He was more like Mr. Full of Regret. "I hate to say this, but I have to go to work. I'm supposed to be at the construction job site at 6:45, and it's 6:15 now. It's a twenty-minute drive."
It burned in him, the urge to blow off his responsibilities and stay wrapped up in Amanda for the rest of the morning. But that wasn't him. He had made a commitment. He had a job to do. He needed the health insurance for his daughter, and he couldn't change who he was in the core of him.
There was a lot he needed to say to Amanda, but there was no time right now and he didn't want to rush through what he wanted to lay before her. Which was his heart and his hope and a plan to spend their future together. He wanted one chance to tell her how he felt and let her decide once and for all before she left in a few days.
If she left.
But now wasn't the time to discuss it.
"Alright," she said, pulling her hand away. "But I expect compensation tonight."
Danny sat up and studied her. She didn't look like a woman who was planning to ditch him in a day or two. She looked… happy. Carefree. Sexy.
It was reassuring enough that he was able to get out of bed, throw on some clothes, and give her a kiss good-bye. Avoiding the dog, who was sleeping on the circle rug at the foot of the bed, he padded to the kitchen in his socks. He was starving, having skipped dinner the night before for more pressing physical needs. Scrounging in the pantry, he found a breakfast bar.
He had half of it in his mouth and was reaching for his boots when Amanda stumbled into the kitchen. Swallowing the dry mess in his mouth, he said, "You can go back to sleep, gorgeous. Piper won't be back for hours."
"I need coffee. And I'm starving. What are you eating?" She ran her fingers through her hair and put a hand on her hip. She had pulled on one of his T-shirts and looked sexy and rumpled.
He held up the wrapper for her to see. "Help yourself to anything in the pantry or the fridge. You know where the coffee is."
"Yes, I do." She already had the can out and was dumping what looked like a hell of a lot of grounds into the machine. Filling the pot with water from the sink, she asked, "What time are you going to be home?"
"Around two. We're framing a barn, and we should get a good start on it, but I need to get back and put the corn in the silo. We're supposed to get rain tomorrow, and it needs to get put up before then." Danny sat down at the kitchen table and jammed his foot into a boot. Like Amanda really gave a crap about his crop.
She turned on the coffeemaker, twisting the pot a little to make sure it was lined up, and turned around. Leaning against the counter, she yawned. "Why don't we ever eat the corn for lunch? There's like three million ears of it right out in the yard, and we never eat it."
"It's not sweet corn. It's feed corn, grown specifically to feed livestock. It wouldn't taste any good to us."
"You really work hard, don't you?" She studied him, hands folded over her chest.
Danny shrugged. He did what needed to be done. Amanda turned and rooted in the cabinet for a coffee mug while he laced his boots and stuck the other half of the cereal bar in his mouth. Damn, he didn't want to leave and go sweat with a nail gun in his hand. He wanted to stay.
"You going to be around when I get home?"
Now it was her turn to shrug. "Sure, if that's okay."
"Yep." It was more than okay. It was exactly what he wanted. Danny stamped his feet in his boots to get a better fit. Then he stood up, reached for the keys to his truck lying next to the phone. Shoved his wallet into his pocket.
Amanda poured herself a cup of coffee and took a deep, fortifying sip. "Aahh. That's better."
Danny meant to leave. He meant to just turn and leave, maybe giving her a little kiss good-bye. Instead, he found himself pausing in front of her.
"I wasn't going to say anything, Amanda, and I don't want you to answer. But I just want you to think about this while I'm gone today." He cupped her cheek with his hand, drew his thumb over her lip. "I want you to stay here with me, forever. As my wife."
She opened her mouth, eyes wide, and he spoke again before she could. "I know it's asking the world of you, and there are a million details and complications that we should discuss, but I just want you to think about it today. Think about how you feel."
Again her lips parted, like she was going to say something. He quickly covered her lips with his hand, his heart pounding. God, he couldn't take her rejection right this second, when they still had the scent of each other on their skin, and he felt so much love for her, he could just about burst from it. "Shhh. Don't answer. Not yet. Think about it."
"I don't…" she said behind his fingers.
He cut her off with a kiss, one that he hoped poured all of his emotions into her.
One that he hoped wasn't good-bye.
"I'll see you tonight."
"Okay. Tonight," she said, her green eyes bright and glassy.
If this were the end, he would never forget the look of her standing in his kitchen, looking beautiful and sensual.
It was a perfect moment of hope and happiness, and God, he hoped it would last.
When he pulled out of the driveway, she was in the doorway, her mug in front of her lips, wearing his shirt and a sweet smile as she waved to him.
He almost wrecked the truck staring into his rearview mirror.
Chapter 23
" Ready, set… Go!"
Amanda ran across the hard dirt toward Willie and Daniel's house, her Skechers taking the jarring impact of her feet slamming down. Baby barked and ran alongside of her, little poodle legs straining to keep up.
When she reached the mailbox in front of the farmhouse, she touched the rooster on the side of the plastic box and headed back. Her lungs were burning, her legs straining, and a really disgusting line of sweat was trailing between her shoulder blades. As she crossed the finish line, a ribbon stretched between two Barbies, she ground to a halt and bent over.
"Thirty-eight seconds!" Piper shouted, holding up the watch in her hand.
"Geez, that's hard work." She sucked in her breath and stretched her legs. "And I think I'm actually getting slower, not faster. What's your record?"
"I did it in thirty-four seconds."
"That's because your legs are shorter," Amanda told her, smiling at Piper. God, she loved this kid. She was just such a sweet, happy child, despite everything that had happened in her life, and when she looked at Piper, Amanda felt pure, unselfish love.
"Nuh-uh! You should be faster because your legs are longer."