“You’re setting up a situation like the Salem witch hunts, making people suspicious and playing on their worst fears. That always brings out the worst in human beings, not the best.”
“Are you actually defending the guy?”
“I’m defending his right to peaceably live here, the same as any other citizen.”
“But he’s not the same as any other citizen.”
“He doesn’t have to be to have the
same rights
. That’s what our country is all about!”
“Walt doesn’t think so. He’s on my side about this.”
“There shouldn’t be sides. That just causes more divisions between people instead of bringing them together.”
“So you think Luke is the underdog and your job is to be his champion, is that it? Is that why you kissed him?”
She refused to answer.
RJ shook his head. “You’re too naive for your own good. Fine, be that way—but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He tossed a few dollars onto the table and walked out.
Julia exited the café to find Luke waiting for her outside. He was leaning against the brick wall, one knee bent, wearing his customary black jeans, T-shirt, and leather jacket—and looking every bit the bad boy his reputation generated.
Well, no, not a
boy
. Definitely a man. But not a bad man. Just one with wickedly tempting intentions. Or so she suspected. “What are you doing here?”
“You ask me that a lot, have you noticed?”
She didn’t know how to answer that so she stayed silent.
“What, no fast response?” He raised a dark eyebrow. “I’m shocked.”
Ignoring him, she turned and headed south toward home. When she’d first bought her house, she’d loved the fact that she merely had to cross the street to get to work and that she could walk the few blocks to the downtown area to shop without having to use her car.
Her mother had raised her to be enough of a conservationist that Julia paid attention to things like miles per gallon and saving gasoline by walking.
“Still have nothing to say?” Luke joined her. “No problem. I’m not a fan of gabby women anyway.”
“Gabby women?” she repeated in disbelief.
“You have a problem with that?”
“Lots of problems.” She’d lecture him about being a chauvinist but doubted he’d change, so she needled him in a more subtle way. “The least of which is that it doesn’t seem like the kind of word you’d use.”
“What’s wrong with
gabby
?” He sounded defensive.
“Nothing. It’s just well . . . more of a feminine adjective.”
“And I used it about females.” He stopped in his tracks. “Wait a second. Are you accusing me of using
girly
words?”
His outraged expression cracked her up.
“It’s not funny. Lucky for you, I might forgive you.”
“Why’s that?”
“Same reason I gave you before. Because I want to have sex with you.”
“Shhh.”
She put her fingers to his mouth and frantically looked around. Luckily, they were now past the downtown area and on a quiet residential street.
“Mmmm.” Luke nibbled on her fingers and then dabbed at them with the tip of his tongue. “You can
shhh
me anytime.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t even start with the librarian jokes.”
“Who says I’m joking?”
“I do.”
“Want me to prove you wrong?” His voice was a weapon of seduction.
“No.”
“Liar.”
“Arrogant chauvinist.”
“That the best you can do? I would have thought that a woman like you could come up with a better insult than that. Come on, give it your best try.”
“You’re ridiculous.” She turned and started walking away.
He was right beside her. “Ridiculous really doesn’t cut it.”
“I am
not
having this conversation with you.”
“Yes, you are. I’m walking you home and we’re talking. That’s a conversation.”
She stopped in her tracks again. “You are
not
walking me home.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“What is it with you?”
“What is it with you?” he countered.
“I asked you first.”
He had to grin at her childish response.
So did she. Reluctantly.
They started walking again.
“So did RJ warn you off me?” Luke asked.
“I’m getting tired of people doing that,” she said.
“Yeah, me, too.”
“He accused me of being naive.”
“The dog. Want me to beat him up for you?” Luke’s expression was hopeful.
Hers was reprimanding. “You already asked me that, and I told you no.”
“But that was before he said you were naive. And I only said I’d punch him before.”
“I don’t want you going anywhere near him.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.” Eager to change the subject, she said, “So tell me, how are the renovations going at Maguire’s?”
“You’ve been there. How do you think they’re going?”
“The hunter green looks nice on the walls toward the front. I’m not sure what you’re doing with that one side wall in the back.”
“Neither am I.”
“You could always add tablecloths and some nice drapes to the décor. And maybe a brick fireplace. And some plants.”
“Are you trying to turn the place into a fern bar?”
“Of course not. That’s totally outdated. I was thinking more along the lines of something with an English country motif. Some chintz and . . .”
“Whoa, stop right there. I do
not
do chintz.”
“You probably don’t even know what it is.”
“I don’t have to know what it is to know that I don’t do it. Or want it in Maguire’s.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have a closed mind?”
“Not and lived to talk about it, no.”
She hoped he was kidding about that. But what did she really know about him, as RJ had just pointed out? Not much.
“You said you were a Marine.”
He nodded.
“You never said what you did when you left the Marine Corps.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“So what did you do?”
“This and that.” He took her hand in his.
“Why the big mystery about your past?”
“I have my reasons.”
“And they are?”
“My business.”
Stung by his words, she yanked her hand away.
“But if I told anyone, I’d tell you,” he murmured, taking her hand back and threading his fingers through hers.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Sex with me would make you feel better.”
She smacked his arm with her free hand. “Stop that.”
“You know that using that librarian voice on me only makes me want you more.”
“I have nothing to say to that.”
“Good.” He grinned. “Remember, I don’t like gabby women.”
They walked in silence for a few moments. Darkness was falling earlier and earlier now as they headed into mid-November. The leafless branches of the trees along the way created dark silhouettes etched against the chromatic twilight sky. This was Julia’s favorite time of day.
She stopped in front of her house. “Well, here we are.”
“I’ll walk you to your door.”
“Why? No.” She put her fingers back on his lips. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”
He nibbled at her fingers.
She yanked them away, irritated that she’d allowed herself to fall for that again. You’d think the second time around her heart wouldn’t skip so much. That couldn’t be healthy.
She needed to regain some control here. Make it all sound like a tempest in a teapot. Now she sounded like Edith. As old as the hills.
“Are you afraid to be seen with me?” Luke said.
“Of course not.” She managed to make her voice sound calm. “I’ve got to say it seems a lot of commotion over one little kiss.”
Luke moved closer. “You think so?”
“Yes, I do.” She refused to let him intimidate her.
“Hmmm.” He slid his fingers between hers, warming her with his heat. “Let’s make it two kisses then.”
Without further ado, Luke kissed her, moving his hands and hers around to the small of her back so she was arched against him.
A part of her had wondered if that first kiss they’d so passionately shared had been a one-time deal, like a twister in Vermont or something. A rare occurrence that was unlikely to be repeated. That even if Luke did kiss her again, it wouldn’t be as intensely awesome. It wouldn’t be the same.
It wasn’t. But it was just as good. Just as intensely awesome.
It was like discovering a new book by a favorite author, drawing you in and inviting you to share an entirely different story but with the same appeal as the first one.
Only a librarian would compare a life-altering kiss to a book, but then Julia had a special connection with books and she was developing a special connection with Luke.
Not just because he could do those magical moves with his talented tongue, although they did snatch her breath away and make her feel all feverish.
And not just because he nibbled his way right across her mouth, although she loved that.
Even the way he held her in his arms was unique. He had her tethered, which should have made her feel like the llamas she’d had in her backyard. But instead, he made her feel protected and adored as he worked his way from first base to second.
Julia was pressed against the storm door and he was pressed tight against her, his knee nudging hers apart. They were both wearing jeans, and the denim provided an evocative friction whenever he moved. Or she did.
Luke still had her hands cuffed, so she couldn’t explore his body beneath the soft leather jacket and T-shirt he wore. But somehow her own coat had come undone and shimmied out of the way enough that she could feel the heat of his body against her breasts. The drag of her nipples against him as she shifted felt so good she did it again, and again.
Her moan of pleasure was incorporated into their kiss.
So was her startled gasp as the door behind her shifted.
“Hello, you two,” her mother cheerfully greeted them. “Having fun?”
“We were,” Luke replied, because Julia was clearly speechless.
“Good.” Angel opened the screen door. “Come on inside. I just brewed some green tea and baked some cookies.”
“What’s that smell?” Julia asked, having just caught of a whiff of something . . . not quite right.
“The first batch of my yellow squash cookies didn’t quite come out as planned. I overcooked them a bit.”
“I’m going to have to take a raincheck on those cookies,” Luke said, taking a quick step backward.
“Coward,” Julia muttered under her breath.
“I heard that,” he replied.
“He doesn’t do chintz or yellow squash cookies,” Julia told Angel.
“You’ve got that right.” An instant later, Luke was gone, leaving Julia with the memory of his kiss and the reminder that sexy bad boys never stuck around for very long.
Two days later, Julia sat at the table in her kitchen, enjoying the Saturday morning sunshine flooding in through the window. She’d just finished eating some fresh baked wheat toast and homemade strawberry jam Angel had purchased from the organic market. It didn’t taste half bad.
Opening the
Serenity News,
she quickly flipped through the newspaper’s pages, wanting to be sure they’d put in the notice about this month’s programs at the library. Instead, she was distracted by the full-page ad photo of Sue Ellen Riley.
Below it was written:
Hi there, this is Sue Ellen Riley. Are you seeing things that aren’t there? Then you should have your vision checked at Goodwin Eye Care Center.
“I don’t believe this,” Julia growled. “She got a job out of this?”
“Who did?” Angel asked as she entered the room.
“Sue Ellen Riley.” Julia held up the paper for her mom to see.
“Let me put my reading glasses on first.” Angel slid them into place. “Ah, that’s Sue Ellen, isn’t it?”
“Right.” Julia slid her own reading glasses a bit farther up the bridge of her nose. “Do you believe that?”
“Believe what? That it’s Sue Ellen?”
“That she’s advertising for the vision center.”
“At least she’s leaving Lucy and Ricky alone. I miss those llamas, you know. Even though I do go visit them. You should see how they clown around sometimes. They’re so funny.”
Julia closed the paper. She didn’t want to think about Sue Ellen or the llamas. She just wanted to enjoy her day off.
Angel had other plans. “Can you take Toni with you when you run your errands? I’ve got a yoga class, and Skye is doing a belly-dancing presentation over at the Moose Lodge in Rock Creek.” At Julia’s look, Angel added, “Don’t ask. It pays well. Everything will be fine. My centering exercise for today is outer peace.”
Peace. Julia faded out as her mother went into detail about her plans for the upcoming yoga class. Peace. That was something Julia used to have. She remembered being able to eat what she wanted, do what she wanted, live as she wanted.
The sound of something crashing in the living room made Julia jump out of her chair and reminded her yet again how much her life had changed over the past few weeks. Her calm haven was now a chaotic commune.
Toni was the culprit, but there was no blood, which was always a good thing. She’d tried to climb the pile of oversized books and leap onto the couch, something she’d done before. The books toppled over and caused the noise they’d heard. Julia had already moved the larger tomes out of the room, but she was running out of places to hide things to make the house safe for the little girl.
“Toni, you’re going with Julia this morning,” Angel announced.
“No, I’m not!” For someone who never had the word applied to her, it was still Toni’s favorite reply.