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Afterthe funeral.Afterall the cooking. “Damn.” Still, she needed to keep her distance from Brant.No big deal. I can live without it.
I’m done with work for the day. I’ll come by as soon as I get cleaned up.
I don’t think you should. Not if you’re hoping to patch up your relationship with Charlie.
He won’t even know.
He must be checking my place, and after Saturday night, I can only imagine he’s watching it closely.
I’m aware of that. Don’t worry.
“Don’t worry?” she mumbled.Why take the risk?
He didn’t answer right away. She thought he might not answer at all. But after a few minutes, her phone dinged again.
Because I can’t quit thinking about you.
Talulah felt her jaw drop. She’d never expected Brant to say anything like that. She had no idea how to respond.
Can I come?he asked. I never got to eat my other croissant. ;-)
She kneaded her forehead as she tried to decide. They could be friends, couldn’t they? Charlie and his family shouldn’t be able to dictate who she saw in Coyote Canyon.
Sure. I’m just about to make lasagna for the funeral. We can have some for dinner, if you’re hungry. The croissants are two days old and won’t be very good anymore.
I’m definitely not going to say no to dinner. I’ll bring a bottle of wine.
She had a feeling that this was a pivotal decision, another potential mistake. But despite all the fallout from Saturday night, and her family and the funeral, she couldn’t quit thinking about Brant, either.
Brant was careful to watch for cars he might recognize as he drove to the other side of town, but he felt fairly confident that Charlie wouldn’t be monitoring Talulah’s house this evening. He spent Monday nights with his folks. His mother cooked for the whole family, and, since his father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he rarely missed it. Everyone was optimistic George would beat it, but he’d only just started treatment and no one knew for sure whether the chemo would be effective.
Still, to avoid causing further hurt and anger, Brant parked in the big barn behind Ellen’s house where no one could see his vehicle, and walked over to Talulah’s. As he climbed the stairs to the front porch, he had a final look around and didn’t see anyone.
Talulah was playing her music again. It wasn’t as loud as it had been the first time he’d come to the house, but he had to knock twice before she let him in.
“Where’s your truck?” she asked, peering out as he slipped past her.
“In a safe place.”
“Good.”
She was wearing a form-fitting black dress that hit her at midthigh, with no shoes, and she had her hair pinned up, probably to help combat the heat. A light sheen of sweat covered her face and arms, and he could see a few damp tendrils of hair curling at her nape.
It was difficult not to touch her after having had full access to her body. The impulse hit him immediately and was much stronger than he’d anticipated. He’d offered to come over to move the air conditioner, and had hoped to reassure himself that she was okay after what had happened. But she’d offered dinner and she’d dressed up enough that this felt more like a date. She was wearing makeup and perfume—a scent he liked.
Those could be signals. And yet...with her bare feet and the way she’d done her hair, she came across as casual at the same time. Maybe they were getting together as friends tonight, and she wouldn’t be happy if he tried to touch her. She didn’t step toward him, didn’t give him a hug.
“Dinner smells great,” he said.
She wiped her upper lip. “I just showered, but cooking makes it even hotter in here.”
“I’ll take care of that right now.” He put the bottle of wine he’d brought on the dining table, which was already set for dinner, and went down to get the air conditioner.
“Thank God,” she said, once he’d hauled it up and she could feel the cool air it was pumping out. She indicated an appetizer she’d made that was sitting on the counter. “Try that dip and see what you think.”
He scooped some up with a cracker and nearly moaned when he tasted it. “Wow.”
She was cutting lasagna in a pan on the stove, but looked over her shoulder. “You like it?”
