“Maybe.”
“Did you mean what you said when…when I took off that sweatshirt?”
There was a slight pause, then his tone changed, became deeper, earthier. “What did I say?”
She could tell he remembered. He was challenging her again. But she wasn’t going to let him scare her away that easily. “That I was…” She swallowed. Asking proved awkward for her, which was, presumably, why he demanded she spell it out. “That I was…you know…”
“No, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?”
“You said I was gorgeous,” she finally blurted, hoping for some small concession she could take away from their painful experience. It wasn’t as if she cared about embarrassing herself in front of Mike. She’d already done a fine job of that—on more than one occasion.
“Now I remember,” he said, his tone huskier still.
“Okay, so…did you mean it?”
“Honestly?”
Her stomach tensed, drawing a complaint from her ulcer. Of course he hadn’t meant it. What had she been thinking? She’d been stupid to open herself up, to let him toy with her. “No, never mind.”
Silence. Then he asked, “Will you call me when you’re ready to come home?”
“Sure.” She had no intention of contacting Mike Hill for anything, but she was so eager to get off the phone she would’ve agreed to almost anything. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Lucky?”
“What?”
“I meant it,” he said and hung up.
MIKE DIDN’T KNOW what to do. He found himself creeping slowly along Main Street—the storm kept him from going very fast—bored stiff. He had plenty of work back at the ranch, yet he found himself reluctant to return. He knew Lucky had something to do with his desire to hang around town, and Gabe, too. They’d both left him frustrated, although in different ways, and he hated that. He wasn’t used to negative emotions interfering with his daily life, because he always made such an effort to be cautious and courteous, regardless of the circumstances. He didn’t create false expectations, especially with women. He didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep, especially with women. He didn’t allow his relationships to drift toward any extreme, especially with women. He’d never fallen in love and didn’t relish the idea of a messy break-up. So why, after dating for more than twenty years, did he suddenly feel so unsettled?
If my body was found on the side of the road, the whole town would probably launch a celebration, and you and your family could lead the parade.
The fact that Lucky actually believed she mattered so little to everyone bothered him. Maybe he’d resented her over the years, but he’d never expected her to care, or even notice. Because she’d always seemed so damn tough, like her mother, he hadn’t given a second thought to how she might feel.
Now he had to consider the possibility that maybe she wasn’t so tough. Maybe her prickly behavior was only a front. After last night, he could believe it. She’d certainly put up other fronts, like the one that had led him to assume she looked at sex in a casual manner. Last night might have ended badly, but those few minutes before her abrupt departure had been anything but casual. Lucky seemed to put her whole heart and soul into her lovemaking, which was why he’d temporarily lost control.
His blood warmed as he remembered the way she’d responded to his touch. She’d abandoned all reservations, trusted him completely, although she’d never been with anyone else and had given him no warning that she hadn’t…
His parents’ street came up on his left, and he slowed to make the turn. His mother was always telling him he needed to stop by more often. He decided today might be a good day. The local high school would probably be closed due to the storm, so his father, who coached the varsity football team, would most likely be there with her. At any rate, Mike needed a distraction.
“Hello? Anyone home?” he called, walking in without knocking.
“Mike? Is that you?”
He heard his mother’s voice in the basement and used the banister to jump down the stairs the way he had when he was a kid.
“What’s going on?” He ducked his head as he entered her craft room, because the ceiling was so much lower than anywhere else in the house.
She glanced up from her sewing machine where she was nearly buried in shiny purple fabric. “I’m making a bridesmaid dress for Beatrice’s daughter.”
“Who?”
“Melanie Jamison, the neighbor’s daughter.”
“Oh, right. That’s nice of you.”
“I love weddings,” she said pointedly.
He slouched into one of the fold-up chairs surrounding the table. “I know, and you don’t have any daughters. I’ve heard this before.”
She arched a meaningful eyebrow at him. “Obviously not enough. I could have two daughters-in-law if only my oldest son would take pity on his poor mother, settle down and start a family.”
“Josh is keeping up that end of things.”
“Rebecca has difficulty getting pregnant. You know that. It was a miracle they managed to have little Brian. They may not be able to have another child.”
“Isn’t one enough?”
“No. And you’re almost forty, Mike.”
“Don’t make me regret stopping by,” he grumbled.
“You won’t regret it because I’ll feed you before you leave.”
He crossed his legs at the ankles. “I like your tactics.”
She shrugged. “I go with what works.”
“Where’s Dad?” he asked. “Don’t tell me he had to teach today.”
“No, they canceled school. We’ve got a leak upstairs. He’s trying to figure out how the water’s getting in.”
“You think he needs a hand?”
The sewing machine whirred into action as she bent over her work. “You could ask him.”
“Ask me what?”
Mike twisted to see his father step into the room. “Did you find the leak?”
“I did. Soon as the storm passes, I’ll get up on the roof and patch it.”
His father was pretty spry for sixty-three, but Mike saw no reason to risk an accident. “Don’t climb onto the roof. I’ll take care of it this weekend.”
“What brings you by this time of day? And in a storm like this?” his father asked. “Did you lose power out at the ranch?”