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Only Selene, Vidalia and Kara remained. And Selene’s helpless shrug was no help at all.
“In case you haven’t seen it for yourself, Kara, that man is falling fast and hard. It’s not fair that he never sees you with dirt under your nails until it’s too late.”
Kara rolled her eyes. “You think it might put the brakes on him a little?”
“Nope. He’s got the bit in his teeth, that one. Still, it might make you a little more sure of him if he likes you just as much dirty and tired as he does bright-eyed and fresh-faced.”
“What makes you think I’m not sure of him?”
Her mother just looked at her as if she had said something utterly stupid.
“I swear, Mom,” Selene said. “Sometimes I think you’re as psychic as I am.”
“Psychic schmychic. I know my daughters. If that’s not doubt I see in her eyes, then it’s the best imitation I’ve ever seen. So what is it, Kara? You think he’s just playing games?”
“No. I think he’s dead serious. I’m just not convinced it’s for the reasons he wants me to believe.”
“Such as?” her mother asked. She was keeping pace beside her as Kara left the saloon to the parking lot in front.
Kara shrugged and unlocked her car. In her mind she heard her doubts, but she wouldn’t voice them now to her mother. “Never mind, Mom. It’s just that I’m not used to this kind of attention.”
“High time you got used to it, child. And don’t go thinking you have to settle for the first man bright enough to pay you any, either. There will be others.”
Not for me.
The thought whispered through her mind so firmly it startled her. She gasped at the power of it, the trueness of it. It resonated with such validity that she didn’t doubt for one moment that it was absolutely correct. And it was a revelation for which she’d been unprepared.
“I’d better go.”
“Coming to the house to shower?”
“Nah. I have a house of my own now. I’ll use it.”
Vidalia nodded in approval.
She got into the car and drove. It was only five minutes to her home, and when she pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, she heard the sound of a hammer falling repeatedly, coming from the backyard. Wade’s pickup was parked along the roadside, so she knew he was out there helping. The sounds of work never stopped as she walked to the front door of the house and went inside. She moved past the living room, into the big playroom with the huge doors, and looked out its large windows. Wade was out back. So was Jimmy.
Jimmy.
It wasn’t a cold day. The temperature hovered around fifty-nine and the sun was beaming down from the western horizon. It would get a lot cooler once it set, but right now it was warm enough that Jimmy had stripped down to a tank-style undershirt and his jeans. His skin was damp and she watched for a few minutes as he swung a hammer.
Then she glanced at the clock and raced upstairs. Twenty minutes later she was clean, dressed in fresh clothes, sporting a still-damp pony tail and stirring a pitcher of sweet tea. She poured two tall glasses full and carried them out the back door and into the yard.
When he heard the creak of the door, Jimmy turned from his work, met her eyes and smiled. “You’re back.”
“Uh-huh. You’ve been busy.” She crossed the backyard, handed him the iced tea and forced her eyes to leave his long enough to look at the fence that surrounded the backyard. “It looks great.”
“Just about done,” he said. He put the glass to his lips and drank, tipped his head back to drain the glass. His neck was corded and moist, and his Adam’s apple moved with every swallow. She thought about putting her fingers there. Or her lips. He lowered the glass and caught her looking. His eyes held hers, dark and intense.
Wade cleared his throat and she turned. “That for me?” he asked, nodding toward the glass she still held.
“Oh. Sorry, Wade. Here.” She handed it to him and then felt someone tugging on her blouse.
Tyler stood there smiling up at her. “I helped,” he said. “It’s a cool fence, isn’t it, Kara?”
“It’s a beautiful fence, Tyler. You did a great job.”
He beamed, clearly proud. Jim patted his shoulder. “I don’t know that we could have got it done without him. You, Wade?”
