Page 5 of The Moment They Can't Forget

“Love you, Uncle Asher,” she called and ran on.

His words, “Love you right back, honey,” followed her down the driveway.

The next house she came to was her mother’s. The family home the Dukes had grown up in. Big, comfortable, and filled with love, it had been a haven for all of them at one time or other.

When her life had imploded, it had been the place she’d run to without hesitation, even if her family hadn’t known why.

Circling the house, she let herself in the back door, as it wouldn’t be locked. Closing it softly, she hurried to the stairs on tiptoes. Since Dan worked shifts as a deputy in Lyntacky, he slept in a room on the lower floor. Zoe walked down the hall on the second floor, passing her mother’s closed bedroom door and then Ryder’s.

“Zoe?”

Damn.

“Hey, Ry, go back to bed. I just needed some coffee.”

He didn’t do mornings, so the face that appeared in his doorway was sleepy, and his eyes squinty slits.

“How come you’re in last night’s dress? Where’s the coffee?” he rasped. “How did you get home?”

“I fell asleep on the sofa after Nina dropped me off.” She pushed him gently back inside his room and shut the door.

Zoe then hurried to the next set of stairs and climbed, hoping Ryder didn’t follow. Stepping over the fifth step because it creaked, she made her way to the top, and then she walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

She’d told her mom she wanted to be up here when Sawyer had moved out. That she should have this floor all to herself because she was the only daughter. Even as her brothers had grumbled that one of them wanted it, her mother had allowed it.

Stripping off her clothes, she headed next door for a shower. Running soap over her body, she ignored the twinges after sex with JD. They’d gone at each other like rabbits. She could feel the heat in her cheeks at the memory.

Shutting off the water, she got out and dried off. Zoe then pulled on the T-shirt she slept in and climbed into bed. Pulling the covers over her head, she wondered what the hell she was supposed to do now.

She’d slept with JD Hopper who she’d vowed to dislike because he stood for everything she hated. He was a man like the one who had destroyed her life. Someone who liked wealth, power, and women but not commitment.

“What the hell have you done, Zoe Duke,” she whispered.

She’d told JD they would never speak of last night again, but her thoughts were an entirely different matter. She’d had the best sex in her life at the hands of a man she disliked.

Closing her eyes, she willed herself to sleep—anything to rid her mind of the memories, if only for a while. Because Zoe had a bad feeling they would be with her for a lifetime.

Chapter3

JD pounded a fist onto the steering wheel, swearing loud and long as he drove away from—as the locals called it—Duke Drive.

He’d slept with Zoe Duke. The sexy-as-hell youngest sister of his best friend. A woman who he’d been aware of since he’d first seen her.

That day was etched in his memory. She’d been walking down the main street of Lyntacky toward him, wearing a dress that reached midthigh and showed off her long legs and lush body. He’d been about to open his mouth and say, “Mine,” when Sawyer said, “That’s my sister, Zoe.”

The urge to claim her had been primal, and JD never had urges like that. He wasn’t someone who’d ever claimed women and thought men who did needed a lesson in manners, but in that moment he’d wanted to.

JD had stayed as far away from Zoe as he could from that moment, which hadn’t always been easy because her oldest brother was his friend. He’d annoyed and irritated her to keep her at arm’s length. Zoe had been happy to do the same, but he’d not believed her reasons mirrored his until last night.

Yes, she was beautiful, but Zoe was so much more than that. She was smart, fiery, and didn’t take a step back from anyone or anything. With four brothers, he was sure there were plenty of battles she had fought that taught her to be strong. He’d watched her play in the town baseball games since her return. It was the one time he could observe her and no one noticed.

“And that doesn’t make you sound like a stalker,” JD muttered.

The Dukes were a family that loved with all their hearts and protected those of their blood fiercely. JD had seen her brothers watching Zoe. Sawyer, especially, was overprotective of his little sister.

JD had once heard Delores Heckler, owner of the Rollaway, the bar in town, saying there was no way in hell she’d have got up to what she did if she’d been a Duke. They had eyes everywhere when it came to Zoe.

“Double fuck,” JD said, driving slowly into town instead of straight home. He needed coffee, stat, to clear his head.

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