Put that way, Thor’s arguments crashed and burned. “I’ll give it a try.”
“Here’s my card with my home and office numbers. Call me and we’ll set up a time for you to come in.” Bart’s smile was wide and sincere. “I’ll see you soon. Enjoy the play.”
Chapter Nineteen
Gravel sputtered in the driveway and the familiar beat of Jim Croce filled the quiet. Thor rose from his favorite recliner and watched from the door. Agony tore through him. Seeing Willow chat with Cal stung his pride. In addition to her friends, his brother had replaced him in her life.
She climbed from the Bronco, rear first. His body hardened. A pair of stonewashed jeans clung to her curvaceous backside. Denim never looked so good.
Have mercy.
She breezed past him with a mumbled greeting. The airy scent of honeysuckles assailed his nostrils.
Lord, she smells good, too.
Cal waved at him then ripped out the driveway. Thor slammed and locked the door. The clang of pots and pans greeted him as he joined her in the kitchen.
“How was your day?” He shoved his hands in pockets and leaned in the doorway. A hint of accusation and envy put an underlying steely edge to his tone. “You’re home late. Did you have a test?”
“Would you like chicken or steak tonight? Baked potato or rice?”
“You don’t have to cook. Let’s just order a pizza.”
Her busy movements stopped in mid-air. She whipped around, a lovely smile on her face. “Pizza? With the works? Pepperoni, sausage and anchovies?”
“Yeah, even with anchovies.” Her smile worked to ease his doubts. He mustered a smile. “Wanna make the call?”
She nodded. After she stuffed the cookware into cabinets, she made a beeline for the kitchen telephone. The number for the local pizza delivery was taped to the fridge. She turned away from him as she dialed the number and placed their order. When she was done, she grabbed the dinnerware from the cupboard and headed toward the table.
Thor intercepted as she came in range. He took the plates from her and plopped them on the table. “We can do that fancy stuff later. You were telling me why you were late.”
Willow sidestepped him and leaned against the counter. Her arms folded across her chest. The toe of her shoe traced the outline of the tile, and she looked more at the floor than at him. “I took a test at student health. Cal waited around for me.”
“That was nice of him. What kind of test?”
“My monthly curse hasn’t arrived, so I went to a doctor to find out why.”
“A monthly curse?” Thor sputtered. “What is that?”
Her eyes rounded like saucers behind her glasses. An expression of pure mortification crossed her features. “You
know!”
Realization dawned. “Are you talking about your period? Menstruation?” Thor’s heart raced with anticipation. “It didn’t come? What did the doctor say? Are you pregnant?”
“I don’t know. She examined me. She said when she knows she’ll call.”
“Did you tell Cal?”
“Yes. He waited for me while she gave me the test.”
“You told Cal and not me?” he asked through gritted teeth. “I should have been with you, Willow. Not Cal.”
“You were busy.” She spun on her heel and rushed out of the kitchen before Thor could react. Seconds later, a door slammed on the floor above.
* * *
“Blessed be!”
Willow flung herself across the bed. The springs of the mattress creaked once in protest, but quickly sprung back into place to accommodate her. Tears of anger stung her eyes. Her fists pummeled the bed in frustration.
What was wrong with her? They found letters from Eva, informing them that a horse threw and killed Warren Eugene Davis and freed Olivia of his threats. Life was a near dream. She was going to college, learning new things, and making friends. Everything was so close to perfect that she could cry.
Everything except her relationship with Thor.
She rolled onto her back and groaned. The image of his hurt face flashed before her eyes. He had every right to be upset. Her palms flattened against her abdomen. If she was carrying Thor’s child, he should have been told first, but she couldn’t bring herself to mention it.
What happened to them? They talked so freely in the beginning. Making love with him, as he phrased it, was the closest thing to Heaven she ever experienced. His touch was so tender and exhilarating. Shivers darted up her spine just thinking about it, and her lower belly tingled. She shifted onto her side and raised her knees to her chest.
The direction of her thoughts was sinful, yet she was hard pressed to stop it. She grabbed a pillow, holding it to her chest the way she longed to hold Thor.
That was not to be.
He probably regards me as a hypocrite
, she sadly thought. In her world, social values were stricter, yet, she gave herself to him without one word of protest. She never told him why because at the time she did not know the reasons herself. A few weeks of studying psychology helped her understand.
Sharing her body with him made up for the possibility of losing him later. For a short break in time, they could be together freely without censure or concern for right or wrong. The era’s unfriendliness toward interracial relationships bound them together in a whirlwind of emotion that transcended everything else. When she gave herself to Thor, Willow felt true freedom for the first time in her life, and it was breathtaking.
Returning with him to his world with its plethora of liberation seemed to degrade the passionate connection.
“Liar,” she muttered. That wasn’t the whole truth.
Be honest,
her mind badgered. She refused to share her body with Thor again out of fear. What if he only wanted her because of the anomaly that brought them together?
From a large assortment of women’s circulars, she learned that the exotic captivated men. What could be more exotic than a woman of another race from an antiquated period?
Her eyes filled with tears. She swallowed the sob that lodged in her throat. Surely, she could be accused of the same. Thor was handsome, kind, and gentle. He flirted with her outrageously, and she soaked up his attention like the sponge he kept on the kitchen sink consumed water. It wouldn’t be fair of her not to recognize the similarities in their situation. One thing made all the difference. She loved Thor while he just felt responsible.
The doorbell chimed downstairs. Pizza. The argument diminished her appetite, and the thought of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, black olives, and anchovies turned her stomach. She didn’t want the food anymore. Besides, the large pie wouldn’t go to waste. Thor could devour the thing without missing a beat, and she doubted if he would miss her company.
She rose from the bed and crossed the room to her stereo. The radio was set to her favorite easy-listening station. Having music at her fingertips was a true blessing.
The Patti Austin and James Ingram duet filled the room as she gathered her textbooks. Her melancholy faded as the music relaxed her. Then suddenly, loud voices roared from downstairs. A crash followed. The books fell from her hands as she raced from her room to see what happened and to make sure Thor was unharmed.
* * *
Thor’s chest heaved with every breath he took, and his shoulder throbbed. His right hook connected with Cal’s jaw with such force that it reawakened his old injury. Surprise by his actions, he spun away from Cal’s accusing stare and rubbed his shoulder.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” The sound of movement mingled with his words and Thor guessed Cal pushed himself off the wall. “I told you there’s nothing going on! We’re just friends. You need to listen!”
“Seeing is believing.”
“What the hell!
Seeing
?” Cal’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Just what the hell did you see?”
“She’s with you a lot more than she’s with me.”
Cal grabbed Thor’s arm and whipped him around. “That seems to be your choice, brother. From now on, you can take her to class and you can pick her up. I did it because I wanted to help, but if you don’t appreciate it, then by God, you can do it yourself.”
Thor wrenched his arm free of his brother’s grasp. Resentment blazed a trail of fury through him. His lips parted, an insult on the tip of his tongue, but the rebuttal remained silent. He closed his mouth and glared angrily at Cal.
“What?” Cal demanded. “You have nothing to say?” Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he pressed his fingers against the wound. “Pop would be disappointed with both of us if we don’t settle this thing right now. Hell, I wouldn’t be too thrilled either. I care about Willow. She’s a living, breathing history lesson, and she’s not shy about answering my questions. More than that, she’s nice and easy to get along with. But that doesn’t mean I want her.”
“Right.”
“There’s a word that’s coming to mind right now, but I promised someone I wouldn’t use it.” Cal snorted. “You’re taking the Magnusen trait of stubbornness to another level.”
“You took her to student health.”
“Yeah, because she asked me.”
“Why did she ask you instead of me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she’s not sure if you really care about her. I told you before you brought her here. A woman needs more than a roof over her head and food on her table.”
“I suppose she told you what she needs,” Thor sneered. “I suppose you fulfilled those needs, too.”
“There’s no getting through that thick skull. How do you feel about her? From the less than brotherly greeting I received for dropping off her notebook, I would imagine you have it bad.”
Thor swallowed hard. Leave it to Cal to voice aloud what Thor hadn’t been able to admit to himself. He was so in love with Willow that making a fool out of himself became the norm. “Yeah, it’s bad and that ain’t good.”
The doorbell rang again and Thor went to answer it. While he and the deliveryman exchanged money and a cardboard box of pizza, he heard Cal call out.
“Willow, wait!”
Thor closed the front door and then an upstairs door slammed hard, rattling the living room windows. “What happened?”
“She overheard us. She was crying. I’m leaving before another dam bursts. If you need me, you have my number.”
“Thanks, Cal. Sorry about your lip.”
“What’s a split lip between brothers?” He shrugged. “You have a good woman up there. You should let her know how much she means to you. G’night.”
Thor took the staircase two steps at a time. He knocked on Willow’s bedroom door. A muffled voice told him to come in. He did and his stomach flipped when he found her packing.
“What are you doing?”
“I have overstayed my welcome,” Willow explained in a hoarse whisper. “Kendra needs a roommate, and she asked me if I was interested. I told her I would let her know.”
“You don’t want to live with me anymore?”
She shook her head without bothering to look at him. “Not if you don’t want me here. I heard you say it was bad, and I don’t want to make you unhappy.”
Her voice broke, and he crossed the room in two steps to reach her. Despite her weak protests, he gathered her in his arms. “You misunderstood. Having you here isn’t bad. That’s not what I meant.”
“You were fighting with Cal, and that was because of me,” she said tearfully. “I don’t want to be the cause of dissension between you.” She rested her hands against his chest and pushed. “It’s better if I go.”
“No!” His hands locked around her waist. “It’s not better. It would be awful. I’d hate it.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“No, I’m not. I mean it. I don’t want you to leave.”
Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “You just want me here because you feel responsible for me.”
Thor cupped her face and tilted her head so that their gazes met. Tears filled her eyeglasses so he removed them and lowered his head close enough that only a breath separated the tips of their noses. “I do feel responsible for you, but that’s not why I want you here.”
“You think I may be with child and that’s why—”
He pressed his forefinger against her mouth, and her words stopped. Her lips quivered beneath his caress. His stomach clenched in response. His jeans suddenly felt too tight. He fought a hard battle against the raging desire that demanded immediate attention. Removing his finger from her mouth, he exhaled a sharp breath and quickly said the words he wanted to say a long time ago, but never had the courage.
“I don’t want you to go because if you do, I think I’ll just die again.” Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to speak. He continued before she uttered a sound. “I don’t mean in the literal sense, but I guess if you don’t have much to live for, it doesn’t matter. You saved my life, Willow. You showed me that there’s more to life than the rush of adrenaline on game day. I thought I loved football, the roar of the crowd and everything that went with it. It meant so much to me for so long that I associated myself with it, and when I couldn’t do it anymore, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Losing football hurt, but I swear to you, it can’t compare to the thought of losing you.