Page 36 of Pure Temptation in Cowboy Boots

Tess thought fast. “That’s what it is, all right. Mac sent them. It’s his way of saying, Nanny, nanny, boo, boo, I’m in Flagstaff where it’s cool and you’re not.”

Her mother laughed. “That would be Mac. And if I know you, you’re planning your revenge even as we speak. Now I may have an idea what you’re looking guilty about. Don’t smuggle ants into his bed this time, Tess. It took Nora weeks to get them out of the ranch house.”

“Right. No ants. Maybe I’ll solder his boots to the horse trough, instead.”

“Well, I promise not to tell. Want to do lunch?”

“Uh, sure.” She’d planned to spend the day transforming her bedroom, but she could probably take time out for lunch.

“Good. I was thinking today that I won’t be able to pop over here and invite you to lunch much longer, so I’d better take advantage of your being here while I can.”

Tess walked over and gave her mother a hug. “I’ll come home whenever I can. And I want you and Dad to visit me in New York whenever you can get away.”

“Oh, we will, but... it won’t be the same. My, those gloves are soft.”

Tess had forgotten she was still wearing one. “Um, yes. I might actually use them in New York.”

Her mother examined the glove. “Kind of big, aren’t they?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s the thought that counts.”

“And no doubt Mac’s thought was to torture you while he’s enjoying the cool mountain air. He probably didn’t care if they fit or not. Men.”

“Scoundrels, all of them,” Tess agreed.

“But we couldn’t live without them, could we?”

“Guess not.” Or so Tess was discovering. This was turning into the longest three days of her life.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll freshen up in your bathroom before we go,” her mother said.

“Sure. Help yourself.” Tess sent thanks heavenward that she’d decided to watch a movie last night instead of starting her renovations then. Satin sheets would have been a little difficult to explain to her mother, not to mention the angled mirror she planned to install.

“Oh, so these are the flowers you got from your principal,” her mother called out as she passed through Tess’s bedroom into the bathroom. “Why don’t you have them out on the coffee table?”

“I was enjoying them before I went to bed last night,” Tess called back. Oh, my. Word traveled as fast as always around this place. She and Mac would have to have their wits about them. But they’d had a lot of practice being co-conspirators. Maybe she could think of this secret project as an extension of the pranks they’d pulled together over the years.

She looked down at the gloves. Then again, maybe not.

Chapter Twenty-Two

With some effort Mac managed to smuggle a small cooler on board the Cessna Sunday morning without his parents noticing. Inside rested the bouquet of daisies he’d bought on the sly in Flagstaff and he’d used motel ice to keep them fresh in the cooler. Ice had never been an erotic substance to him until Tess had mentioned placing it against certain parts of his anatomy. Now he couldn’t even look at an ice bucket without getting turned on.

And now, at long last, he was flying his parents back to Copperville. His rendezvous with Tess was only a few hours away, yet it was too many hours for his comfort. He hadn’t dared call her again, considering the condition she’d put him in the one time he’d tried it. But she’d been on his mind constantly. He wondered what she’d thought of the gloves, and if she’d run them over her skin.

Picturing her doing that, his mouth went dry. Maybe she’d always been a sensuous person, but her reading had stoked up the fire in her. He wasn’t going home to a timid virgin, that was for sure. But she was still a virgin, and no matter how she plotted to drive him insane, he had to remember to go slow and be gentle. That might not be as easy as he’d thought at first.

When he and his folks arrived home, Mac and his father unloaded the suitcases from the car while his mother went inside to check for messages on the answering machine. Mac walked into the kitchen in time to hear Tess’s voice coming from the speaker.

This message is for Mac, she said, sounding like the Tess he’d known for twenty-three years, not the new Tess he’d just discovered. Mac, don’t bother to eat dinner before you come over tonight. I’ll feed you. Something simple, finger food probably. Oh, and don’t worry about ice — I have plenty. I might be out back or something when you get here, so just come look for me. See you tonight.

Mac nearly dropped the suitcases he was carrying.

His mother turned to him with a smile. “You’re seeing Tess tonight?”

“Yeah.” Mac tried his best to look nonchalant, which wasn’t easy while he was thinking about Tess feeding him some exotic food while dressed in whatever sexy outfit she’d bought. And then there was her subtle reference to ice, and the fact that she wanted him to walk in the unlocked door and come look for her. He’d bet a million dollars where he’d find her, and it wouldn’t be “out back.”

She’d cleverly created the whole message to sound normal, when it was filled with suggestive ideas that only he would understand. That was so like her. She’d done it to get him back for the gloves, no doubt. He cleared his throat. “I promised to drop by and let her know how the trip went,” he added, realizing he was standing there staring into space. Not good.