Kane was by her side in an instant, his hand on her forehead. “You feel hot. You need to take some Tylenol and get back in bed right now.”
“Should I salute too, Mr. Bossy?”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t care if you flip me off as long as you do it while you’re layin’ down.”
Once she’d taken her pills and crawled in bed, Kane checked on her. Retucking the sheet, setting a glass of water on the nightstand, restocking her Kleenex supply. Touching her. She loved the way he touched her, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.
“I’m thinkin’ I’ll need to stay another night, since you still ain’t your chipper, contrary self yet.”
“I’d like that.”
He feathered his lips across her forehead. “Good. Get some rest, counselor.”
Ginger was faking it.
Not orgasms. God knew she didn’t ever have to fake those with Kane. She was faking being sick.
Although she still didn’t feel one hundred percent, she could’ve sent Kane on his merry way.
But she didn’t want him to go. She liked having him here.
After Kane tucked Hayden in, she heard him rattling around in the kitchen. Then the house became quiet. Thirty minutes passed.
What was the man doing?
Don’t you mean: what’s he doing that’s keeping him out of your bed?
Ginger donned a robe and tracked him down. He wasn’t watching TV; he was working on the puzzle.
His forehead wrinkled in concentration, his fingers sifting through the piles of pieces.
“You determined to finish that tonight?”
Those indigo eyes locked onto hers. “No. Actually, the more I work on this the more I agree with Hayden. It is boring.”
“Then come to bed.”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“I’m not up for anything more than us just sharing sleeping space.”
Kane eased his chair back and stood. He took her hand and led the way to her bedroom. Undressed, under the covers, wrapped in each other, any tiredness vanished. They talked for a good hour about everything from Hayden to TV shows and his large family before she yawned.
The next morning, while still in the realm of sleep, Ginger felt Kane’s hands on her. Hiking up her nightgown. His lips trailed the curve of her jaw with light, yet insistent kisses. Her back arched of its own accord as his mouth hit all the good spots, spots he’d already memorized.
“Sugar, I’m wantin’ you real bad. Let me have you.”
“You’re asking me? This must be a dream.”
He sank his teeth into her earlobe. “You must be feelin’ better if you’re bein’ contrary first thing.” His warm breath drifted across her cheek. “Say yes, Ginger.”
“Yes, Ginger,” she teased.
“There’s that smart mouth I’ve been missin’ something fierce.” He kissed her, sealing their lips together.
Clothes disappeared. Kane pushed inside her on a long, smooth glide and her body was ready for him.
He made love to her sweetly, passionately. The intimacy of being cocooned in their own little world in the predawn hours amazed her. Body to body, heart to heart, face to face.
When his pace increased, it sent them spiraling into the abyss of pleasure together.
More dreamy kisses. More feather-light caresses. He whispered, “Go back to sleep, sugar. No reason for us both to be up.” He headed for the shower as she snuggled into the sheets that smelled like him.
Ginger awoke an hour later. She saw Kane’s wristwatch on the nightstand and knew she hadn’t been dreaming.
“And then Buck came over. We took care of Mom and we worked on the puzzle and we played some games. And he made me do chores! So when Mom napped we went to Buck’s house to check on his dog and other ranch stuff,” Hayden added.
Ginger sipped her tea and watched her father’s reaction to the news Kane McKay had spent both nights here while he’d been out of town.
Her dad smiled. “Sounds like you had a great time while I was gone.”
Hayden nodded but Ginger saw the hint of sadness in her dad’s eyes. “For some of us, it wasn’t a great time. I still don’t feel back to normal.”
“You should go in and see Doc instead of self-medicating.”
“I will. If I’m not better by the time I’m done with this cycle of antibiotics.” She stood and started clearing supper plates. “Who wants a brownie?”
“Me!”
She looked at her dad. “How about you?”
“No thanks.”
Odd. Brownies were his favorite dessert.
Hayden stuffed his entire brownie in his mouth and raced away from the table.
“Something on your mind, Dad?”
“Is it me?”
“Is what you?”
“The reason that you don’t feel comfortable having McKay in the house overnight while I’m here?”
Her face flamed. “It’s not that. Kane wouldn’t have been here if I hadn’t been sick. I didn’t call him.
Hayden did.” She pointed at him. “And you don’t get to act pissy about Kane showing up to help out, because if I recall, you called him and insisted he check up on me at my office.”
He sighed. “True. It’s just…it seems…”
“What?”
“Forget it.”
“No, Dad, tell me.”
His voice dropped. “I don’t care that you’re sleeping with him, Gigi. You’re a grown woman. You’ve sacrificed your personal life for both Hayden and me the last few years. While I appreciate it, I don’t want to be an excuse for you.”
Confused, she said, “An excuse for what?”
“For you to act like you don’t need the happiness that only comes from an intimate relationship.
While your mother and I were mismatched from the start, when I met Linda, it was like the clouds had lifted and I was finally standing in the sun.”
Ginger reached for his hand. Her dad rarely talked about the woman he’d married after moving to Wyoming. Ginger had only met Linda once, but she’d made her father happy. She knew it wasn’t a coincidence that his arthritis had taken a turn for the worse the year following Linda’s death from cancer.
That’d also been around the same time Ginger had given birth to Hayden. Her father had reached out to her and she’d grabbed for him with both hands and hadn’t looked back. She couldn’t imagine her dad not being in her life.
“What I’m saying is I’ve had my happiness. I’d never stand in the way of yours.”