Part 27 (1/2)
”There you go. As for me, I've got a good-looking cowboy firefighter standing outside looking ready, willing, and able to take me out.”
”I'd say,” Hedy lowered her voice to a whisper, ”let him take you to the moon.”
Lauren burst out in laughter, feeling relieved that she and Hedy were beginning to return to their old comradery.
”For now, I'm going to take these poor, old, tired bones to bed. You have fun.” And Hedy quickly hung up.
”See you tomorrow,” Lauren said to empty air, but she hoped against hope that her words came true. She felt sure if she could get her aunt back on a horse, she wouldn't hear any more about ”poor, old, tired bones.” Still, that was for another day. Tonight was reserved for Kent alone.
She quickly clicked off her cell, slipped it back in her purse, slung her bag over her shoulder, and stood up. A trip to the moon didn't sound half bad. And she figured Kent was just the guy to take her there.
When she slid open the door and stepped outside, he snagged her around the waist and pulled her close. She caught his fresh scent of citrus shampoo with a hint of leather and sage. Yum. He smelled good enough to lick all over and come back for more. Surprisingly, she giggled like a teenager at the thought.
”Want to share your humor?” He nuzzled her hair. ”You sure do smell good.”
She chuckled again. ”That's what I was thinking about you. Mine's lavender. What's yours?”
”Who knows? Morning Glory mixes up a batch when she takes a notion and thrusts it on me. Wouldn't dare not use it.”
Lauren laughed harder. ”She's got you hornswoggled, doesn't she?”
”Me? I'm not alone. That goes for the whole town. No, make that the whole county.”
”I hope she blends something special for me.”
”Somehow I don't think that'll be a problem.”
”Great!” Lauren hugged him, glancing out at his pickup. ”Did you wash your truck again?”
He draped an arm over her shoulders and led her toward his pickup. ”Yep. I cleaned it inside and out. I've got the comfort of my favorite gals to think about, don't I?”
”Thanks. It looks good.”
He opened the front pa.s.senger door. ”Take a gander at the backseat.”
”Oh, Kent! You got a booster seat for Hannah.” She whirled around and hugged him again.
”I thought it'd be easier than transferring your seat back and forth.”
She put a hand to her lips, holding back strong emotions. He'd thought about them while they were separated during the afternoon, going so far as to find a way to make their lives better. And even more, he'd thought about their future and spending more time together. Maybe he wasn't so attached to his former fiancee after all if he could think about another woman, one with a child.
”What is it?”
”Here I was wanting you for your manly body and you go and make me think about wanting-”
”Wait. Back up. What was that about my manly body?”
She chuckled, rolling her eyes at him. ”I'm not saying another word or you'll get the big head.”
”With you on my arm tonight, I can't help but be the proudest cowboy in Wildcat Bluff County.”
”I bet you say that to all the gals.” She tried for lighthearted since his hazel eyes had turned dark with intent. Now was not the time or place to pursue what was obviously on both their minds, no matter how much she was willing to go there.
He pushed her hair back behind one ear, then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheekbone. ”No other gals. There's only ever truly been one for me. I know that now that you're back in town.”
”Oh,” she said on a breathy note. She wanted to say more, but he'd stopped her thoughts in their tracks with those words. Could he be feeling what she was feeling, as if nothing between them had changed in the years apart?
”Is that all you've got to say?” he murmured against her ear, and then gently nibbled the outer edge of the delicate sh.e.l.l with his teeth.
She s.h.i.+vered in response, feeling heat burn outward from her inner core to set her entire body on fire. ”I wish we could step back in time.”
”Tonight.” He kissed her forehead, groaned with suppressed need, and backed up. ”Tonight we'll make the lonely years go away. It'll be as if they never happened to us.”
She sighed, wanting it to be so. ”But what about our former-”
”Tonight it's the two of us. Okay?”
She nodded, tamping down her questions and concerns as her body continued to burn hotter with every soft word he spoke and every intent look he gave her.
He took a deep breath, as if to control his rising emotions, and dropped his hands to his sides. ”Come on. Let's go get barbeque. It'll be dark before you know it.”
”That's right. We always liked to watch the sun set over the Red River.” She stepped up into his truck and sat down in an amazingly clean s.p.a.ce.
He leaned in and gave her a brash, brazen look. ”But it's what we do after the sun goes down that's got me in a rush to get to Lovers Leap.” He quickly shut the door and walked around the front of his pickup.
As if time had melted away, Lauren took a deep breath, feeling all safe and snuggly and excited in Kent's truck.
When he sat down beside her, started his pickup, and gave her a big grin, revealing his adorable dimples, she felt like a piece of chocolate on steamy summer days-a soft, gooey, hot mess.
Chapter 32.
A little later, Kent stepped out of the Chuckwagon Cafe carrying a bag of barbeque and fixings in one hand and two big drinks nestled in a container in the other. He frowned when he saw Lauren talking with Morning Glory on the boardwalk in front of his pickup. He'd asked her to stay in his truck so they wouldn't get hung up on their way out of town with folks in the cafe wanting to say h.e.l.lo, but he might as well have saved his breath because she'd been caught in Old Town anyway.
As he walked up to them, he saw Morning Glory point at the closed sign on the front door of Adelia's Delights, then point at Lauren. He'd never seen Morning Glory act so intense because she was always laid-back. He perked up his ears to hear their conversation.
”I don't care if you have to drag Hedy to Kent's barn kicking and screaming, you find a way to do it,” Morning Glory said in a decisive voice.
Kent blinked in shock at those words, hardly able to imagine Morning Glory being so upset. He stopped beside them, looking from one to the other. ”Ladies, don't let me interrupt, but sounds like somebody's got a burr under their saddle about something. Any way I can help?”
”Hedy!” Morning Glory grumped. ”I swear that gal's got her head on backward. I'm counting on you two to set her straight.”
”What'd she do?” he asked.
”It's not what she did,” Morning Glory explained. ”It's what she won't do.”
”You lost me there.” He held up his sack and shook it. ”At the moment, all I know about is barbeque.”