“Does it help if you prop it up?” She angled a chair beside him.
He pulled his leg onto the chair with his hands. “It does. Thank you.”
“Your mom sent a…” Mina lifted a corner of aluminum foil off a baking dish. “Casserole?”
Thomas reached out and pulled the foil the rest of the way off. “That appears to be tuna noodle casserole.”
“Do you like tuna noodle casserole?”
“No.”
Mina laughed as she pulled two plates from the cabinet. “She is mad at you.”
“Is that why you’re here?”
“Are you insinuating I’m your punishment?” She grabbed two forks and the roll of paper towels, setting them on the table as she gave him a grin.
“Maybe I’m not the only one being punished.” He smiled back at her. “Do you like tuna noodle casserole?”
“I do, but my kids hate it so I never make it.”
He dropped a scoop of steaming noodles onto the plate in front of Mina. “Looks like today’s your lucky day then.”
**************************************
Mina eyed Thomas as he slid a small spoonful of casserole on his plate. She didn’t know what to make of the man sitting across the table from her.
It was obvious he was rattled when she showed up instead of Nancy and to be honest, so was she. After how good he looked at the hospital, she wasn’t prepared for him to look so… different.
The golden waves she spent more than a few nights imagining running her fingers through were gone, probably a casualty of his head injury. A full, unkempt beard hid most of his face. What she could see was pale and noticeably thinner, like the rest of him appeared to be.
All she could do was stand and stare, stunned. Her heart aching for him. For a second during the awkward silence, Mina thought he was going to ask her to leave. Instead he showered and changed clothes, returning without help from his walker. Now here he was teasing her and smiling in spite of the pain he was obviously in.
Mina jumped up. “I almost forgot. Your mom said to be sure you had these with dinner so they didn’t upset your stomach.” She grabbed the prescription bottle off the counter and popped the lid, fishing out two pills. She held them out.
Thomas stared at her outstretched hand. Slowly he reached out and gently took the pills from her, his fingertips softly brushing across her palm. Her knees went weak. Even in his current state, he was one heck of a good looking man. There was just something about him that did things to her and boy did she want him to do things to her.
Reaching back, she grabbed the chair and quickly sat down before she fell down and really made an ass out of herself. She smiled hoping he hadn’t noticed.
He grinned back, putting that hot as hell gap on full display. If she hadn’t gotten worried about how long he was taking in the bathroom and gone to check on him, she might consider it the sexiest thing about him.
He tossed both pills in his mouth and washed them down with a sip of water. “Thank you.”
She nodded. “Are you still in a lot of pain?”
He looked at her for a minute, probably to decide whether or not to lie. “Yes.”
“Is the physical therapy helping?” She already knew the answer, but he didn’t have to know that.
“I um…” He looked down at his plate as he shoved food from one side to the other. “I haven’t gone.”
“Oh.” She took a bite. Nancy made a pretty darn good tuna casserole. She watched him as she chewed. He didn’t look up, just kept relocating noodles.
“Why?”
“I don’t think it will help.”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
Mina was beginning to see why he might be driving Nancy a little crazy. It seemed like if Thomas didn’t want to talk about something, he made it very difficult and hoped you’d lose interest. Unfortunately for him, Mina could stare at him all night and the longer this conversation took, the more she was able to indulge herself. “Why is that?”
His eyes were still glued to the plate in front of him as if tuna noodle casserole was the most interesting thing he’d seen. “My leg was shredded. They couldn’t save part of the muscle. You can’t fix what’s not there.”
Up until now, Mina assumed he was wallowing in self-pity but the look on his face, the set of his jaw was not pitiful. This man was angry. He was about to get angrier.
“Your mom talks about you a lot.” She paused trying to gauge his reaction so far. He finally looked at her and she almost lost her nerve, but he needed to hear this and she might be the only person with balls big enough to say it to him.
“I never got the feeling from her that you were a man who let someone else tell you what your limits were.”
He stared at her silently, the muscle in his jaw twitching. She held her breath, waiting.
“And what do you think now?” His voice was low and rumbly in his throat. His clear blue eyes turning dark like a storm as it smothers the sky.
Holy f-ing hell he was sexy when he was mad.
“I think I was right which is why this is all so confusing. Why did you give up before you even started? You run this whole farm so I know you’re not lazy. You survived an injury that would kill most people, so I know you’re not weak.”
“So what am I?”
“Scared.”
She scooped herself some more casserole and waited for the shit to hit the fan. The idea of coming over here had not thrilled her, but mid-way through her manicure this afternoon she realized a few things.
First. Nancy needed her. That was reason enough to do whatever she could to help Thomas.
Second. Nancy might be right. She may be one of the few people Thomas would listen to. If he really did know what she had been through with her ex, he would realize she had a little experience moving forward after something awful. Maybe not the same kind of something awful, but equally terrible.
Number three. The idea of Thomas suffering seriously bothered her. Like, a lot. Way more than it should, which also bothered her, but she could worry about that later.
Right now, what he needed was to hear the cold hard truth. He wasn’t going to like it and might not like her afterwards, but it had to be done and if it helped pull him out of his funk, it would be worth it.
She had more than enough time to finish her food while Thomas sat in silence. Finally, as she was standing to begin clearing the table he spoke.
“What is it you think I’m scared of?”
Not the reply she was expecting. She anticipated yelling, denials or maybe just being asked to leave.
“The unknown.”
He continued to look at her, making her feel the need to explain. “You might get better with physical therapy. You might not. I don’t know and neither do you. I do know you will not get better sitting here alone all day being angry.”
She took the plates from the table, scraping Thomas’ untouched dinner into the trash. “Bad things happen. Terrible things. But they only ruin your life if you allow them to. At the end of the day, you decide what will happen.” She stood at the sink and twisted on the hot water, squirting in dish liquid as it filled.
She turned, expecting an argument and prepared to defend her opinion, but he was no longer sitting at the table. He was right in front of her, so close she could feel the heat from his body and smell the clean freshness of the soap from his shower. The storm was still raging in his eyes as they bored into her, dark and threatening. She gripped the counter behind her, determined to stand her ground. “So what are you going to do?”
The question barely had time to escape her lips before Thomas closed the small distance left between them. Before she realized what was happening, his mouth was on hers, his hands cupping her face as his fingers tangled in her hair.
She couldn’t breathe. Oh my God what was happening?
He eased closer, pressing more of his weight against her as his lips continued to tease hers. He was so warm. His fingertips
began to slowly massage her scalp as his heat began to soak into her. She felt dizzy. The only thing keeping her upright was being trapped between him and the counter.
He pulled his lips from hers and tilted her face up towards his. “Maybe you can come back tomorrow and we can talk about this some more.”
FOURTEEN
Mina alternated holding the wheel with one hand while wiping the other down the leg of her jeans. Her palms were sweating. She was sweating.
She grabbed the neck of her shirt, flapping the fabric against her chest trying to get the air moving. It was thirty degrees out and she had the car vents on full blast trying to keep her perspiration under control. This was ridiculous. She was a grown woman, not a teenager in heat.
She was more nervous to see him now than she was when she went to the hospital. Of course that was before he’d kissed her. Twice.
It was also before she began to suspect Nancy had been setting her up this whole time.
After that first kiss, Thomas asked her to come back the next day, and she happily agreed, a little make-out drunk, temporarily forgetting her children. Something that would definitely land her at the top of the list for mother of the year.
The next morning, Nancy was calling by eight, going on and on about what a wonderful time she and the kids had together and asking for them again. It wasn’t until this morning when Nancy showed up at the hoarder house wanting to take the kids to a movie tonight, that she became suspicious. Less than ten minutes after she left, Mina’s phone rang, a low sexy voice asking if she would like to have dinner with him again.
They were tag teaming her. And they were good at it. But she couldn’t help but worry. What if this didn’t go anywhere? Where would that leave their friendship? Worse yet, what if it did? Would their relationship be the same if Nancy was her mother-in-law? Didn’t Nancy say she could only imagine Thomas with an amazing woman? That was a pretty high standard to live up to.
She reached down and kicked the blower up a notch, angling the vent at her face. She felt sick. This could be a terrible idea. Unfortunately being with him didn’t feel like a terrible idea. Actually it felt like the best idea she’d had… ever.
She knew she should say no each time he asked to see her again, but she couldn’t. Literally. She couldn’t. Her mouth was agreeing on its own, completely ignoring the hesitation in her brain.
She jammed her finger on the button in the door, the frigid air blowing her hair around as the window slid down.
Taking a deep breath of the chilly air filling the van, she tried to clear her mind and calm the heck down. As ready as she thought she was to start dating, she never imagined there would be so many complications right out of the gate.
A few more minutes of slow breathing had her calm enough she thought it was safe to roll the window up. She glanced at herself in the review mirror. Shit. Her hair was all over the place. She raked her hands through the tangled mass, trying to get it at least a little under control. All that time spent curling it and now it was everywhere. At least the cool air kept the sweating to a minimum and her make-up was still intact.
She took one last deep breath as Thomas’ house came in to view. And so did he. Standing in his driveway, leaning back against the tailgate of his truck in loose fitting jeans and a tan fisherman’s knit sweater, his hands tucked into the pockets of a rich brown leather jacket. A knit cap covered his newly bare head, protecting it against the cold winter air.
Her stomach flipped at the sight of him and she thought she might start sweating again. He was one hell of a good looking man. Maybe the complications weren’t as big of a deal as she was making them. They certainly didn’t seem as problematic when she was with him.
As she pulled up in front of him, he flashed her a smile, the whiteness of his teeth standing out against the dark strawberry blonde of his beard. Man she was glad he hadn’t shaved it off. It made him seem more rugged.
She rolled down the window as he came around the passenger side of the van leaning on the cane she brought him at their last dinner date.
“Need a ride?”
**************************************
“I believe I do.” He popped open the door and carefully angled himself into the seat beside her, trying to avoid bending his leg, but failing.
“You can push that seat back if it will help. The switches are on the side.”
“I might take you up on that.” The seat slowly moved back, giving him room to stretch out. “Much better.”
He pulled the door closed, ready to soak up the warmth of the car. Inside the van was just as cold, maybe somehow even colder, than outside the van. “Is your heat out?”
Her already pink cheeks flushed a little more. “No. I have been busy today, running around, and I was a little warm.” She reached up, turning the dial on the dash to the red zone. Warm air began blowing through the vents. “Sorry.”
He held his hands up, the feeling slowly coming back into the tips of his fingers. He hadn’t wanted her to come in after him and risk her trying to help him down the stairs, hoping to preserve any shred of masculinity he had left. It hadn’t taken as long as he anticipated to negotiate the steps and uneven driveway, thanks to the cane she brought him, so he was there propped against his truck, freezing for over a half hour. Seeing the surprise on her face was worth every icy second.
“Where are we going?”
He pulled the seatbelt across his lap and clicked it into place. He made reservations for them at a new little Italian place in town his buddy just opened. “Head into town.” It was time for him to take her on a proper date. Show her how much he appreciated everything she had done for him. Maybe get to show her off a little too, and she was looking pretty fucking worthy of that right now. “I like your hair.”
She was backing out of his driveway and his comment must have thrown her a little bit because she missed the edge of the pavement as the van swung onto the road.
“Oh, thank you.” Her hand immediately went to her head, smoothing down the strands.
“It’s bigger. More…” What was a good word for it? Wild? She might not like that. He wracked his brain trying to remember any shampoo commercial he could. “Tousled.”
Judging by her reaction, that was an acceptable description. She grinned and glanced at him sideways as she drove down the quickly darkening country road. Initially he hated that she would have to drive anywhere they went. Now after realizing it afforded him the ability to watch her, basically undetected, he decided it might not be as bad as he thought.
She looked amazing. Cold, but amazing.
Hopefully she had a coat stashed in the back of the car because the pale pink shirt she was wearing could double as a negligee. The panels of open lace at the shoulders and the see through fabric that made up the rest of the garment would not do anything to keep her warm.
It did however, give him an almost un-obscured view of her upper body including her perfect breasts taunting him from their temporary home, tucked inside a tank top. A tank top that didn’t appear ready or able to put up a fight to defend their honor. That was a war he would most certainly win. Maybe tonight.
He shifted in his seat trying to take the pressure off his quickly expanding dick without jarring his leg. It suddenly felt very hot in the van. He glanced over finding she had the heater blasting. He cursed himself for complaining about the cold.
“Which way do I head?”
He looked up and discovered they were almost at the edge of town. He’d spent the whole ride staring at her, planning the demise of her wardrobe and imagining the way her breasts would fit in his hands.
“Left. We’re going to a new place in town.”
Her eyes got big. “Campioni’s?”
“That would be it.”
“They have been packed every night since they opened.” She glanced at him, her eyes traveling down to his leg. “They don’t take reservations.”
She was worried about him. She didn’t think he could even h
andle the wait at a restaurant. Jesus. Obviously his mother, God bless her, was very open with Mina about his behavior after his accident. That’s what he got for being such a whiny pussy. That just meant he was going to have to spend some time showing her how capable of a man he actually was.
“Sometimes they do.” He gave her a smile. “It helps if you know the guy who owns the place.”
She smiled back, obviously relieved. “I’ve heard their food is amazing.”
“I’m sure it’s much better than if I cooked which was plan B.”
“Well thank God for plan A then.” They both laughed as she turned onto Magnolia Street, the glowing lights of Campioni’s coming in to view. As predicted the place was packed, the parking lot overflowing. “Want me to drop you off at the door?”
Christ. He might have to spend a lot of time proving he was an able bodied man. Actually the idea didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would.
**************************************
Mina flopped her napkin over her food hoping to deter any more ‘one last bites’. She was sure she couldn’t physically fit any more food into her body, but she was also sure of that five bites ago. “That was amazing.”
It was by far the best Italian food she’d ever tasted. She would have to bring the kids here for dinner one night. Spaghetti was Charlie’s favorite.
“So you’re ready to talk again?” Thomas’ eyes twinkled in the soft lighting of the restaurant, the same pale blue as the tablecloths and the morning sky painted on the ceiling.
“I didn’t hear you trying to start any conversations farmer Tom.” She shoved her plate further away, hoping to escape the delicious smell beckoning her to take just one more taste.
Their waiter suddenly appeared. “Can I box that up for you?”
“That would be great.” She grabbed her napkin off the plate as he picked it up, turning to Thomas.
Run (Never Waste A Second Chance Book 1) Page 11