pastor,” she replied.
“He wouldn’t be the first to fal .”
She shook her head. “He abhorred promiscuity, especial y adultery. He cal ed it the greatest of al sins.”
Hunter felt as if she’d just pressed a hot branding iron—
a large A—into his chest. He believed that marriage was sacred, too. Which was why he couldn’t forgive himself.
Maybe he and Antoinette wouldn’t have made it, anyway.
Lord knows they’d been having their share of problems.
He’d moved into the guest bedroom months before The Incident. But that was no excuse for what he’d done. He should’ve ended his marriage first. He just hadn’t recognized his own limitations.
“He taught that chastity was worth the sacrifice of al else,” Madeline added.
“It had to be tough, growing up in the shadow of such a strict father.”
“Why?” she asked.
“You never made a mistake? You weren’t ever…
tempted?”
“Sure.” She shrugged. “But I managed to wait…quite a while.”
Madeline’s sex life had little or nothing to do with the case he was investigating, but it beat the hel out of thinking about his own. And the interior of the smal car, along with the darkness and the steady pounding of the rain, created a sense of intimacy that made it al too easy to ask. “How long is quite a while?”
“Until I started dating Kirk.”
“Your current boyfriend?” he asked in amazement.
“Sort of.” She mumbled the words.
“So you were…what? Thirty-four when you lost your virginity?”
“Thirty-two.”
“Wow.” He almost couldn’t believe it. Obviously, the reverend’s teachings had been very effective.
“I know. I was kind of old,” she admitted.
“ Kind of?” he echoed.
“Stil water isn’t like L.A.” She sounded slightly offended.
“We’re…conservative.”
“You’ve mentioned that, but—” he released his breath in a soft whistle “—what made you wait that long?”
“I was hoping to meet the right guy.”
“But you didn’t?”
“No. I think I realized it even at the time. I just got tired of waiting, tried to settle.”
Hunter couldn’t help asking, “Did you like it?”
Her lips curved into a sexy smile. “Like what?” she asked with false innocence.
“You know what.”
“What do you think?”
Her husky tone caused a strange flutter in Hunter’s stomach, which surprised him. He hadn’t felt anything like that since long before his divorce. And he didn’t want to feel it now. Not for someone else’s woman. “You and Kirk must be pretty serious,” he said.
“Not anymore.”
The flutter disappeared. “Something’s changed?”
She turned down the radio, which was playing Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Since they’d been driving, Madeline had changed the station many times, but always from one country song to another. Hunter was beginning to believe there was no other kind of music available. Being so close to Nashvil e, he’d expected to hear some country music, but he’d heard nothing else. The differences between the South and the West were even more pronounced than he’d assumed—and that included meeting a woman as beautiful as Madeline Barker who’d held onto her virginity for thirty-two years.
“We broke up six weeks ago,” she said.
Hunter felt his jaw drop. That wasn’t good news. He’d been counting on some other man standing between them, keeping him mindful of his boundaries. And now…“You told me you were involved. Wasn’t lying on your father’s list of cardinal sins?”
“I wasn’t really lying. Kirk and I were together for five years, and it hasn’t been that long that we split up.”
He fiddled with the door handle. “Does that mean you’re planning to get back together?”
She kept her attention on the road. “No.”
Great. He’d just plunged himself into temptation. But he couldn’t get too angry with her. They’d both lied. She’d said she was involved—and he’d said he wasn’t
“He wouldn’t be the first to fal .”
She shook her head. “He abhorred promiscuity, especial y adultery. He cal ed it the greatest of al sins.”
Hunter felt as if she’d just pressed a hot branding iron—
a large A—into his chest. He believed that marriage was sacred, too. Which was why he couldn’t forgive himself.
Maybe he and Antoinette wouldn’t have made it, anyway.
Lord knows they’d been having their share of problems.
He’d moved into the guest bedroom months before The Incident. But that was no excuse for what he’d done. He should’ve ended his marriage first. He just hadn’t recognized his own limitations.
“He taught that chastity was worth the sacrifice of al else,” Madeline added.
“It had to be tough, growing up in the shadow of such a strict father.”
“Why?” she asked.
“You never made a mistake? You weren’t ever…
tempted?”
“Sure.” She shrugged. “But I managed to wait…quite a while.”
Madeline’s sex life had little or nothing to do with the case he was investigating, but it beat the hel out of thinking about his own. And the interior of the smal car, along with the darkness and the steady pounding of the rain, created a sense of intimacy that made it al too easy to ask. “How long is quite a while?”
“Until I started dating Kirk.”
“Your current boyfriend?” he asked in amazement.
“Sort of.” She mumbled the words.
“So you were…what? Thirty-four when you lost your virginity?”
“Thirty-two.”
“Wow.” He almost couldn’t believe it. Obviously, the reverend’s teachings had been very effective.
“I know. I was kind of old,” she admitted.
“ Kind of?” he echoed.
“Stil water isn’t like L.A.” She sounded slightly offended.
“We’re…conservative.”
“You’ve mentioned that, but—” he released his breath in a soft whistle “—what made you wait that long?”
“I was hoping to meet the right guy.”
“But you didn’t?”
“No. I think I realized it even at the time. I just got tired of waiting, tried to settle.”
Hunter couldn’t help asking, “Did you like it?”
Her lips curved into a sexy smile. “Like what?” she asked with false innocence.
“You know what.”
“What do you think?”
Her husky tone caused a strange flutter in Hunter’s stomach, which surprised him. He hadn’t felt anything like that since long before his divorce. And he didn’t want to feel it now. Not for someone else’s woman. “You and Kirk must be pretty serious,” he said.
“Not anymore.”
The flutter disappeared. “Something’s changed?”
She turned down the radio, which was playing Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Since they’d been driving, Madeline had changed the station many times, but always from one country song to another. Hunter was beginning to believe there was no other kind of music available. Being so close to Nashvil e, he’d expected to hear some country music, but he’d heard nothing else. The differences between the South and the West were even more pronounced than he’d assumed—and that included meeting a woman as beautiful as Madeline Barker who’d held onto her virginity for thirty-two years.
“We broke up six weeks ago,” she said.
Hunter felt his jaw drop. That wasn’t good news. He’d been counting on some other man standing between them, keeping him mindful of his boundaries. And now…“You told me you were involved. Wasn’t lying on your father’s list of cardinal sins?”
“I wasn’t really lying. Kirk and I were together for five years, and it hasn’t been that long that we split up.”
He fiddled with the door handle. “Does that mean you’re planning to get back together?”
She kept her attention on the road. “No.”
Great. He’d just plunged himself into temptation. But he couldn’t get too angry with her. They’d both lied. She’d said she was involved—and he’d said he wasn’t
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