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For a second the urge to take her into his arms was so strong he nearly gave in. Standing alone at the side of the road with the sound of the truck’s engine fading in the distance and the stars flickering in the sky, he was tempted to pull her against his chest and rest his chin on her crown. She was small and warm, smelling of lilacs and honey, and he knew she’d feel like heaven against him.
She glanced up at him with those luminous eyes, and he had to set his jaw against the overpowering urge to kiss her until they both couldn’t breathe.
The thought struck him hard, and he shoved it quickly aside. He cleared his throat. “We’d better get a move on.”
“Oh, right.” She, as if having read his mind, couldn’t get to the pickup fast enough. The entire way back to her house she sat pressed against the passenger door, as if she, too, was touched by the growing intimacy between them, and it scared her to death. She looked as if she hoped to bolt the minute he pulled into her driveway.
He switched on the radio, played with the buttons and finally settled for a rock station that was usually more heavy metal than he liked. They didn’t talk much, and he tried to ignore her, but his mind was racing down a path that was as dark as midnight, a path he didn’t like.
Who was Josh’s father?
The kid was ten or eleven. Just the right age.
But it would be too much of a coincidence for Josh to be Dave Sorenson’s son. Too much. There were dozens of kids Josh’s age who didn’t live with their dads. Besides, Ralph wasn’t sure if Dave had fathered a boy or girl or any kid at all, for that matter. Ralph Sorenson’s grandchild might be just a figment of the old man’s imagination, a pipe dream that he couldn’t yet give up.
Still, the thought that Josh Kinkaid might be Ralph Sorenson’s grandson burned deep in Luke’s brain. Like it or not, he’d have to check out the kid’s birth records. He slid a glance at Katie as the lights of Bittersweet glowed ever closer. She leaned against the window of the passenger door and chewed nervously on a fingernail.
As if sensing him watching her, she dropped her hand, and Luke turned all his attention to winding through the tree-lined streets of the small town. From what he understood, she’d lived here all her life. It shouldn’t be too hard to check out the truth. The knot in his gut bothered him; she’d reacted strongly to the news of Dave’s death, with the emotion of someone who was more than just a casual acquaintance.
Was it possible?
Could she and Dave have been high-school sweethearts? Lovers? His fingers tightened over the steering wheel in a death grip as he cruised around the final corner to her house. Hell, what a mess.
He wheeled into the driveway and parked inches from the sagging door of her dilapidated garage. From the open window of Josh’s bedroom, Blue gave out a sharp, no-nonsense bark.
“Guard dog,” Luke observed, switching off the ignition and trying to ignore the tension that seemed to invade the pickup’s dark interior.
“He thinks he is, I guess.” Katie managed a smile that was feeble at best. Nonetheless, that slight twitching of her lips touched Luke in a place he’d long forgotten. “My guess is that if Joe Burglar ever did show up, Blue would turn tail and run. Deep inside he’s a chicken.” She leaned her head against the back of the seat. “But he’s loyal and good-hearted. Always glad to see me.” She nodded slightly, to herself. “I’ve had him longer than I’ve had Josh. Mom gave Blue to me on my sixteenth birthday.” She shoved her hair from her eyes. “Most of the kids were hoping for a car, and all I wanted was a puppy to love and…” Her voice trailed off as if she’d said too much, as if she’d let a little of her soul slip past her outgoing
, breezy, take-the-world-by-storm facade.
“Anyway, Mom gave me this gray bundle of energy with the brightest eyes you’ve ever seen. He wiggled like mad, peed on the floor and washed my face with his tongue, and I…I just fell in love with him. He’s been with me ever since.” She cleared her throat and slapped her hands on her thighs as if to change the subject. “Well, so much for soppy, maudlin puppy stories. I, uh, guess I should thank you.” Turning to face him, her eyes shining with a bit of unwanted moisture, her lips full over a forced smile, she started to speak again. “You’ve been—”
He lost all control. The resistance he’d so painstakingly constructed disintegrated as quickly as a match striking and bursting into flame.
“Wonderful— Oh!” Without thinking he placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed her with an intensity that he hadn’t felt in years.
Her lips were warm and pliant, her skin soft beneath the calluses of his fingers. Her breath caught in a swift, sharp intake, and Luke felt a rush of desire, warm and seductive, flow through his bloodstream.
She moaned, then pulled back to lean against the passenger door. He dropped his hands and inwardly called himself a dozen kinds of fool. What had he been thinking? Kissing her, for God’s sake! He couldn’t, wouldn’t be distracted by a woman—any woman. Especially not one who might just be the mother of Dave Sorenson’s kid.
“I…I … I don’t know what to say… And that—being tongue-tied, that is—doesn’t happen to me very often.” She bit her lip and stared at him with wide, forest-green eyes.
“Don’t say anything.” He grabbed the steering wheel. “I was out of line.”
She reached for the door handle of the pickup. “Maybe we both were. I—” she hooked her thumb toward the house “—I’ve got to go. Thanks. Thanks again.” She was out of the truck and up the path to the back of the house as quick as lightning.
He watched her hurry up the steps, her shorts white in the moonlight, her hair bouncing as she ran. At the porch she cast one final, fleeting glance in his direction, then, with a quick wave, opened the door and disappeared into the cozy, cluttered little bungalow.
“Idiot,” he growled under his breath as he flicked on the ignition. “Damned fool moron.” Throwing his rig into reverse, he rolled back to the street, flipped on his lights and headed toward his rented rooms in the old carriage house.
He thought of her mouth rubbing so sensually against his, and his damned crotch tightened again. What was it about her that got to him?
“Damn.” He’d been a fool for a woman before, a long time ago, and he’d sworn then that it would never happen again.
Until now, it hadn’t been a problem.
But then, he’d never met a woman like Katie Kinkaid.
