Authors: Kate Vale
After a long pause, he cleared his throat.
“Yes, good friends.” They walked back to the truck and he drove home, one arm wrapped around her. They shared one more emotion-crammed kiss at her door before he
turned the truck in the direction of the ranch house.
That night, Suzanna
’s dreams centered on
Jonathan.
The next morning, s
he woke earlier than usual
. Her thoughts kept
ricochet
ing
around the feel of that last kiss at her door.
H
er
heart throbbed, warming her blood to the boiling point
. She could almost hear Margaret
and Maude telling her to go for it
.
“Enough of this. I need to get a grip,” she
muttered under her breath.
I’m well past the point of wanting to be—or acting like—some oversexed teenager without any thought to the consequences.
If she had done more—said
more—
that night on the riverbank,
what would he have done?
She’d wanted to slide off his shirt, his pants, too. But knowing his ex-wife’s reputation stopped her. No way did she want Jonathan thinking she was only after his body.
After scrubbing the kitchen floor
and
working herself to exhaustion in the garden, she took a long shower, still in the grip of her memories of the night before
, unable to stop thinking about the tall rancher with the deep voice and sky-blue eyes
.
Two days later, Suzanna came home
from the library
to find three men stringing a phone wire to the cabin.
“What’s all this?”
“
The boss
said you needed a
phone
. The
handset
isn’t the newest.”
Curly
held up a black rotary model she hadn’t seen in years. “But it works. I hope that’s ok
ay
with you.”
“What a nice surprise. Where’s the bill? Who do I pay?”
“
It’s
already taken care
of
.” Curly
clambered
down off the ladder.
“Here’s the number, ma’am.” The pho
ne ma
n handed her a small phone book
and a piece of paper with the phone number written on it. “I have to g
o
back up on the pole
by the road
, but give me a half-hour, and you should have a dial tone.”
Suzanna shook
hands with each of the men
. “Curly, will you please thank Mr. Kingsley for his thoughtfulness. I completely forgot that we talked about this.”
“Will do. Have a nice day.”
Jonathan sat at his desk, his hand absent-mindedly stroking Rex’ head. He tried to focus on the
Ranchers’ Association
meeting coming up, but Suzanna’s words continued to flirt with his concentration. He finally gave up and went outside.
He knew
she had responded to him that night after the movie, but the words she use
d implied she couldn’t admit it
to herself or to him
. What did she feel for him? Did she see him as more than a friend? A lover, maybe? He ached to know. But did he dare to come right out and ask her?
He recalled another woman with whom he’d been friendly after Chelsea left. When that woman had initially appeared interested and then her ardor cooled, he was relieved. Not this time.
The phone
inside the study interrupted his thoughts
.
“Kingsley Ranch.”
“Jon! It’s me, Jamie.
”
“Jamie. What gives? Are you within a few miles of here or still in
Minneapolis
?”
“You know me. I never get much past the
beltway
before I get nervous. Weren’t you coming out this direction?”
“I was, but I don’t believe I’ll make it before we
thin
the herd and send some stock to be butchered. That won’t happen for
a while
.”
“Ever the Western rancher. So what’s new
on the old spread
? I called the other day and Nate answered. Didn’t he give you my message?”
Jonathan
looked around his desk and
frowned.
“When was that?”
Jamie mentioned the date,
the same day Jonathan had taken Suzanna to the movie. “Uh, I
guess he did.
Sorry I forgot to get back to you.”
“Does your recall problem have anything to do with that lady who’s living on the ranch?” Jam
ie
asked. “Nate mentioned you rented out the cabin. I thought you were gonna tear the old place down.”
“I was, but Suzanna fixed it up.”
“So it’s Suzanna, is it?
Wait a minute. Is she the same person you were looking for last time you were here? That widow whose phone number you couldn’t find?”
“The same.”
“
So, what’s she like? Young? Blond? Leggy? Kids? Spill the beans, man. This is your old college buddy talking.”
“You ask too many questions, Jamie. Let’s see. No to blond. No to leggy. Yes to good-looking. Younger than either of us by a couple of years, I’m guessing. Two kids, both grown.”
Jamie chuckled. “
I get the picture.
And she’s unattached. Even better. So, when are you going to
haul
her into bed?”
Jonathan’s voice a cool warning, he said,
“Back off, Jamie.
You know I don’t like prying
.”
Jamie returned to t
he original reason for his call,
to arrange a
special
consultation
.
After the call, Jonathan
returned
to the porch, his thoughts again circling Suzanna. He
knew
he wanted more than friendship
with her.
He
knew she liked being on
the ranch
. And, she was such a help to Emma at the library. S
he fit in with the people important to him. He wanted her, he admitted
, as his body kept reminding him
. But how much time did he have
to let her know that, in a way that wouldn’t scare her off?
Jonathan
returned to his study when the phone rang again. After dispensing with the call, he couldn’t sit still.
Suzanna
Wallace
, you’re making me crazy
, he thought.
What do I have to do to get through to you?
“Jonathan, can you hear me?”
“Suzanna.
”
She sounded so strange
, tinny and out of breath
.
“
Is something wrong?”
“
You sound funny, too.
I think it’s the phone.” She laughed. “I just wa
nted to see if it worked,
and
to invite you to dinner
to thank you for arranging it. Will you come?”
He
grinned
. “
When
do you want me—for dinner
?”
He smiled to himself.
How about more than dinner?
“Tomorrow, if you’
re
free
.” She sounded breathless.
Yes!
“Tomorrow will be fine. What time?”
“Is seven too late?”
“Seven
is perfect
.”
After Suzanna hung up, he went in
to the kitchen. “I won’t be home for
supp
er tomorrow, so why don’t you hold off doing that steak you were talking about.”
“Suit yourself,
”
Nate replied.
The next day, Jonathan closed the computer earlier than usual and went upstairs to change. When he came downstairs, he headed down the road
,
braked to a
skidding
stop and backed up, surprising Nate when he burst into the kitchen and headed for the wine rack
. He
select
ed
a bottle of white and another of red.
“You must be going someplace fancy.”
Jonathan waved distractedly as he drove off again, a dust trail in his wake. When he arrived at the cabin, the little kitchen tab
le was covered with a red-checked cloth. On
top of each plate was a napkin cut in the shape of a telephone. T
antalizing
odors
came
from the oven
,
and the large green salad near the sink
looked
crisp, ready to be dressed.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any decent wine glasses. I can’t seem to find the ones we used at the covered dish supper.” She held up two juice glasses and smiled at him
, in a red blouse of Western cut that showed off her curves, and a denim skirt with pockets the same color as her blouse. Her hair lay loose on her shoulders
.
“They’ll do just fine.” He handed her a glass and held his own over the whimsical napkin on his plate. “Here’s to your telephone,” he deadpanned. She grinned back at him and surprised him when she gave him a quick
hug. “Thank you so much
for the phone. I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing my children’s voices. I called them
last night
and they’
re coming for a visit. I can hardly wait!”
“I’m glad.” They ate in companionable silence for several minutes and he helped her clear away the dishes before taking her hand and leading her into the living room,
thinking they’d
sit on the old couch.
“Let’s sit on the porch instead,
”
she suggested.
He followed her outside and waited while she found her seat. “
You must have
hosted
lots of dinner parties,
”
he remarked.
“Enough to know that little things
can make them special
.”
He looked into her eyes, luminous in the evening light.
“You’ve been such a wonderful landlord, Jonathan, so thoughtful—with the extra furniture, and helping me with Sam when the bear swatted him, and then the phone—even though I said I
wanted privacy, and all.”
She stopped talking and turned to face him
, gazing at him with a quizzical look he couldn’t quite interpret. Then she brought her hands up to caress his face and kissed him
.
H
is body buzzed as he reached for her and
returned the favor
with interest
, beginning with her lips, and the tip of her nose and her mouth again, gently at first, and then with
greater
feeling. He stood and led her back into the house to the old couch.
He lost track of the time as he
enjoyed their mutual kisses and caresses
, well aware of the heat in his body, and how warm and yielding she felt in his arms. If only they were at the big house. Imagining her in his bed only made him harder.
She does want me.
His pulse pounded liked he’d been running a race, chasing something, no, someone. Her. Suzanna. When she seemed to sigh into his arms, he deepened the kiss.
Finally, w
ith great reluctance,
he released her and said, “I think I’d better go.
”
Before I act like a kid.
He couldn’t remember where his condoms were. Did he even have any? It had been so long since he’d needed them.
Suzanna walked with Jonathan to the kitchen door. The warmth of her hand mirrored the heat that spiraled through him. He ached to feel her arms around him again. He squeezed her hand as he thought about making love to her under the trees.
When he turned in her direction and took her in his arms, the kiss she gave him threatened his barely-maintained control.
Gawd! I’m regressing to when I was a randy teenager.
He pulled away, knowing his reluctance had to be obvious.
Ever the proper hostess, her voice helped him cool down. “Thanks for coming to dinner, Jonathan, and for the phone.”
He smiled.
Wanting to say more, he settled for
“You’re
very
welcome.”
He humme
d to himself as he drove home.
I’d have got her that phone sooner if I’d known it was going to do the trick
.