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Luke pretend-jotted another note. “You got it, miss. And for the beautiful lady?” His gaze locked on Sally’s.
She could practically feel the heat emanating off him from where she stood a few feet away. Between that, him calling her beautiful and the lust in his eyes, she found herself stumbling for words. “Um…I’ll have…whatever you’re having will be fine.”
He raised an eyebrow as though he doubted her decision but folded the pretend notebook and put it back in his pocket. He strode to the door and stopped. “I won’t be long, but one of you might have time to get in the shower. Help yourself to anything I’ve got in the way of clean clothes. We’ll do a little shopping before we hit the road again. Pick up a few essentials. The place we’re heading to is out in the sticks, so if we don’t get it here, we’ll have to go without until we get back to town.” He paused and frowned. “Lock the door and don’t open it to anyone while I’m gone.” His gaze fell on her again, and she gave him her abbreviated version of a salute. He smiled, but this time the humor didn’t reach his eyes.
As soon as he left, Sally strode across the room and locked the door. His ominous warning, accompanied by obvious concern, had left a dark cloud over the occupants of the room. Even Jen seemed to feel it, so Sally hurried her into the bathroom and turned on the water, adjusting it to the right temperature. Then she left her daughter to the shower and returned to the other room to search through Luke’s bag. She settled for a T-shirt that would pass as an oversized dress on Jen’s small frame. It would have to suffice until they found something better.
She chose a button-up, light blue shirt for herself, mostly because it smelled like Luke, and carried the clothes into the bathroom. Jen was just stepping out of the shower, so Sally helped to pat her dry, then pulled the fresh shirt over her head. They had a good laugh over how it hung off one shoulder.
Luke still wasn’t back, so after reiterating his instructions about keeping the door locked to Jen for good measure, Sally peeled off her soiled clothes and crawled under the inviting spray. She couldn’t remember when a shower had felt so divine, although it would probably take more than one to get the smoke out of her pores. With the soap and shampoo provided by the motel, she did the best she could. Then she dried off, ran her fingers through her hair in a last-ditch attempt to restore order without the proper equipment and wrapped Luke’s shirt around her shoulders, slipping her arms into the sleeves. She breathed in deeply of the slightly spicy, slightly fresh-mown-hay scent that clung to the fabric. Luke’s smell…it brought back all kinds of memories she’d tried to forget.
When she left the steamy bathroom, Luke and Jen were sitting at the table eating breakfast from Styrofoam containers and discussing the end of the school year, which was only a couple of months away. God only knew when Jen would see the inside of a classroom again.
Luke did a double take when he saw Sally and, feeling self-conscious, she tugged on the bottom of the shirt to make certain everything was covered. Heat invaded her cheeks anyway, and she was sure she’d turned a bright shade of red. Suddenly, she was regretting her decision to rinse her tank top and panties and leave them draped over the shower curtain in the bathroom. When she pulled out her chair and sat to eat, Luke’s gaze remained on his food. Was it just her imagination or did his pained expression and stiff spine mean he was uncomfortable for some reason?
Pancakes, eggs and sausage seemed to be the fare everyone was enjoying, and Sally dug in without hesitation. “Oooh…this tastes really good. Thank you.” She smiled her gratitude at Luke.
When he glanced at her briefly and nodded, she was startled at the nearly black color of his eyes and the intensity burning in them. She started to ask if he was all right, but he averted his eyes and the words caught in her throat.
Jen sat back and dropped her plastic fork onto her empty plate. “Mom, can I be excused?”
Sally dragged her gaze from Luke’s profile. “Sure, honey. There’s probably a garbage container under the sink for your paper and plastic.”
Jen jumped up, tossed her plate and utensils in the trash, then skipped around the table and landed a kiss on Luke’s cheek. “Thank you for breakfast.”
“It was totally my pleasure.” He returned the peck before she scooted away to flounce on the end of one of the beds.
“Is it okay if I play a game on your phone, Mom?”
“Sure. You’ll have to turn it on first. Just for a few minutes, though. I don’t want to run the battery down.” The only charger she’d owned had been incinerated with the rest of her belongings.
Jen found the phone, where Sally had dropped it alongside her wallet on the nightstand and propped herself on the pillows of the far bed.
Sally turned back to her breakfast and caught Luke studying the blue button-up shirt she’d pulled from his duffel and slipped on. The grim set of his mouth seemed a lot like disapproval and emphasized the emotional distance between them. Suddenly uncomfortable, she laid her fork down. “Should I change? You said to help ourselves, but—”
Luke’s gaze slowly rose to her eyes, and the heat in his glance warmed her skin as surely as if he’d touched her. “Do you have any idea how damn sexy you look in my shirt? Hell no, I don’t want you to change.” A glimmer of his familiar grin banished his serious expression. “We just need a certain little girl to go to sleep.” His words were a conspiratorial whisper.
Sally gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I wouldn’t count on that. She slept practically all the way here.”
“I know.” His lips contorted into a half grimace, half self-deprecating smile. “I need a shower anyway. I guess it’ll be a cold one.”
Luke finished the last of his food and pushed his chair back. He leaned toward her and swept her hair behind her shoulder, baring her neck to the gentle brush of his lips. “You don’t mind if I imagine you in there with me, do you?” A tip of his head indicated the bathroom door, and his gaze did a slow burn over her breasts to her lap, and the spot on her thigh where his shirt ended.
A tremor surged through her torso, and her stomach felt as though it flipped clear over as his head slowly lifted until he focused on her face again. His lips met hers, a silent promise of more to come. Another few seconds and Jen rolled over, breaking the spell. Luke stood. With a smile of regret, he dumped his trash, grabbed his duffel and disappeared into the bathroom.
Sally let her breath out slowly. Clearly she was putty in his hands, unable to form a coherent thought if he was within arm’s reach. What did Luke expect from her—besides the sexual intimacy that he obviously craved? Was he interested in an overnight family—forever? Because that was the only kind of relationship she’d bring into Jen’s life. She and her daughter were a package deal.
Luke had made it obvious the sun rose and set with Jen, and Sally had no doubt he’d take on the role of father with all his heart. Her little girl thought the world of Luke too. Sally pushed her remaining eggs around with her fork, no longer hungry. That only left her—what did Sally want?
She loved their reawakened closeness—the sexual tension that zinged between them. Sally wasn’t immune to Luke’s charm and devastatingly good looks, and there’d been a time she’d dreamed of a hero riding in on a black steed, offering the house in the country with a white picket fence…and maybe more children someday. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit the prospect of sex with Luke Harding excited her. A slow smile faded as quickly as it came. If only she could keep from dwelling on the rubble of her house and her current situation.
There were problems with her happily-ever-after scenario. The man who’d sired her apparently wanted to make her life significantly shorter in retribution for sending him to jail. Marshal Lambert wanted to protect her but, in the process, would completely destroy her current existence.
Neither was acceptable. Both were reasons why she shouldn’t waste what little time she and Luke had.
Sally pushed to her feet, finished clearing off the table and glanced toward Jen. Her daughter was completely engrossed in the game she was playing, and experience had taught her Jen would continue happily until asked to stop.
The shower turned off, and Sally’s imagination kicked into high gear—Luke stepping from the steamy cubicle, running the towel over his muscled body, soaking up the water droplets. She shook her head. She couldn’t just walk in on him…could she?What if Jen sees me?Sally glanced toward the bed, where the girl lay propped on her elbows, thumbs pounding out a rhythm on the phone’s face. Jen was obviously in her own world at the moment. She wouldn’t notice a brass band parading through the room. Sally grabbed a napkin and absently wiped down the table where they’d eaten. If she was honest…it wasn’t Jen’s reaction she was worried about. What if Luke didn’t want her there?
