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"Stop it," he said softly, in a desperate plea
Maureen wasn’t easily inti It’s time to let yourself have the life you really want"
They locked eyes for long seconds Then Sean bounced out of the house, all smiles "Well, we ready to head out? Mom? Luke?"
It took a second for the off her coffee cup to Sean "Just let oodbye to Art"
"Yeah, I should do that, too," Sean said, handing Luke the cup "Then let’s make tracks, huh?"
Luke waited by Sean’s car until they careen eyes twinkling "Luke, honey, it onderful I love your house and cabins, your town, your new friends I think if you decided to stay right here, you ave hi I’ll talk to you soon"
"Real soon," Luke said "Sean, drive carefully Get her there in one piece"
Luke was brooding long after histosome sense, but what she didn’t understand was that even if he could work up the courage to take that kind of risk, it was ie like that She was young and fresh He was not He was seasoned, bruised and holding back how he felt was by now a habit
He could’ve worked on one of the cabins, but he didn’t He puttered There weren’t even breakfast dishes to clean up--his mother had done that He laundered the sheets and towels He wandered froain At one point he saw Art come back from the river He waved at Luke and went into his cabin for a while, then back to the river Lunch break? Luke thought about getting hi his chimes--maybe a canvas vest, a creel, a fancy fisherman’s hat
Luke loved his h esteem, and he hated that he’d disappointed her It wasn’t a question of what he wanted, it was a et that?
She really annoyed him with her theories He had to re froeneration She’d been considering the convent, although he’d seen pictures of her and she was a beautiful young woman; boys andthe prude she was, she hadn’t slipped an inch Although she wouldn’t speak of indelicate things, Luke’s father had said their mother was pure as the driven snow Luke took that to in, a rarity in these days Luke didn’t run into women like that
Until lately
But that was a whole different thing--Shelby She wasn’t necessarily a virgin because she had been saving herself, but because she’d had no opportunities That hat Shelby needed now--opportunities Education, career, experience and, yes, a few more men so she could learn for herself orked best for her It wasn’t a good idea for a young woratitude for the good things in life to get herself stuck Just because Luke was the first didn’t make him the best God, he was hardly the best…
Still, there was a part of him that wished his mother’s fantasy could be real--that you accidentally find this person, this one ideal person, and you dive in, not wasting afor the next thirty or forty or fifty years is just one big lovefest Unfortunately, it wasn’t just his bad experience he drew from He’d been around a lot of men the last twenty years and too few of the; too uy, he didn’t get into emotional conversations with , sobbing soldiers as they grieved lost love The sao into a bloody battle fearlessly could be brought to their knees by a woman who couldn’t keep her pro about His roused She meant well, wanted the best for him, but she was pie-in-the-sky delusional
And then Shelby drove up to his house It was early afternoon and Shelby had known hisShe caet out of her Jeep, her hair full and free as he liked it She wore tight jeans and boots, a down vest over her turtleneck sweater, and she stood there beside her car, s at him She could have waited for him to show up at Jack’s, or to call her and tell her the coast was clear But she didn’t wait, she ca"
"Good," she said, grinning
He forgot everything he’d been dwelling on He smiled at her and never even felt all the tension drain frohed and hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans She slaed at his around his waist, her lips on his lips She laughed against his open mouth, but only for aher up He couldn’t move from his spot on the porch All that was i her in his ar his ainst her lips "I’ll take some time"
"It’s okay," she said in her own breathless whisper "You don’t have to slon forhurry"
"Oh God," he whispered, weak "Are you sure?"
"Sure I’ain And he found his way into the house He carried her like that straight to the bedrooet away any sooner," she said while pulling at his clothes He began to peel away her clothes at the sa from the bed to the floor "And I wasn’t exactly sure when--"
He stilled her with his
She wrestled free of his lips and said, "Boots, Luke We have to get rid of the boots"
He laughed a loud, lusty laugh "Be interesting, doing it in only boots Let’s take off the jeans and put the boots back on…"
"Soht he’d die, having her like this, rushing hiency, honey?" he asked her