Private lives, p.14
Private Lives, page 14
When she opened the door to Brock and Jason at five o’clock, both men let out a sharp whistle. “Man, have I got a woman or have I got a woman!” Brock said, his face alight with a grin.
“Thanks.” She could hardly manage that one word. Giddy with happiness, she closed her eyes, opened her arms and hugged him. “You look g-great,” she said.
“You ought to live in that color. What’s it called?” Jason asked her.
“Burnt orange. Thanks. It’s my favorite.” She made a mental note to get some winter clothing in that color.
“You think my mommie is pretty, Mr. Lightner?” She had forgotten that Dudley stood just behind her, hearing everything and remembering it all.
“She’s beautiful,” Brock said, gazing into her eyes. He lifted the boy, hugged him and said, “I hear you caught three bass. Tomorrow we can have a cookout at my place and fry those fish.”
“Yes, sir. Uh…are you taking Mommie somewhere?” He put his arms around Brock’s shoulder. “Mommie said she didn’t sleep much last night. Didn’t you, Mommie?”
Brock looked at her with eyes that said, “I know and I understand.” Still she wished Dudley had kept that to himself.
“We’d better be going,” she said, waving her right hand in an airy fashion. “We don’t want to miss our supper.” She kissed Dudley, hugged Jason and extended her hand to the man who had the keys to her heart.
“I chose this restaurant because you like Italian food,” he said. “It’s basically American, but they serve some excellent Italian dishes.”
“I’ll enjoy it no matter what kind of food they serve. This is exciting. My dad was so strict that I didn’t date much when I was single and Lawrence was a hit with him, so that about settled it. I’m with you because it pleases me and I don’t care who doesn’t or wouldn’t like it.”
That was a mouthful if he’d ever heard one. He’d comment on it some other time, but right now, he didn’t want them to talk seriously about her marriage. “We’re going to see an old Jack Nicholson movie, Five Easy Pieces. I hope you’ll like it. If you’d rather—”
She interrupted him, patting his knee. “Not to worry. Jack Nicholson is one my favorite actors.”
“Mine, too. What do you think of the way Dudley took to Jason?”
“I’m not surprised. He trusted Jason because he’s your brother and he discovered that he liked being with him.”
“You don’t understand, Allison. Jason is strict, even with me, and I’m thirty-four.”
“I’m learning that my son doesn’t mind discipline so long as it comes from a man.”
“You’re saying he’s a little chauvinist?”
She relaxed against the back of the seat and folded her arms against her middle. “I don’t know about that, but this is one female he’d better learn to deal with.”
“I suspect he’s already learned how to do that,” Brock said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
Half an hour later, Brock parked in the parking lot beside Lakes Restaurant.
“I’m surprised to see such an elegant restaurant in this area,” she said when they entered it. “How nice!”
“I’m pleased that you like it. The fish is outstanding.”
Sitting across from him in that dimly lit environment, she told herself not to relax completely, but she couldn’t prevent herself from doing just that. The man seemed to bring out everything in her that was soft and feminine. Trust. No matter how she tried to stave it off, she trusted him more and more every day, and each day he settled deeper and more firmly into her heart.
He interrupted her thoughts. “If you’re not thinking about me right now, I’m in trouble.” He lifted the fingers of her left hand and began playing with them, almost idly, it seemed.
She nearly jerked her hand from his. How was it possible that whenever he touched her she lit up like a hot coal receiving a dose of gasoline?
“Tell me you weren’t thinking of another man,” he said, stunning her, for it seemed like an entreaty and she saw no reason why he should consider himself at a disadvantage in their relationship.
Opting for levity, she forced a smile and said, “Brock, surely you don’t believe I could sit facing you in this environment and think of another man. What kind of woman do you think I am?” She managed to look as if he had wounded her. If it worked for Dudley…She let the thought hang.
They gave identical orders to the waiter. “I can’t believe we have similar tastes in food, too,” she said.
With one eyebrow raised, he made a show of rubbing the back of his neck and said, “What else do we have similar taste in?”
“Movies,” she replied, thinking fast. “We both like Jack Nicholson.”
A grin spread over his face. “All right. I’ll let you off, but that is not what you were thinking and we both know it.”
They finished dinner and, thinking how nice it would be to linger with him over coffee and an aperitif, she almost wished he hadn’t planned for them to see a movie. He voiced her thoughts.
“I’d love to linger here with you. In this environment, you’re a hypnotic drug, but I want to see a movie with you. It’s one of my boyhood fantasies.”
“To see a movie?” she asked him, feeling foolish as the words passed through her lips.
“To see a movie with a woman who is really special to me. I’ve had plenty of movie dates.”
She realized that he was serious and said nothing, merely squeezed the hand that held hers and let that suffice.
In the movie theater, he bought a bag of buttered popcorn. “I know we just ate, Allison, but this was part of my youthful fantasy.”
She didn’t see much of that movie. Throughout, one of his hands continuously caressed her shoulder and the other one fed her popcorn. But it didn’t matter; she had already seen the movie several times.
They walked out of the theater into a quiet, clear moonlit night and she gasped. His arm immediately encircled her shoulder. “What is it?” he said, his voice carrying a sense of urgency.
She grasped his forearm. “Everything. It’s so beautiful. So perfect.”
“Yes. And so are you. I wish we could walk along the lake, but I don’t think that would be wise.”
“Why don’t we go back to Lakes Restaurant and have some coffee. From where we sat in the dining room, I saw people sitting outside on a balcony.”
“Good idea,” he said. “The restaurant faces an…inlet, I suppose you’d call it. We could walk along there for a bit, get some coffee and dessert later and then head home.”
They walked past the lobby and down the steps through a garden to a path beside the running water.
“This place was made for lovers,” she said, thinking aloud.
“Yes. It was. Kiss me.”
His arms encircled her and she went to him with the willingness of a bride to her husband. With one hand at his nape and the other holding the back of his head, she parted her lips and took him in. Tremors shook him and he didn’t try to hide the fact.
“Don’t lay it on so thick, sweetheart.”
She kissed his cheek. “That’s what you bring out of me. I didn’t plan how I’d kiss you. It was a natural reaction.”
He hugged her. “Do you think you can stay away from other men and you and I see only each other?”
Oh, the sweet communion she found in his soft words and loving arms. “That’s what I’ve been doing,” she whispered. “Haven’t you?”
Laughter poured out of him. He picked her up, twirled her around, set her on her feet and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Lady, you’ve blinded me. I couldn’t see another woman if I tried.”
She stroked his cheek with the fingers of her left hand. “See that you don’t try.”
He smiled, took her hand and walked with her beside the water. When she looked down at the stream, she saw their own and the moon’s reflection in it. “That’s supposed to be a good omen,” she said.
“If it’s an omen at all, let’s hope it’s a good one.”
After having coffee and chocolate mousse on the balcony overlooking the water, they walked arm-in-arm to his SUV and headed back to Indian Lake. “Won’t Jason think we’re taking advantage of his kindness?” Allison asked Brock.
“Sweetheart, Jason wouldn’t care if we spent the night. He’s probably stretched out on the sofa sound asleep.”
She didn’t want to get on the wrong side of Jason, for she sensed he could be a cherished ally and that she might need one.
“What on earth?” Brock said and skidded to a stop. “Good thing I was only going sixty. Would you look at that big grizzly with two cubs?”
“What are you going to do?”
“Just hope she continues across the road and doesn’t consider this car a threat. She could turn this baby over with one paw. If she comes toward us, brace yourself, because I’ll be moving off in a hurry.”
He could feel the tension emanating from her and sensed her fear, but he’d have to deal with that later; he had to focus his sensors on that bear. Turning off the headlights wasn’t an option, because she was staring directly at him and if he had to get away, he needed those lights.
She pushed the cubs behind her. “Brace yourself, Allison,” he said in an ominous tone, put the car in Drive, pressed the accelerator and shot past the animal as she started in their direction. A mile beyond the dangerous animal, he heard Allison’s long breath of relief.
“Were we in real danger?”
“Absolutely. This is a two-lane road. I couldn’t turn around, so I had to move past her. A female bear with her cubs is definitely not predictable and when she put those cubs behind her and started toward us, I knew the jig was up. Next time, if we’re driving at night, we’ll stick to the main highway.”
Half an hour later, he parked in front of her cabin, cut the motor and put his arms around her. “I enjoyed this time with you and I want us to be together at every possible opportunity. Promise to call me whenever you need me. I want to be there for you. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
He stared into her dreamy eyes content with the knowledge that his heart belonged to her. “You told me you loved me, but that was in the heat of passion. Besides, I bribed you. Did you…I mean, could you possibly have meant it?”
“You not only held a proverbial gun on me, but you didn’t tell me how you felt about me, even though you had no problem telling me that you love Dudley.”
He held her in a way the moonlight let him see her eyes clearly. “I’ve been telling you for a long while now that I love you, not with words but in the ways that count, and I’m certain of it. Think over all that’s happened between us today, beginning with this morning. I’ve been telling you I love you. Do you love me?”
Her eyes shone with a different light, a glow that seemed to come from inside of her, something he hadn’t previously seen. “I loved you before we took that cruise. I loved you that night and I’ve loved you more with each passing day.”
It seemed as if his chest expanded and his blood raced through his veins at breakneck speed. Staring into her eyes, he read into them what her words had failed aptly to communicate and tremors shot through him. Gathering her to him with the gentleness of a mother first holding her newborn, he kissed her eyes, cheeks and nose, smothering her face with kisses, and then rimmed the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue. She took him in and loved him as if she couldn’t get enough of him.
For the first time in his life, he knew what it was to be totally vulnerable to another human being, to need a woman as he needed air to breathe, to desire her well-being more than he wanted his own. The power of his emotions humbled him and he could only hold her to him and rock her.
The light in the living room of her house brightened and interrupted their mood. He smiled down at her. “I tell myself that we don’t have to make love every time we get into a clench, but I don’t really believe it.” He stroked the side of her face with the pads of his fingers. “Are you my girl?”
A smile floated over her face. “Yes, if you’re my guy.”
“All right. It’s almost midnight. I’d better take you inside, but I hate for this day to end.”
“So do I. It’s been…wonderful.”
He opened the door with her key and they walked in with his left hand at her waist.
“I was wondering if you had decided to spend the night,” Jason said.
“Did you and Dudley have any problems?” Allison asked him.
“Good gracious, no. That boy is a treasure. Smart, too. He makes you put the rubber to the road. He told me you were taking his mother to the movie so you could kiss her and wanted to know why you had to go to the movies to do it when he saw you kiss her right here.”
Brock couldn’t help laughing at that. “I’d like to know what answer you gave him.”
Jason leaned against the back of the sofa and crossed his knees. “I told him a guy kisses his girl anytime and anyplace he gets a chance. That appeared to flummox him and he changed the subject to whether the guitar would be easier to learn if it didn’t have so many strings.”
Brock read the question in his brother’s eyes. “We’d better be going,” Brock said. “I want to work from six to ten and it goes more smoothly if I’ve had a few hours’ sleep.”
Jason stood. “Kiss her goodbye and don’t take all night. I’ll be in the car.”
“I won’t ask what you did,” Jason said to Brock later as they stood on Brock’s deck. “I’ll just say she’s a different woman from the one who left that house at five o’clock this afternoon and you are definitely not the same man.”
“You may be right about that, but trust me, we did not go to a hotel. What happened between us was more meaningful. Good night.”
With rays of the rising sun flickering through the blinds, she crawled out of bed, brushed her teeth, showered and prepared to face the day.
Standing at the stove scrambling eggs, she whirled around when Dudley asked her, “Did Mr. Lightner kiss you, Mommie?” She hadn’t heard him enter the kitchen. At six years old, he was becoming increasingly independent as well as inquisitive. She made it a point always to tell him the truth.
“Yes. He kissed me.”
“I love Mr. Lightner,” he said.
“Me, too,” she replied, because that would be the next question he asked her and hoped he would drop the topic.
The phone rang and she was about to tell Dudley to answer it when she remembered why she didn’t allow him to do that. She put the eggs on his plate along with toast and sausage and hurried to the phone. Seeing Layla’s number, she lifted the receiver without enthusiasm.
“You’re at it early this morning?” she said instead of “hello.”
“It’s seven-thirty up here and I’m just giving my son breakfast.” The words were meant as a reprimand and she knew Layla would accept them without becoming annoyed.
“Could you e-mail me a couple of your best photos for the book’s cover?” Layla asked without preliminaries. “I presume you have some by now.”
“I’ll speak with the photographer. Most dessert books have a chocolate cake on the cover, but I’d like something different, maybe my Cajun praline cheesecake topped with sugared pecans or my layered Southern caramel cake garnished with fresh pecan halves. We’ll see.”
“My goodness, you’re in a great mood. Can I have it by noon today?”
“You bet.” She hung up, phoned Ross, asked for his suggestion and for high-quality copy of the photos and went back to the kitchen.
“Mommie, I rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher. Can I have a glass of milk, please?”
Thinking that she would never get used to this cooperating Dudley, she gave silent thanks for Brock. “You may have some milk, then I want you to brush your teeth and write a paragraph.”
“Can I write about Jack.”
“Yes, you may…” What was that? She rushed to the window in time to see a gray car back out of her driveway and head to Route 28.
“Hmm. Looks as if someone is lost,” she said to herself, scrambled two eggs and placed them on her plate along with sausage, grits and toast. If she got a good breakfast, she could handle the day.
“Why don’t we get together and finish sorting out your photos?” Brock asked her when she spoke with him later that morning. “Jason and I can help you index the subjects. Will brother Ross be there this afternoon?”
“Ross? Say, wait. He’s not your brother. I thought you said—”
He interrupted her. “A brother by a different mother. He’s as close to me as Jason is.”
“Come at lunchtime,” she said. “We can have hamburgers or hot dogs.”
“We can have both and Jason will take care of it. You only need mustard and ketchup.”
“I have that. Kiss me and let me get my work done before you get here.”
“Right, and I’d better do the same.”
Simultaneously, they made the sound of a kiss and each said, “I love you.” She didn’t know she could be so happy.
Ross arrived at noon with glossy photographs of items suitable for her book’s cover.
“These are exquisite,” she told him, suffused with pride. “I have something to tell you. I’m asking that your name go on the book cover.”
“Gosh,” he said, clearly flabbergasted. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s only just, Ross. You’re raising the level of this product about two hundred percent.”
They scanned the glossies and e-mailed the photos to Allison’s editor.
Brock and Justin arrived and Dudley went out on the porch to commune with Jack while Jason broiled the hamburgers and hot dogs. After lunch, the four adults set about selecting shots for the book cover. Other that Ellen, her sister, she had never had friends, male or female, with whom to jostle, chat and exchange impersonal ideas and she marveled at her ability to hold her own with three sophisticated men.
“Man, you’re about to become nationally famous,” Brock said to Ross. “When I go to your house, I’ll have to use the back door.”
