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Bree’s chest ached and tears stung her eyes. It was clear why Wes loved his mother so much.
“I wish my birth mother felt the same way about me.” Bree said the words before she could stop herself.
Her adoptive mother loved her with all her heart. She was grateful for that. Still, she couldn’t shake the deep-rooted pain over her birth mother’s inability to muster the slightest maternal affection toward her. The woman had two other children, whom she doted on, so clearly she possessed the capacity for maternal feelings. Evidently, Bree wasn’t worthy of them.
“If she doesn’t, she’s either misguided or a fool.” Lena squeezed Bree’s arm. The woman’s words were filled with indignation, but her tone and expression were filled with compassion. “Any woman would be grateful to have a daughter as kind and thoughtful as you.”
Bree blinked back tears as she forced a smile. “Thanks.”
Lena glanced out at Wes again. “He’s probably dehydrated and doesn’t even realize it. He gets so focused on the task ahead of him that he sometimes forgets how important it is to stop and take care of himself.”
She dipped a towel into a bowl of icy water, wrung it, then draped the cool cloth over Bree’s arm. Lena propped open the screen door and nodded toward Wes.
Bree made her way to the garden, where Wes had been working for the past few hours.
“Your mom thought you might like these.” She handed him a glass of sweet tea and the cool towel.
He thanked her, then mopped his brow with the towel before hanging it around his neck and nearly draining the glass of tea.
“Your mom was worried you might be getting dehydrated. I can get another glass, if you’d like.” She turned to go back to the house, but Wes caught her elbow.
“Thank you. For everything.” He stared at her with a heated gaze that lit a flame inside of her and caused her breath to come in quick, shallow bursts. “I know you have better things to do with your time, but you’ve been great with my mom. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”
“I’m enjoying my time with her. Besides, she’s taught me a lot today.” Bree glanced over her shoulder toward the house and saw the kitchen curtains stir. She eased her arm from his grip and took a step back.
“What’s wrong?” Wes narrowed his gaze.
“Your mom is convinced there’s something going on between us. I don’t want to add fuel to the fire.” She took a sip of her tea.
“I’ll bet.” Wes chuckled. “My mother seems genuinely taken with you, and she isn’t an easy woman to impress.”
“She doesn’t strike me as a volleyball fan.”
“It’s not about what you do. If she’s impressed, it’s because of who you are. For her, it’s all about character. The person you are when no one else is around.” Wes frowned, his voice fading at the end.
Bree wanted to ask him if he was all right, but before she could he’d thrust his empty glass into her outstretched hand.
“It was kind of you to offer to stay tonight, but I really don’t mind taking you back to Pleasure Cove. And don’t worry about my mother, she’ll understand. I promise.”
“No.” Bree shook her head, then smiled. “I’m enjoying my time with her. And you.” Her eyes met his heated stare. “I want to stay. Unless it’s uncomfortable for you. My being here, I mean.”
Wes leaned against the metal rake, still sizing her up, but not responding right away. The awkward silence stretched on between them for what felt like forever before he finally shrugged. “It’s…different. Been a while since I brought a girl home. For any reason. So I’m not surprised that my mother is trying to make something bigger out of this. I hope she hasn’t made you uncomfortable.”
“No, of course not.” Bree forced a smile, not wanting to reveal her discomfort at Wesley’s words.
* * *
Wes tried to ignore the sound of the shower running in the Jack-and-Jill bathroom between his room and the guest room Bree would be sleeping in. Tried to ignore the vision of water sluicing down Bree’s back, between her firm breasts and into the valley between her long legs.
