The Right Wrong Turn by Heidi Champa
Release Date: November
6, 2011
Amber Allure Press
Derek Owen has made a new life for himself in Austin after leaving his hometown of Cedar Bluff years before. In his rush to start over, he left behind his first and only love, Luke McLeod. He’s moved up and moved on with a job at an accounting firm and a completely inappropriate relationship with his boss, Ben Dickson.
When Derek and Ben are caught in a compromising position, Derek is sent into exile, ostensibly to do an audit of a ranch near Cedar Bluff that’s keen on expansion. Going home means confronting the past, and Luke, who is still living there. Derek soon finds himself tangled up in small-town secrets and lies. And, fighting his old feelings for Luke.
Can Derek figure out the right way forward, or has his life taken one too many wrong turns?
Excerpt:
I expected Jenna and Dale to be home when we
arrived, but their cars weren’t in the driveway. Her note said they would be
late, but I had no idea what that meant. Luke shut off his engine, but neither
of us made any move to get out of the car.
“Well,
thanks for dinner, Luke. It was good to see you again.”
“Yeah,
you too, Derek. You know I’ve dreaded the idea of seeing you again for so long,
I thought I’d never be able to handle it. Turns out, I was wrong. Very wrong.”
“You
weren’t alone in that. I honestly hoped I wouldn’t see you while I was back. I
guess it’s just lucky I ended up at Maxwell’s, huh?”
Luke
shifted on the bench seat, his hand rested just next to mine on the vinyl. It
was so dark and quiet; I could hear every little noise. When Luke tapped the
dormant gas pedal with his boot, I immediately picked up the rhythm. He turned
to look at me, but I couldn’t make out his face.
“Every
time I come by this house, I have a strange desire to climb that tree and knock
on that window. Old habits die hard. When I heard you were here, I almost did
it.”
“I
probably would have died from fright. I don’t know if my heart could take the
shock anymore.”
“Would
you have let me in, if I had?”
“Uh,
well, I think it would be rude to leave a guest outside in a tree.”
Luke
chuckled and his hand slid a bit closer. I felt his pinky and ring finger brush
against me, but I didn’t pull away. He kept going and increased the contact
until his whole hand was on top of mine. I hadn’t held hands with anyone since
Luke. It was the kind of thing that was lost when you snuck around with your
boss and slept with guys who barely believed in kissing. His thumb slid back
and forth, caressed my skin gently. The seat creaked as he moved and my heart
rate rose as he got nearer.
“Luke,
I really am sorry, you know. I was a stupid kid. I know that now.”
“I’m
sorry too, Derek. Do you ever wonder how things could have turned out if I went
with you to Austin?”
His
words surprised me. My body inched closer to him and I decided to tell Luke the
truth.
“All
the time. Owning a ranch was your dream. I mean it still is your dream, right?”
“Some
dream. Fat lot of good it’s done me all these years. Here I am, in exactly the
same place you left me. You’re on your way, Derek. I’m treading water.”
“Don’t
say that, Luke. I’m sure it will all work out. I wouldn’t say I’m a success.
I’m not exactly on the right track at the moment. Sometimes, I have no idea how
I got where I am.”
Luke
squeezed my hand, and a rush of blood shot to my cock. It was my turn to move a
few inches, the whole truck creaked as I did so. He moved his touch to my knee,
and we soon ran out of space between us.
“Luke,
I should go inside.”
“Don’t.
Stay a little longer. We could go for a drive or something.”
“I
have to be up early tomorrow.”
“Oh,
yeah. What for? I thought you were on a break from all that work stuff.”
His
hand moved higher, and I didn’t stop him. We stared at each other, our faces
close enough to do much more. I wanted to kiss him. I couldn’t even remember
the last time I had; too many years had gone by. Luke licked his lips, and my
mouth fell open to let out a sigh.
“Luke,
we shouldn’t. Right?”
“You’re
probably right. But, then how come I really want to?”
I
closed my eyes, too tired to fight it anymore. It started with a gentle brush
of lips, the two of us getting reacquainted after years apart. His hand moved
from my thigh to my shirt and grabbed a handful to keep me close. It didn’t
take long for us to be carried away; our tongues moved in tandem. The sound of
our breath was barely audible over the groan of Luke’s old truck. Things
started to heat up when we were distracted. Bright lights shone through the
back window and forced us apart, the distance between us back where it had been
when the night started. When the light shifted, I noticed that it was Jenna’s
car, followed by Dale in his truck.
“Wow
that takes me back.”
“What
are you talking about, Derek?”
“Don’t
you remember the time we got busted making out in your car in the supermarket
parking lot?”
His
eyes shone in recognition, his hand back on mine on the seat.
“I
really should go in. Unless you want the whole town to know you’ve been here.”
I
reached for the door handle, but before I could get very far, Luke pulled me
back for one more kiss.
“I
guess I’ll see you around, Luke.”
“Yeah,
you will Derek.”
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