gnat or something stuck in my eye. I’m good now. Let’s hit it.”
She felt the hesitation in his muscles, sensed the questions gathering, but he only turned on the ATV headlights and steered them toward the path and home.
Their pace was more conservative than the morning’s headlong rush. The trees opened at the riverbank, revealing remnants of orange and purple on the horizon. The machine crawled over the bridge, and minutes later he pulled to a stop in front of the garage and turned the ATV off. Neither one of them moved.
Full darkness was almost upon them. Bullfrogs called for mates at the river, and crickets played a tune from the high grass. Only a few hours had passed, but something inside of her had fundamentally shifted.
“It’s so peaceful out here,” she whispered.
He shifted his torso around, putting his slightly parted mouth in range. Shivers ran through her body, and she licked her dry lips. His hand landed above her knee, warm and callused. A few inches north and he’d be touching her, stroking her, maybe even pressing inside of her.
Her courage reached the tipping point, but the thought he might consider a kiss a form of manipulation stopped her.
She hopped off, legs trembling, and retrieved her purse from the bed of his truck. “Thanks for the tour of the woods.”
“Anytime. And I mean that, Jessie.”
The way he said the shortened version of her name made her hesitate. He half-sat against the side of the ATV, his thumbs hooked in his front pockets. Her courtship ritual usually involved a logical weighing of positives and negatives. With Logan, the negatives far outweighed the positives, yet the acknowledgement that getting physically involved with him was illogical and not the smartest move didn’t seem to impede her body’s will. Her control frayed.
Headlights cut out of the tree line and brushed over them, stark and blinding. A truck pulled to a stop next to her loaner. A tall blond-haired man and an odd-looking three-legged dog approached. The dog ran straight to Logan for a scratch behind its ears.
Without taking his gaze off her, Logan lifted his chin and said, “Evening, Dalt. Have you met Jessica Montgomery? She’s staying over at Lilliana’s place.”
The man stuck out his hand for a shake while his dog sniffed at her feet. “Robbie Dalton. That’s Avery. Nice to make your acquaintance.” He dropped her hand, cleared his throat and shifted his gaze between them. “Wanted to go over some plays, but it can wait. Sorry, dude, didn’t realize you had company.”
“No. I was leaving. He’s all yours.” She gave the dog’s head a pat, plopped into the driver’s seat of her car, and fumbled the key into the ignition. She had been seconds away from mixing business with pleasure. A horrible mistake. Robbie Dalton and his dog deserved a thank-you note.
Jessica ran a damp palm down her skirt and gripped the steering wheel again. Logan’s words echoed again. You don’t need to prove anything to anybody. Then why did she constantly have to prove herself to her father?
She pulled in behind Lilliana’s beat-up SUV. Instead of heading for the front door, she wandered to the nearest magnolia, not ready for Lilliana’s chipper interrogation. Some memories she refused to share. The wild ride through the woods, the crows surrounding them, the lightning bugs rising into the night.
She ducked behind the leaves, the branches weaving around her like arms. How old was the tree? A hundred years? She twisted a blossom as big as her opened hand off. The scent took her back to the weeks each summer she spent with her ma-maw in Georgia. Weeks of freedom and discovery. Weeks without her mother and father’s watchful eyes. Weeks in heaven.
Her father. The sweetly scented breath she drew was at odds with the bile rising in her throat. She had to call him, tell him she hadn’t closed the deal. Probably never would.
After seeing the joy Logan took in the woods, she couldn’t imagine
She felt the hesitation in his muscles, sensed the questions gathering, but he only turned on the ATV headlights and steered them toward the path and home.
Their pace was more conservative than the morning’s headlong rush. The trees opened at the riverbank, revealing remnants of orange and purple on the horizon. The machine crawled over the bridge, and minutes later he pulled to a stop in front of the garage and turned the ATV off. Neither one of them moved.
Full darkness was almost upon them. Bullfrogs called for mates at the river, and crickets played a tune from the high grass. Only a few hours had passed, but something inside of her had fundamentally shifted.
“It’s so peaceful out here,” she whispered.
He shifted his torso around, putting his slightly parted mouth in range. Shivers ran through her body, and she licked her dry lips. His hand landed above her knee, warm and callused. A few inches north and he’d be touching her, stroking her, maybe even pressing inside of her.
Her courage reached the tipping point, but the thought he might consider a kiss a form of manipulation stopped her.
She hopped off, legs trembling, and retrieved her purse from the bed of his truck. “Thanks for the tour of the woods.”
“Anytime. And I mean that, Jessie.”
The way he said the shortened version of her name made her hesitate. He half-sat against the side of the ATV, his thumbs hooked in his front pockets. Her courtship ritual usually involved a logical weighing of positives and negatives. With Logan, the negatives far outweighed the positives, yet the acknowledgement that getting physically involved with him was illogical and not the smartest move didn’t seem to impede her body’s will. Her control frayed.
Headlights cut out of the tree line and brushed over them, stark and blinding. A truck pulled to a stop next to her loaner. A tall blond-haired man and an odd-looking three-legged dog approached. The dog ran straight to Logan for a scratch behind its ears.
Without taking his gaze off her, Logan lifted his chin and said, “Evening, Dalt. Have you met Jessica Montgomery? She’s staying over at Lilliana’s place.”
The man stuck out his hand for a shake while his dog sniffed at her feet. “Robbie Dalton. That’s Avery. Nice to make your acquaintance.” He dropped her hand, cleared his throat and shifted his gaze between them. “Wanted to go over some plays, but it can wait. Sorry, dude, didn’t realize you had company.”
“No. I was leaving. He’s all yours.” She gave the dog’s head a pat, plopped into the driver’s seat of her car, and fumbled the key into the ignition. She had been seconds away from mixing business with pleasure. A horrible mistake. Robbie Dalton and his dog deserved a thank-you note.
Jessica ran a damp palm down her skirt and gripped the steering wheel again. Logan’s words echoed again. You don’t need to prove anything to anybody. Then why did she constantly have to prove herself to her father?
She pulled in behind Lilliana’s beat-up SUV. Instead of heading for the front door, she wandered to the nearest magnolia, not ready for Lilliana’s chipper interrogation. Some memories she refused to share. The wild ride through the woods, the crows surrounding them, the lightning bugs rising into the night.
She ducked behind the leaves, the branches weaving around her like arms. How old was the tree? A hundred years? She twisted a blossom as big as her opened hand off. The scent took her back to the weeks each summer she spent with her ma-maw in Georgia. Weeks of freedom and discovery. Weeks without her mother and father’s watchful eyes. Weeks in heaven.
Her father. The sweetly scented breath she drew was at odds with the bile rising in her throat. She had to call him, tell him she hadn’t closed the deal. Probably never would.
After seeing the joy Logan took in the woods, she couldn’t imagine
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