by Leanne Banks
“Nah.” Luke poured water from the cup into the tub. “I’m just itchy. And maybe a little hungry.”
A little hungry translated to two peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, an apple, a banana, chips and the last cupcake she had in the house.
He gave her a karate demonstration, which included a few bloodcurdling screams that left her ears ringing. Curious and funny, he was full of little-boy chatter about school, Garth and his mom, and a horse called Rapunzel. He allowed her to rub lotion on his itchy bumps. He made such a horrible face when she gave him the liquid antihistamine that Sara let him have an M&M to chase away the bitter taste.
They alternated checkers and reading with baths, and Sara lost her heart sometime around the third book when he asked if he could sit in her lap.
When five-thirty rolled around and Luke started getting a little cranky, Sara wondered if she should stall dinner or not. “Please don’t scratch.”
“But it itches,” Luke wailed.
Her heart went out to him. The red marks now covered most of his trunk and neck. “I’m sorry. How about a bath?”
Luke groaned. “Another one?”
Sara thought for a minute. “I’ll make a deal with you. You take a bath.” She watched him frown and gently chucked his chin. “You eat dinner.”
“And?”
“And we’ll make chocolate-chip cookies afterward.”
His eyes lit up. “Allll right! Let me at that tub.”
Daniel knocked a little more loudly the second time on Sara’s door. He’d gotten home an hour ago and listened to a half dozen increasingly frantic messages from Carly on the answering machine. The last one had asked him to pick Luke up from Sara’s.
After Sara had firmly rejected him, Daniel had made a vow to get Sara Kingston out of sight and out of mind. Today, however, the luck of the draw wasn’t running with him.
When no one answered the door, Daniel knocked once more, then tried the knob. It was unlocked, so he walked in. The smell of freshly baked cookies reminded him that he hadn’t had dinner, and the sight that greeted him pulled at his heart.
Sara and Luke lay together on the sofa sleeping.
Wrapped protectively in Sara’s arms, Luke gave a soft snore. A streak of flour dusted Sara’s cheek. Her hair was tousled, her shirt wrinkled. And Daniel felt a dart of insane jealousy toward his new nephew. Daniel swore under his breath and took a couple of steps closer. There was something intimate about catching her asleep. Rumpled and defenseless, she wore no shields. It made him feel…strange. He cleared his throat. “Sara,” he said in a whisper.
She still didn’t budge, so he gently touched her shoulder. “Sara.”
Her eyelids fluttered open, and he figured he’d better be ready to reassure her. While some women woke up soft and cuddly, others woke up looking and acting like shrews. A man couldn’t be sure. Sara probably wouldn’t be happy about him walking in without an invitation. If she felt startled, she might scream, and then Luke would wake up upset. It wouldn’t help Daniel’s nerves either.
He crouched down beside the couch, making sure she saw him immediately.
Her gaze met his, and she blinked a few times as if to focus. She smiled. “Hi, Daniel,” she murmured in a sleepy, husky voice.
Soft and cuddly. Her smile was a knockout. He hadn’t expected that. Confused, he frowned. “Hi.”
She covered a yawn and eased one of her arms out from under Luke. “Did Carly send you?”
He nodded, watching the gentle way she handled Luke. She ran her hand over the little boy’s forehead. “Still warm.” A tiny frown knitted her eyebrows as she concentrated on getting up without waking Luke.
She wobbled a little as she straightened, and Daniel shot out a hand to steady her.
Her eyelids still droopy, she smiled again. “Sorry. I’m not too steady on my feet when I first wake up.”
“It’s okay.” He kept his hand on her arm and noticed that she didn’t try to move away. “Where do you want to go?”
“Kitchen. Coffee.”
He led the way and nudged her into a chair. When she protested and tried to get up, he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her seated. He found the coffee, noticing it was a fancy blend, not the basic stuff he kept at home, and started the coffeemaker.
Watching her from the corner of his eye, he saw her sigh a few times and push her hair behind her ears. He wondered if she always woke up this way, full of soft sighs and vague smiles. She looked as though she needed to be held. He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from doing just that.
The aromatic brew dripped into the glass pot, and Daniel located a mug. “Sugar or milk?”
Sara nodded.
He kept his grin to himself, adding milk and two teaspoons of sugar. He’d learned another little secret about Sara. She had a sweet tooth. He put the mug in front of her. “You’re diluting the caffeine.”
Sara shook her head. “The sugar’s insurance. If the caffeine doesn’t kick in, a sugar high will.” Inhaling deeply, she lifted the steaming mug.
“Don’t burn your mouth,” Daniel cautioned.
She pursed her lips and blew, and Daniel thought he’d never seen anyone make drinking coffee look sexy. Someone ought to get her to do commercials.
She took a little sip, a few more, then looked at him. “Ninety seconds, and I’ll start to make sense.”
He took a seat opposite her and propped one foot on the opposite knee. “Don’t rush on my account.”
“Luke was very sleepy,” she said after another sip.
“I don’t think Luke was the only one.”
At that point she seemed to come to her senses. She glanced down at her wrinkled shirt, quickly ran her fingers through her hair and winced. “I’m a mess.”
“Not too bad,” Daniel said. “The flour on your cheek’s a nice touch, and the mascara under your eyes is interesting.”
Sara groaned and held up her hand. “Stop. You’re worse than a mirror.”
“The cookies smell great,” he said, changing the subject.
Chagrin crossed her face. “I’m sorry. I should have offered you something.” She stood, muttering to herself, “Ugly and rude.” She glanced at the clock. “Have you had dinner?”
“No, but—”
She opened her freezer. “I don’t suppose you eat Lean Cuisine. Wait a minute. Here’s a Hungry-Man meal I picked up by mistake one rime.”
Daniel dragged her away from the freezer. “Sara, you haven’t been rude. And if this is ugly, you’re gonna have to work a helluva lot harder at it. You don’t have to feed me dinner. I dropped by without an invitation to pick up Luke. If I don’t get one of those cookies, though, I’m gonna get nasty.”
Her lips twitched. “You really should eat dinner before cookies.”
His gaze just this side of predatory, Daniel lowered his head closer to hers, knocking her pulse out of kilter. “I’ll eat what I want. I’m a big boy.”
If she weren’t so fascinated, she would feel completely overwhelmed by him. Sara looked at his broad shoulders and superb body in feminine appreciation. “So you are.” She heard the husky note in her voice and backed away. She cleared her throat. “Coffee, tea or milk?”
Daniel’s gut tightened at the expression on Sara’s face. The woman had no idea what she brought out in him. “Coffee, tea or me?” he invited in a deep voice, looking straight into her eyes.
Her stomach dipped. The air seemed to crackle between them. She had to block the urge to say, “You anytime.” There was something just a little reckless in his eyes, something that called to her and seemed to say, Honey, it wouldn’t take much. She exhaled slowly. “You don’t look like a tea drinker. Coffee, milk or ginger ale?”
“Sara,” Luke called from the den.
“He’s awake,” she said, relief echoing in her voice. “Coming, sweetie,” she called.
Wondering what it would be like if Sara called him sweetie, Daniel followed her out of the room.
Luke
was sitting up, rubbing his eyes. “I’m all sweaty.”
Sara put her hand on his forehead. “It’s the fever.” She unbuttoned Luke’s shirt, and Daniel felt another ridiculous surge of envy.
“Do you want some ginger ale?” Sara asked. “It’s time for your medicine again.”
Luke made a face. “The gross stuff?”
“Yes. You want another bath?”
He shook his head adamantly, then his face lit up and he hopped off the sofa. “Uncle Daniel!”
“Hey, sport.” Daniel crouched in front of Luke and gave him a hug. “I came to take you home.”
“Do I get to sleep at your house?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m taking you to Carly’s, and I’ll stay with you till she gets there. Her afternoon appointment ran late.”
After all her reservations about keeping Luke, Sara suddenly felt reluctant for him to leave. “He can stay here if you need him to. I’ve got his medicine and everything.”
Daniel shrugged. “It’s no problem. I thought we might watch a basketball game together.” He nudged Luke. “Besides, he’s family.”
Luke beamed, and Sara’s heart twisted. “Of course. Well, let me get his things together.” She bustled around, avoiding Daniel’s thoughtful gaze.
Within a few minutes they were all standing at her front door.
Daniel lowered his voice. “Are you okay?”
Startled that her mixed emotions were showing, Sara nodded emphatically. “Of course.”
He frowned. “You seem kinda upset.” She gave him her best smile. “I’m not,” she said, unsure of what her feelings were at the moment. She handed a small bag to Luke. “Here are your cookies. Since you helped make them, I thought you should have some. Just don’t eat them all at once.”
Luke peeked into the bag and grinned at her.
“Thanks, Sara.” He hugged her legs, and she reached down to return the spontaneous gesture, feeling her throat tighten up.
“Thank you. I hope you feel better soon.” She stood and handed another bag of cookies to Daniel. “Sorry it’s not dinner.”
“You could always give me a rain check.” Drawn to him much more than she wanted to be, Sara shook her head. “I’m giving you the cookies so you won’t get nasty.”
“Hey,” he said, his eyes full of laughter, “I could get nasty if I don’t get dinner. I’m a hungry man.”
He was flirting. Straight-arrow Daniel Pendleton was trying to finagle a dinner from her with a flirty remark and a hot and heavy glance from those killer violet eyes of his. To her chagrin Sara found she wouldn’t mind giving him dinner and a little more.
Mustering all her restraint, she opened the door and sweetly suggested, “If you’re that hungry, then by all means stop by McDonald’s on your way home.”
“McDonald’s doesn’t have what I want, Sara,” he said in a low, silky voice. “I’ll wait for that rain check.”
Chapter Five
Daniel stared at the roses in the florist’s window. He’d spent the last two days with Sara sitting firmly in the back of his mind. She joined him for breakfast. She was there when he worked in the fields. She crossed her legs and watched while he talked with his brothers. And she was there in the damned red silk slip when he went to bed.
He’d spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure her out. Unless his ego was talking, it was that old cliché “Your lips say no, no, but your body says yes, yes.” She was susceptible to him. He knew it in his gut. She wanted him. It seemed that all she needed was a gentle shove and she would go right over the edge.
He grinned. And he would catch her.
Her nutty reasoning about why she couldn’t get involved with him came to mind. Impatience sliced through him, and he felt his grin contort into a scowl.
The shopkeeper poked his head out the door. “Are you trying to make my roses wilt?”
Daniel felt self-conscious that he’d been caught. “No. I’m just looking. It’s no crime to look, is it?”
The shopkeeper pushed back a strand of white hair on his balding head. He must have sensed a prospective customer. “It’s no crime to look. It’s no crime to buy either. The roses are on special today.” After he imparted that information, he went back in his shop.
Daniel stewed in his juices for another two minutes, vacillating. After seeing the crack in Sara’s resistance to him, he concluded that he needed to be a little more aggressive. Not a dozen roses, though. That would be overstating his case. One single red rose, he decided and pushed through the florist’s door.
“It’s for you.”
Shaking her head, Sara looked at the single red rose in horror. She’d always hated roses since her affair with the senator. Her throat closed up. Daniel extended it over her desk for her to take. The sweet aroma wrapped around her and squeezed her with memories and all the self-recriminations she’d tried to leave behind years ago.
Sara held up her hand. “No,” she whispered, fighting a dozen overwhelming emotions.
“It’s just a rose, Sara.” Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed together.
But it wasn’t just a rose to her. It reminded her of the danger of wishing for things she wouldn’t get. Not so much things, but people—such as a man who would love her, such as a family, such as children.
“I can’t—” Her voice gave out when she looked at Daniel. If she were foolish enough to wish for a man to love her, she’d wish for Daniel. Appalled at the thought and deeply disturbed by the sight of the rose, Sara felt tears threaten. “Oh, no,” she nearly wailed. Where had her control gone?
Totally confused, Daniel watched Sara stand. He caught sight of her watery eyes. “Are you allergic to them?”
Sara gave a little shake of her head. “No. I—I—” She bit her lip as if composing herself. “Thank you very much for the thought,” she said in a wobbly voice. “But I don’t like roses,” she finished, her words fading into a broken whisper.
He watched her face crumple and felt his gut tie into a knot. He tried to reach for her, but she backed away, shaking her head.
She opened her mouth as if to explain, but the only sound that came out was a sob, then she stumbled out of the room.
That little feminine sob put a lump in his throat.
“What have you done?” Carly entered the room and glared at him. Apparently she had witnessed the last few seconds of the scene. Daniel hadn’t noticed her. His complete attention had been focused on Sara.
Bemused, he shook his head and pointed at the rose. “I just brought her a rose. I swear. She started crying.” He glanced at Carly. “Did you know she hates roses?”
“No. You must have said something.”
“I didn’t even ask her out for dinner.”
Carly frowned. “I’ve never seen Sara close to tears.”
“Yeah, well, she was crying just a minute ago. She looked upset.” He felt helpless, and if there was one thing Daniel Pendleton hated, it was feeling helpless. “Maybe you’d better go check on her.”
He stared at the offending rose. The sweet aroma teased his nostrils, but a bitter taste rose at the back of his throat. He swore under his breath in disgust. “Maybe it’s not the rose she hates. Maybe it’s me.”
After that, Daniel stayed the hell away from Sara Kingston. It shouldn’t have been all that difficult, between taking care of Erin’s horse farm while she and Garth honeymooned, managing his own farm and helping with the little emergencies that always seemed to come up during a major holiday like Christmas.
Just yesterday Daniel had received a call from Elbert Willis’s very pregnant wife, Tina. Elbert had fallen off a ladder and broken a leg while he’d been stringing Christmas lights across the roof of his house.
Daniel fed and watered the livestock while Tina jiggled her one-year-old child on her hip. “This is really nice of you, Daniel. Elbert’s daddy will be able to help us next week, but he’s got a bad case of the flu right now.”
“No problem. Troy, Jarod or I can help you
out till then. You okay for Christmas?”
Tina nodded. “I did my shopping through a catalog, and we’re going to my mom’s for Christmas. She lives two counties over.”
Daniel thought Tina looked awfully young to have two babies. She couldn’t be more than nineteen. “You just make sure you stay near a hospital.” He glanced over at a litter of six golden-haired puppies playing tag and nipping at each other. “They’re close to being weaned. What are you gonna do with those?”
Tina smiled. “You want them?”
Daniel laughed. “No. I’ve got enough animals at my place.”
“Well, spread the word,” she said, following him out the barn door. “The mom’s sweet-natured, and there’s nothing like having a dog to come home to. If you know anyone who wants an adorable puppy for Christmas, send them over here. I’ll be happy to share.”
During the drive home Daniel’s mind drifted to Sara and what she was doing for the holidays. He wondered if she would be alone. It would be strange to be alone during such a time. Over the years he’d frequently resented his lack of privacy, but never during holidays. There was never a shortage of people at Pendleton family gatherings. Daniel wondered if Carly would invite Sara for Christmas dinner.
Sara probably wouldn’t come. She seemed uncomfortable around his family, almost as if she wanted to join in, but wasn’t sure how. The thought made his gut twist. She probably hated him for that rose. He still felt guilty about it.
A memory flashed through his mind of her sleeping on the sofa with Luke cuddled in her arms. Daniel frowned. There was more than one color to Sara Kingston’s personality. She seemed satisfied with being single and childless, yet she had obviously loved taking care of Luke. A caring woman with no one to care for.
He wouldn’t mind letting her care for him.
But she wasn’t interested, he admitted with a dismissing snort.
Sara stared at the box, then at Troy. “What’s this?”