by Barbara Gee
He pressed his forehead to hers for a moment, then stepped back and held up the lipstick. “You’d better take care of this yourself this time,” he said, smiling crookedly.
Kelly accepted the tube and returned his smile, although it was a little shaky. “I will never again put on lipstick without thinking of you, Will Connor. That was......” She felt her cheeks getting pink, so she shut up and hurried past him.
Grabbing the keys off the hook in the kitchen, she held them out. “Do you mind driving? It’s kinda hard for me in these shoes.”
He accepted the keys with another wicked smile. “And what shoes they are,” he mumbled, standing back and motioning for her to precede him out the door.
“Oh my gosh, Kelly! You look fantastic!” Natalie squealed when she opened the door for them. “And your cowboy is here! Welcome, Will! I’m so thrilled to finally meet you! Oh my gosh, you look fantastic too!” She hugged Kelly and then Will, reaching up afterward to pat his cheek.
“I’m Natalie, by the way, Kelly’s very best friend. She likes me way better than Heather and Jordan, even if she won’t admit it.” She grinned and motioned them inside before turning to call to the others, who were in the living room off the foyer. “Kelly and Will are here, guys! Get out here and make them feel welcome.”
Grinning, Kelly took Will’s hand and squeezed. “Courage, Will,” she said softly. “They won’t bite, I promise.”
“I’m good. I like her.”
“You’re sweet. One down, five to go.” She tugged him further inside, where her other friends were coming over to greet them.
The four men present couldn’t have been more different. There was Natalie’s Stephan, the marketing executive with the perfectly tailored clothes, expensive haircut, and immaculate manicure. Heather’s husband, Troy, was a big beefy PE teacher and football coach, and Jordan’s long term boyfriend, Tyler, was a construction project manager who loved hunting and fishing, and almost always wore at least one piece of clothing in the mossy oak camouflage pattern. And then there was Will, the athletic cowboy almost a decade younger than Stephan and Troy.
Despite their differences, Stephan, Troy and Tyler had always gotten along famously, and Kelly hoped Will would be accepted into their circle. After an initial bit of awkwardness as they all shook hands and introduced themselves, Troy sized Will up, apprising his six foot four height and athletic bearing, and asked whether he had played basketball in school.
“Yeah I did, but football was my best sport,” Will told him, accepting the glass of iced tea Natalie brought him.
Since ‘football’ was the magic word with all three men, Will was soon sucked into their group to talk all things sports. Kelly was proud to see that he seemed comfortable and able to hold his own easily.
“Come on, girls, help me finish up dinner before the guys realize they’re starving,” Natalie urged, herding her friends toward the kitchen.
Once there, out of sight of the men, Natalie pressed her hand over her heart.
“Kelly Matherson, you lucky, lucky dog. Oh my gosh, that man is positively breathtaking! Your pictures didn’t do him justice.”
“You make a beautiful couple,” Heather added. “And he seems like a sweetheart. A gorgeous, mouthwatering sweetheart. I have to agree with the lucky dog thing.”
“And he got you to dress up!” Jordan enthused. “You must really like him. I mean, I can’t remember the last time I saw you in a skirt, Kel. And your hair and makeup! You’re even wearing lipstick!”
Kelly’s cheeks immediately flamed. She took a hasty gulp of her cold tea, and promptly choked on it.
Pounding her on the back, Natalie didn’t cut her any slack. “Wait a second, Kelly, there’s a story there somewhere, I can tell! What is it about wearing a skirt and doing your hair and makeup that made you snort your tea?”
“I didn’t snort it,” Kelly denied, barely able to talk between coughs.
Heather locked onto the scent of a story. “Your face is red as a beet. What happened between you two?”
“It’s red because I can’t breathe! I’m choking in case you hadn’t noticed. Thanks so much for your concern,” Kelly sputtered.
“Don’t give us that,” Jordan joined in. “Spill it, Kel. Is it your short, sexy skirt? I’m guessing Will digs it and commented on those amazing legs of yours.”
Kelly gave one last cough, then made them wait while she took several very, very careful sips of tea, hoping they would move to another subject. When they didn’t, she rolled her eyes.
“No, Jordan, he didn’t say anything about my legs. You guys are nuts.”
“Your hair?” Heather pressed. “Does he like the sexy curls?”
“Oh my word, no. I mean, I don’t know if he likes them or not. He didn’t say anything about my hair, good or bad.”
Her friends still smelled blood in the water and weren’t buying her denials. They all stood there looking at her, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, waiting for her to cave.
Kelly stayed mutinously quiet for all of about five seconds, but she was outnumbered and she knew her friends too well to think they would give up when they suspected something juicy had happened between her and Will.
“Oh good grief, if you must know, it was my lipstick.”
The three ladies just blinked, waiting for her to elaborate.
“Ok, so I was finished getting dressed and he came to my room to see if I was about ready and I told him to come in while I was looking for my earrings. I found them and then grabbed my lipstick as I was leaving, and he—oh man, I can’t believe you guys are making me tell you this. Will would be appalled.”
Natalie was undeterred. “That’s only because guys don’t understand that we tell each other basically everything. We always have, and quite frankly it’s been lopsided until now because we’re always spilling our private goings on to you, and being single you got by without reciprocating. So you have a lot of time to make up for. Now spill it. He’ll never know.”
“Okay, well I grabbed my lipstick and he took it and…” Kelly’s eyes glazed over at the still very fresh memory. “He took it and opened it and said ‘allow me’ and then he held my face and put my lip gloss on, really slow, I mean really slow, and he was just staring at my lips while he did it, and then at the end he intentionally messed it up and said something like ‘oops now I have to get rid of it and start over.’ So he, um, got rid of it.”
Kelly blinked, recovering from the near trance the memory had invoked. Three pairs of very wide eyes stared back at her.
“He kissed it off?” Jordan breathed, pressing a hand to her heart. “Holy moly, Kelly, that is so sexy.”
“I can’t even stand it,” Heather said, “especially now that I’ve seen him and how outrageously gorgeous he is. I would have been a puddle at his feet.”
“Sweet and sexy and gorgeous all in one,” Natalie chimed in. “And to think, we worried that you would never find a man who could live up to your impossibly high standards. Sorry for doubting you, girlfriend.”
Heather laughed. “And that’s coming from the one who tried to convince you Dan Ferguson would be a good match for you. Oh gosh, you guys, could Dan and Will be any more different?”
All four women started to laugh.
“Give me a break,” Natalie said, waving a hand. “It was just a suggestion, and I realized almost right away that it was a dumb one. It’s just that poor Dan is a good guy and he’s been hoping Kelly would throw him some crumbs for years now. I just thought maybe opposites would attract.”
“He writes video games, for goodness sake,” Jordan laughed. “And he fits the geek stereotype to a tee. Kelly would have been bored out of her mind within five minutes.”
“Okay, okay, I admit it was a stupid suggestion, and I’m very glad you didn’t take it, Kelly, because your cowboy is definitely a better choice. I mean really, you guys, did you see how quickly he won the other boys over?”
Jordan nodded. “All they had to hear was ‘high s
chool quarterback’ and he was their hero. It gives Troy and Tyler a chance to relive their glory days, which they’ll never get tired of no matter how old they get.”
“Don’t forget Stephan,” Natalie said with a straight face. “He was one of the guys who hoisted up the cheerleaders so they could do their aerial flips.”
All four women burst out laughing, knowing that if Stephen were with them he would have proudly pointed that accomplishment out himself if his wife hadn’t.
“I can’t figure it out,” Jordan said, wiping her eyes. “I hate almost everything about Stephan, and yet I love the man to death. How can that be?”
“We all love him,” Kelly said. “It’s because he’s totally happy in his own skin, he can laugh at himself, and he has a heart the size of Texas. And big ole Tyler and Troy would defend him with their lives.”
“They would,” Heather confirmed. “I love how they are with each other.”
Natalie summed it up. “I think we can all agree there are four pretty darn amazing guys in the other room, and since they’ve chosen us, we must be pretty darn amazing, too. Now I suggest we get to cooking. I’m starving, and I can guarantee the guys will be wandering in here looking for food pretty soon.”
Chapter 24
“Fun evening,” Will said as he and Kelly walked to the car after the group reluctantly dispersed around midnight.
Kelly wrapped her arms around one of his. “They all loved you, Will. I knew they would.”
“They’re a great group. I’m feeling kinda guilty about taking you away from them in another few weeks. I know you’re going to miss each other.”
“We’ll survive, and they understand why I want to go. A great summer job, and getting James back to the ranch and his new grandparents.”
They got to the car and Will opened the passenger door for her, but tugged her against his chest before she could get in.
“And?” he prompted, his blue eyes twinkling in the dim light offered by the street lights.
“Oh, and then there’s you,” Kelly said happily. “I’m a little crazy about you, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“A little? So how do I turn that into a whole lot crazy?”
Kelly smiled gently. “Who am I kidding? I’m completely crazy about you, cowboy. Now let’s go get James so my parents can get to bed. They’re usually in bed by ten, and it’s after midnight already.”
“You got it.” Will released her so she could get in the car, then closed the door snugly behind her.
James was asleep when they got to Kelly’s parents’ place. Will carried him out to the car, where they had to wake him up enough for Kelly to buckle him in. He fussed, still half asleep, but thankfully the drive was fairly short and soon he was tucked into his own bed and fast asleep once more.
Kelly walked with Will to his room, their fingers intertwined. She craved his touch, longed for his kiss, but without even voicing it they both knew it wasn’t a good idea to start anything.
“I enjoyed today, Kelly.”
“Me too. I can’t believe we only have one day left.”
“For now. All we have to do is get through the next five weeks.”
“I can’t wait. I don’t know how to thank Amy enough for helping me get the job at Tallock County High. I know she didn’t have it planned, but without her mentioning me to her friend, I’d be facing a long, lonely summer.”
“It was God’s plan.”
“I believe you’re right.”
Will pulled her close for a quick hug, but then he stepped away. “I’ve gotta say goodnight pretty much right now, Kelly, because I’m damn close to throwing caution to the wind. Watching you in that outfit all evening has turned me inside out. You don’t have any idea how hot you are, and when you look at me like you are right now,” he shook his head. “I’m weak, what can I say? I don’t trust myself at the moment. So get to bed, girl, before I change my mind.”
“Okay, I’m going.” She reluctantly let go of his hand. “Good night, Will.”
His smile wasn’t as good as a kiss, but it still made her feel warm and cared for. Kelly walked to her room and went through her nighttime routine, then crawled into bed and turned out the light, thinking how perfect the day had been.
It felt so good to know that Will was sleeping just down the hall. As her mind went back over the last two days, and how right it felt to spend time with Will, Kelly realized she had reached another level in her feelings for him, and there really wasn’t any reason not to acknowledge the truth to herself.
“I love you, Will,” she whispered.
She hoped the time would come when she would be able to say those words out loud to him, instead of just whispering into the darkness.
Chapter 25
All too soon, Will’s plane was in the air, carrying him back to Texas, and a dejected James and Kelly were driving back to their house, which was going to seem a lot emptier without the big, vibrant cowboy they’d both come to love.
Kelly and Will had managed to have a bit of alone time before leaving for the airport, while James was in his room finishing up a picture he was drawing for Will to take home with him.
“I’m gonna miss you, baby,” Will had said, wasting no time in hauling her close and kissing her.
“I loved having you here,” Kelly told him between kisses. “I don’t know what I’d do if we weren’t coming back to Texas soon.”
Will held her face and looked down at her, fascinated by her softness of her dark hair, her big green eyes, finely arched brows, straight little nose, and lovely full pink lips. She was vividly beautiful, and unspeakably precious to him. He had no doubt that Kelly Matherson was the woman for him, and he prayed every day that she felt the same. He was pretty sure she was right there with him for the most part, but he knew she still tended to play devil’s advocate with herself at times, and dwelt on what she viewed as negatives.
Will knew that James was her chief concern. There was no denying that the boy had bonded deeply with him and would be hurt if things went bad. If Kelly saw any red flags in their relationship, Will knew she would pull out quickly rather than let her son get even more attached.
Having them come to Texas for an extended period of time was the best way Will could think of to take care of any lingering doubts Kelly might have. He hated that she felt their age difference was an issue, but since she hadn’t mentioned it even once during their weekend together, he hoped she had finally come to believe him when he said it wasn’t even a slight concern on his part. So what if she got a few wrinkles before him.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked softly, making Will realize he had continued staring at her as all his hopes and fears for their future had whirled around in his head.
He cleared his throat and wrapped his arms around her again, loving the feel of her snug and warm against him.
“Us. I’m afraid you still have doubts and I don’t know how to dispel them.”
Kelly hugged him back, her cheek pressed against his chest.
“I don’t doubt my feelings for you, Will. And you’re doing a great job making me feel secure about your feelings toward me. We just need to see whether circumstances will line up in a way that allows us to keep moving ahead.”
“Whatever it takes.”
Kelly pulled his face down to hers and gazed into his eyes.
“I’m not looking forward to going back to phone calls and Skype for a month, but I guess it’s better than nothing,” she sighed.
They kissed, lingering and deep, knowing it would be their last for too long. James called to them, giving them time to step apart before he came running into the kitchen with the finished drawing clutched in his hand.
“Will you put this on your fridge, Will? Like Mom does with my pictures and stuff?”
“You bet I will. And I’ll think of you every single time I see it.”
“It’s a picture of me and Dodger and Midnight, see?” James pointed. “And there’s the swimming hole we went to
on the Triple Creek.”
“Ah, that was a good day. We’ll do it again, buddy. Thanks for giving me this.”
They left for the airport, Will’s heart heavy, already missing the two of them so much it hurt.
Kelly ruffled James’ hair as they walked alone into their house.
“Hey, Jimmy James, how about we make a calendar that shows all the days until we go to Texas, and you can cross off a day every night when you go to bed.”
“How many days is it?”
“I’m not sure exactly. Go get some paper and markers and we’ll get it figured out.”
It was fun making the calendar, and James seemed to gradually perk up as the day went on and he got more used to the fact that Will was gone.
For her part, however, Kelly couldn’t wait until that doggone calendar was completely full of x’s.
Thirty-seven days and thirty-seven phone calls with Will later, Kelly had her SUV packed full and was ready to say goodbye to her parents and her six dear friends, who had all showed up to see them off on this early Saturday morning. The group was nervous about Kelly and James making the long drive, but Kelly had chosen to drive rather than fly so she could pack more teaching materials, which would come in very handy with her new job. She would also have her own vehicle this way, instead of having to use James’ and Maggie’s car all the time.
“Call us every few hours to let us know where you are,” her mother begged. “I’m going to be a nervous wreck until you get there.”
“I’ll start a group text and send you guys all a text every so often when we stop. I don’t plan to drive more than ten or so hours a day, depending on how soon I get tired. That’ll put us there sometime on Tuesday. And I’ve got plenty of things to keep James occupied, a few new toys and lots of books, and some games loaded on the iPad. We’ll be fine.”