Promise Them (The Callahan Series Book 6) by Mitzi Pool Bridges Page B

kids had.
    No, Nellie didn’t want to go there.
    When she turned onto the ranch road, Beau was still behind her. She pulled her car close to the back door. The outside lights were on, as well as those in the kitchen. Donovan was probably waiting up. She didn’t want her son to think she was going out and about with their neighbor.
    Heaving a deep sigh, she opened the car door. Beau was there, looking tall and handsome. And tired.
    “You’ve had a rough day, Beau. You should have gone straight home.”
    “Nonsense. I had to make sure you made it back okay.”
    When she looked at him with that look, he added, “What if you had a flat? It’s dark, and there’s not much traffic out this way.”
    Nellie chuckled. “I have a cell phone, Beau. But I thank you anyway. Now, I’m safe and sound at my back door. Go home and get some sleep.”
    He took her hand, brought it to his mouth, and kissed it again. This time there was no audience, and this time the hand kiss sent a hot flash to her entire body.
    “Good night, pretty lady. I hope you had as wonderful a time tonight as I did.”
    She could barely speak. “I did, Beau. Good night.”
    Her legs as shaky as Mark’s favorite bowl of Jell-O, she made her way through the quiet house and to her room. What was wrong with her? She hadn’t had enough wine to make her this wobbly.
    It wasn’t the wine. It was Beau. Beau did this to her. A simple look could do it. Sitting next to him intensified it. The hand kiss had sealed it. He evoked feelings in her she didn’t want. Feelings she’d thought never to have again and didn’t want now.
    What would the children think? Reliable, steady, Mom, acting like a teen with a crush. Would they understand? Or think her wanton?
    It had been over twenty years since Duncan’s death. Not once had she even looked at another man. Now she couldn’t stop thinking of Beau Chandler. She hated the part of her that wouldn’t let her forget his kiss.
    Her foster parents had told her often enough she was a no-good tramp. After they’d caught her kissing Buck they’d reminded her every day of her sinful nature. Kept her so in the dark about boys and men she’d had no chance against Carl Perkins. She’d been so stupid then. After Carl raped her, before she could escape, he’d asked her what did she expect? She’d led him on.
    Duncan had saved her. Loving him had saved her in every way.
    All these years she’d been acting. It made her ill to think she hadn’t changed.
    Pulling herself together, she put on a pair of pajamas, and went to bed. But sleep wouldn’t come. Tossing and turning, she thought of Beau—thought of Dani and what the young woman had accomplished in such a short time—thought of Beau again.
    She liked him. A lot. But would he, like Carl, think she was leading him on?
    Burying her head under a pillow, Nellie finally slept.
    ****
    Beau drove back to the ranch not knowing what to do with the feelings Nell evoked, or how or even if he should act on them. He wanted to. The thought of holding her in his arms and making love sent rivers of desire into a torrent. Maybe he should get out more. He’d been so busy working since he bought the ranch that women hadn’t entered his head.
    Memories of other women he’d been involved with came to mind. But he had a hard time coming up with their names. They hadn’t stuck in his head the way Nell did. Nor had they aroused this desire to be with her, talk with her, spend time looking at her. It was as if he’d been missing something important in his life.
    He needed Nell. Wanted her. But Nell was her own woman; satisfied with her life. She didn’t need him.
    Tired as he was, Beau found himself humming on the drive back to the ranch. How could he not? He’d shared dinner with two beautiful woman, three, counting Emma, who had been stunning tonight.
    What a rare talent his daughter had, and he hadn’t had a clue.
    If he’d only been more involved in their world instead of centering