBolton.

  If you’d like to be included on her mailing list to find out about

  new releases, click here or go to Karice Bolton’s website

  BOOKS BY KARICE BOLTON

  THE WITCH AVENUE SERIES

  LONELY SOULS

  ALTERED SOULS

  RELEASED SOULS

  SHATTERED SOULS

  THE WATCHERS TRILOGY

  AWAKENING

  LEGIONS

  CATACLYSM

  TAKEN NOVELLA (A Watchers Prequel)

  THE CAMP

  BEYOND LOVE SERIES

  BEYOND CONTROL

  BEYOND DOUBT

  BEYOND REASON

  BEYOND INTENT

  BEYOND CHANCE – Coming Soon

  BEYOND PROMISE – Coming Soon

  BEYOND the MISTLETOE – Coming Soon

  AFTERWORLD SERIES

  RecruitZ

  AlibiZ-Coming Soon

  LUKE FLETCHER SERIES

  Hidden Sins

  Buried Sins – Coming Soon

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Recipes

  Hidden Sins Excerpt

  RecruitZ Excerpt

  Acknowledgements

  I rolled over in bed and pulled the covers up. As I reached over to find Jason, my hand ran over the soft flannel sheets where he’d been only hours before. The chill of the unoccupied bed made my chest tighten. Where the heck did he go?

  Jason had a flight out of Seattle this morning at nine, but that wouldn’t explain why he wasn’t in bed next to me at four. I let out a deep sigh and shoved the goose down comforter to the foot of the bed. The alarm wasn’t set to go off for another twenty minutes, but I already knew there was no point in trying to grab a few more minutes of rest. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I sat up and dangled my feet over the side of the mattress, hoping to hear Jason downstairs.

  I turned on my lamp and squinted my eyes to adjust to the sudden amount of brightness that was trying to invade my personal space. I had a wedding cake to bake at the shop. At least getting up this early gave me extra time to work on the four-tier masterpiece. Putting the worry about Jason aside, I began daydreaming about buttercream. That was how I’d survived the last few weeks. I stayed focused on work. This wasn’t the first time I woke up without Jason next to me, and I was on the verge of panicking. I needed to know what was going on with him, why he wouldn’t share with me…

  Standing up, I stretched and walked over to the bathroom, trying not to fill up with tears. Turning on the light, relief spread through me when I saw a pink post-it note stuck on the mirror with Jason’s scrawl.

  Hey baby, I love you so much. You were really adorable this morning while you were sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake you. I forgot I had to take a call from someone on the East Coast. They only have the shop’s number or I would’ve taken it from the house. I’ll be thinking of you while I’m in Nevada. Don’t take the bike out while I’m gone. It’s supposed to be pouring all week. I’ll call you before I board.

  My heart plummeted when I realized we wouldn’t be saying goodbye in person. I turned on the shower and went over to my phone and picked it up. I decided not to call him because I didn’t want to say something I might regret. Instead, I sent him a message telling him that I loved him, but if he left again while I was sleeping, I was going to club him. I inserted an angry emoticon with steam coming out of its ears and tossed my phone on the bed. Sometimes emoticons were the best way to say everything and nothing all at once.

  That ought to get my point across.

  Stepping into the steaming shower, I squirted gel onto my washcloth and thought about how to approach things with Jason. One of the problems was that whenever I was around him, I couldn’t think straight. He knew exactly how to distract me, and it worked every time.

  As I lathered shampoo into my hair, I thought about some of the odd things that had come up recently: phone calls that quickly ended when I walked into the room, impromptu business meetings, rushed trips to the bank. They all caused little red flags to wave frantically. I confronted him about it a couple times, but it was in a softened, comedic way that always gave him a way out. I think part of me didn’t want to hear the truth—whatever that might be.

  I was rinsing the conditioner out of my hair when my cell phone rang. Quickly patting dry, I wrapped my hair in the towel and ran for the cell. It had to be Jason at this hour. I was standing completely naked and freezing in my bedroom.

  I pressed the speaker button. “Hello?”

  “Sorry,” Jason said.

  The sound of his voice made me sigh. It was so damn sexy even over a crackly connection.

  “You better be.” A shiver ran through me.

  “I woke up in the middle of the night remembering I had this call…” his voice trailed off. “But it’s no excuse. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

  I bit my tongue and didn’t say a word. Now was not the time. We had made a pact to never go to bed mad, and I applied the same rule to phone conversations because you never knew when the last moment might really be the last. After Brandy’s accident, my way of thinking changed significantly. I think everyone’s did.

  “Well, I’m going to miss you this week. I had something special planned to send you off this morning,” I teased.

  Clutching the sheet, I wrapped it around me and sat on the bed, remembering the night before, his gentle touch, the hunger in his eyes.

  “I bet you did,” his voice lowered. “Maybe I can catch a ferry back before I have to get to the airport.”

  “You wish,” I laughed. “So how did the call go?”

  “It went well,” his voice changed, became gruffer. He didn’t elaborate, which was odd. He usually filled me in on different clients and projects. “Since I’m at the shop, I might as well work on this ’53 Triumph Thunderbird we’re restoring. The guys ran into a bit of a dilemma last night, and I think maybe I can hammer it out before they get in this morning.”

  “Okay. Be careful and call me when you get checked in at the airport.”

  “I will. And promise me... No riding.”

  “Promise. I love you.”

  “Love you too,” Jason said. “More than you could ever imagine.”

  “That’s what I like to hear, especia
lly on your way to Sin City,” I teased. “Bye.”

  Jason laughed and hung up the phone, and the knot in my stomach worsened. The cake could wait. I needed to see Jason. I glanced at the clock. This could work. I could get back and forth with plenty of time to spare. Emily and Kayla were going to bake all of our breakfast items, while I focused on the wedding order anyway. The lingering melancholy in Jason’s voice haunted me. I needed to see him, make sure he was okay.

  I slid on my jeans and an oversized, cotton sweater and ran a brush through my wet hair. It could dry while I sat in my car on the ferry. I swept some mascara across my lashes just as Tomato and Sunny tromped their way up the stairs to say their good mornings and get their daily massages. Tails wagging and rear-ends wiggling down the hall, they lifted their front paws up to be greeted. I took each of their fat paws in my hands and shook them. Both pooches looked like they were ready to go back to bed, which was the usual routine. They slept downstairs until we got up, and then they’d often spend the rest of the day sleeping in our bed. Not a bad life. Apparently Jason and I took up too much of the bed at night for their liking.

  They ran over to the bed and walked up the pet stairs, making themselves at home.

  “Sorry, girls. It’s gotta be quick.” I scratched an ear on each dog before going in for their chins. “I’ll make it up to you tonight. I swear.”

  In a good luck measure, I patted their rears. Tomato and Sunny didn’t look too concerned and began digging at the covers to get the sheets and comforter perfect before lying down. I laughed and picked up my phone and wrapped a scarf around my neck.

  I made my way to the stairs and bounded down each step quickly as I thought about getting to see Jason before he left. Grabbing my keys, I headed out the door and locked it behind me. I really wasn’t sure what I planned on doing once I got to Jason’s shop, but I felt a need to see him before he left. Maybe I wanted to give him a little reminder of what he’d be missing this week.

  Jumping into my Jeep, I turned on the radio in an attempt to turn my mind off. For some reason, my nerves were getting the better of me. Even though I was trying to be more impulsive and fly by the seat of my pants, doing so tended to get me all knotted up inside. So much for the radio!

  I turned my Jeep onto the main road that led to the ferry. I’d make the next run of the morning and arrive at Jason’s before any of the guys got into work. My plan should work out perfectly. I slowed the vehicle and rolled down my window. The ferry worker scanned my ticket and motioned for me to pull into lane seven.

  The boat began loading as I put my Jeep into park. I had a few minutes before it would be my lane’s turn to move. I glanced at the cars around me and my heart started beating quickly. It was dark outside and no one should be able to see me. I grabbed my phone, clicked on the flash, and laid my seat down. I raised my sweater and took a quick picture with my phone. Completely giddy, I texted Jason my picture and quickly brought my seat up in time to see the brake lights of the car in front of me blink off. I had no idea what came over me, but I hoped the picture would make Jason chuckle.

  I followed the car in front of me and pulled onto the ferry when my phone chimed. I parked the car and took off my belt. Excited to see what Jason thought about my first-ever seductive selfie, I tapped on the screen to bring up the message.

  Well, this was different….

  I about died when I saw a message from Lily. I’d sent it to the wrong person! My cheeks were on fire as I quickly texted back to Lily.

  So sorry! I meant it for Jason. I bet I woke you to boot. xoxo Go back to bed. This was all a dream, a very bad dream.

  Lily’s response came right over.

  Nice try. You’re never going to live this one down. xoxo

  Ever persistent, I tried to text Jason again. I tapped on my selfie, which now made me cringe, and very slowly and deliberately typed in Jason’s name. I didn’t understand how I managed to send it to Lily, but that’s how my luck often ran. I hit send and waited for a response from Jason as the ferry continued to chug across the sound.

  I thought about him working on the bike, and my mind wandered to the first time I saw him on the bridge, when Bernie rear-ended him, literally. Jason’s seductive grin and intense amber eyes were the death of me. My phone buzzed, and I quickly looked at the screen.

  How do you expect me to get any work done with images like that running through my mind? You are magnificent. Wish I was there to kiss every part of you.

  My heart completely melted when I read his message. I glanced at the picture I’d sent him, not even realizing what it had really captured. Because of the darkness that had surrounded me, my scar was highlighted as the flash accentuated the varied skin tones that ran between my breasts. Never in a million years had I imagined I’d have the confidence to do that.

  You certainly know how to make me feel beautiful.

  He wrote back.

  You should feel beautiful because you are beautiful. But I’ve got to tell you what you’ve done to me is really cruel, like really cruel.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. The ferry pulled up to the dock, and everyone began turning on their engines to disembark. Jason’s shop was only ten minutes from this part of town, and I was getting more and more excited with each passing second. Another text came over the phone, but I was driving so it would have to wait until I got to his shop.

  By the time I pulled into his parking lot, I was thrilled with the thought of seeing him. The dark sky had faded to ink blue as the sun prepared to rise. I glanced at my phone and saw Jason’s text.

  I love you Gabby Sullivan and I honestly don’t deserve you.

  I flinched when I read his text. What was he talking about? I grabbed my purse and walked over to the front door, texting with each step.

  Hey. I’m out front. Mind opening up so we can discuss?

  The parking lot was well lit, but it was still pretty early, and the streets were vacant enough to make me uneasy. I glanced behind me a few times to make sure there wasn’t anyone around. The showroom lights blinked on, and I saw Jason walking through the middle row of bikes. His hand was shoved in his pocket and he looked distracted, but when he saw me, his mouth curled into a smile. He jogged over to the door and unlocked it. Throwing it open, he pulled me into his arms and buried his head into my hair. He looked sensational in his navy flannel shirt and low-slung jeans.

  “You’re trouble,” he murmured.

  “I try to keep you on your toes as much as you do to me,” I laughed, feeling his whiskers run along my throat as he kissed me softly on my neck before releasing me. The door closed, and he locked it before he spun back around to look at me.

  His eyes were hauntingly beautiful, but whatever ghosts were weighing him down created sadness behind his expression that I wanted to fix, take away forever.

  “So what was that text all about?” I asked, my brow arching.

  He took my hand in his and smirked. “It’s true.”

  “Not even.”

  His expression fell slightly, and I ran my fingers across his jaw.

  “What’s going on?” I asked quietly.

  He pressed his lips together. “Lots of stuff that I can’t control.”

  “Seems to be how life works, huh?” I sighed.

  He nodded, and we walked in silence through the showroom. My mind flashed to the first time we shared a lunch hour together in this place and I chuckled.

  “Thinking of what I’m thinking of, it seems,” he laughed.

  “Hard not to.”

  He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and hugged me tightly as we wound our way through the shop toward the stairs. “I hope you can continue to put up with me, Miss Sullivan.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, looking into his amber eyes.

  He shrugged, but I felt his body tense against mine. We climbed the stairs, and I glanced behind me toward the shop. It didn’t look like he’d been working on anything this morning. The lights in his office were all on, and his la
ptop was open on his desk. Regardless of his intentions, he hadn’t worked on the bike like he’d planned.

  He pulled me over to the couch, and we sat down. I nestled my head against his chest and let out a deep breath.

  “Babe, I know now’s not the time to go into everything. But I feel like I’ve been patient. Really patient. But…” I looked into Jason’s eyes. “I’m really worried about you. You look tired, drained. It’s got me worried.”

  Jason kissed my forehead and shook his head. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

  “I don’t believe it for a second.”

  He locked his hands behind his head and let out a low groan, shaking his head. “I don’t want to pull you under with my junk.”

  I sat up and pivoted myself onto his lap straddling him as I stared into his eyes. “I can’t even tell you how infuriating that statement is.” I ran my hands along his chest as he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me tight.

  “It’s how I feel. You don’t deserve to get caught in the undertow of my family’s nonsense. You came from a different place, Gabby, and I don’t ever want you to get snagged up in the shit I’ve had to deal with. The heartache isn’t worth it.”

  I felt tears dot my lids and looked away as my hands fell down his chest to his waist. Wasn’t that what we were supposed to do with one another? Share the joys and the struggles?

  I wiped the tears away from my eyes and shook my head.

  “Don’t cry,” he whispered.

  “Not including me in your life makes me feel like you don’t trust me or like…”

  “No, baby. I trust you with my life. I’ve just gotten myself into some stuff that I need to get out of. Simple as that.”