telling the truth. She seemed so innocent, almost newborn to the world, but there was a shadow following her. The lady had a past.
“I’m just being polite when I open doors.” He fought the urge to touch her again, just to make sure she was all right. “All you have to say is thank you.”
“Oh, I see. I have to say thank you for something I didn’t ask for.”
There it was again. That smart mouth just under her shy act. Once she lost her fear of him, she’d probably cut him to shreds. Damn if he didn’t find the lady’s attitude sexy.
Wilkes circled around his car thinking he needed to get in as fast as possible. If she started arguing without him, he wouldn’t have a chance at keeping up. Maybe his mind had been sharp enough to handle a woman like her when he’d been in college, or even right after he got out of the army, but not now that his brain had been rusting for years.
An old memory danced across his thoughts. When he’d been in college, his steady girlfriend, Lexie, used to talk on and on about nothing. At the time he thought it was cute. She even talked during sex.
Thinking about it now, Wilkes decided that wasn’t cute.
He used to think that he knew every thought in Lexie’s head. Obviously not. She dumped him within two months of his deployment. Friends claimed she’d already roped a new guy before he was out of United States airspace. Some commented that she did the same between husband number one and husband number two.
Angie was a totally different kind of woman. She didn’t flirt, or play silly games when she talked. He decided maybe she was the never-marry type, or maybe one of those women who marry someone years older and wiser so they can have long evenings of conversations. He figured he was out of luck if that were the case. First, he wasn’t that much older than her, and second, he’d always thought his communication skills were more on the nonverbal side.
Wilkes had a feeling she’d love one man if she ever decided to love at all, and he wasn’t ready for an all-out kind of love. Maybe he could talk her into being just friends. No, better yet, friends with benefits.
No, she’d never go for that.
To say he didn’t understand her was an understatement. They weren’t just from different planets; they were from opposite solar systems. She was mad at him for opening her door. Hell. That made no sense. And besides, she hadn’t mentioned much of anything about her fiancé. He thought all women ran down every old lover within the first two hours of meeting anyone new. It was a comparison-shopping kind of thing.
“Okay, Angie, you don’t have to say thank you.” He kept his voice calm. All his anger was turned inward as he realized he’d been dating girls by their bust size and not their IQ. He wouldn’t be surprised if a few he’d picked up at the Two Step around closing time didn’t know how to open a car door. He usually drove them home and gave a quick kiss, then spent the rest of the night wondering why he’d put his tongue in the mouth of someone who was brain-dead.
“Fair enough,” Angie said, unaware he wasn’t paying attention to her as they passed down the main street of Crossroads. “I had fun talking with you and Yancy over dinner. I usually eat meals alone. Just me and Doc Holliday.”
“Doc’s been gone for quite a while, Angie. You talking to his ghost?”
“Doc Holliday is my cat.”
Damn! Now he felt sorry for her. She ate all her meals with a pet. “You should try eating meals with Uncle Vern. He’ll make you long for silence.”
“How long has he lived with you?” she asked, as if just making conversation.
“All my life. But he doesn’t live with me. He has his own place on the ranch. I think my grandfather built it for him when he was about thirty and hadn’t moved off. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but when I was in the army, I missed the old guy. My folks were always busy with their lives. I was simply an accident
“I’m just being polite when I open doors.” He fought the urge to touch her again, just to make sure she was all right. “All you have to say is thank you.”
“Oh, I see. I have to say thank you for something I didn’t ask for.”
There it was again. That smart mouth just under her shy act. Once she lost her fear of him, she’d probably cut him to shreds. Damn if he didn’t find the lady’s attitude sexy.
Wilkes circled around his car thinking he needed to get in as fast as possible. If she started arguing without him, he wouldn’t have a chance at keeping up. Maybe his mind had been sharp enough to handle a woman like her when he’d been in college, or even right after he got out of the army, but not now that his brain had been rusting for years.
An old memory danced across his thoughts. When he’d been in college, his steady girlfriend, Lexie, used to talk on and on about nothing. At the time he thought it was cute. She even talked during sex.
Thinking about it now, Wilkes decided that wasn’t cute.
He used to think that he knew every thought in Lexie’s head. Obviously not. She dumped him within two months of his deployment. Friends claimed she’d already roped a new guy before he was out of United States airspace. Some commented that she did the same between husband number one and husband number two.
Angie was a totally different kind of woman. She didn’t flirt, or play silly games when she talked. He decided maybe she was the never-marry type, or maybe one of those women who marry someone years older and wiser so they can have long evenings of conversations. He figured he was out of luck if that were the case. First, he wasn’t that much older than her, and second, he’d always thought his communication skills were more on the nonverbal side.
Wilkes had a feeling she’d love one man if she ever decided to love at all, and he wasn’t ready for an all-out kind of love. Maybe he could talk her into being just friends. No, better yet, friends with benefits.
No, she’d never go for that.
To say he didn’t understand her was an understatement. They weren’t just from different planets; they were from opposite solar systems. She was mad at him for opening her door. Hell. That made no sense. And besides, she hadn’t mentioned much of anything about her fiancé. He thought all women ran down every old lover within the first two hours of meeting anyone new. It was a comparison-shopping kind of thing.
“Okay, Angie, you don’t have to say thank you.” He kept his voice calm. All his anger was turned inward as he realized he’d been dating girls by their bust size and not their IQ. He wouldn’t be surprised if a few he’d picked up at the Two Step around closing time didn’t know how to open a car door. He usually drove them home and gave a quick kiss, then spent the rest of the night wondering why he’d put his tongue in the mouth of someone who was brain-dead.
“Fair enough,” Angie said, unaware he wasn’t paying attention to her as they passed down the main street of Crossroads. “I had fun talking with you and Yancy over dinner. I usually eat meals alone. Just me and Doc Holliday.”
“Doc’s been gone for quite a while, Angie. You talking to his ghost?”
“Doc Holliday is my cat.”
Damn! Now he felt sorry for her. She ate all her meals with a pet. “You should try eating meals with Uncle Vern. He’ll make you long for silence.”
“How long has he lived with you?” she asked, as if just making conversation.
“All my life. But he doesn’t live with me. He has his own place on the ranch. I think my grandfather built it for him when he was about thirty and hadn’t moved off. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but when I was in the army, I missed the old guy. My folks were always busy with their lives. I was simply an accident
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