by Jodi Thomas
Daisy giggled. “It’s called a destination wedding.”
“Imagine that,” Wes said politely. He’d never thought of Crossroads as a destination, more like a potty stop where two highways crossed.
“That sounds grand, ladies. Let me know if I can help.” Wes considered asking how two ladies who’d never married had suddenly become experts on wedding planning, but he didn’t want to hurt their feelings.
Rose straightened. “Well, as a matter of fact, you can help. If you’d find a bride, we’d give you half off for being our first local customer. We could work you in before the big wedding in June.”
Both women laughed when Wes backed away.
“It’s all right, dear.” Daisy Franklin waved him back. “We know you’re like us, Mr. Whitman. Some folks just aren’t meant to ever marry.”
Wes was thankful when one of his employees stepped up with the sisters’ bags.
The Franklins waddled off and Maria handed him her empty cup. His time alone with her was over.
She moved away without a word.
Wes sat down in his office chair and turned his back to the door. He wished he could close off the world. He’d worked on being able to make small talk with customers. The weather. Sports. The local news. But it never came easy, and his mind didn’t seem to work fast enough to think of something witty to say to Maria.
A light tap came from the direction of his door.
Wes swiveled and looked up. “Yes?” was all he could think of to say.
Maria stepped back inside his office and, to his surprise, closed the door. “Would you mind if I stay longer?”
“No. Would you like more coffee?” He stood and knocked a stack of car part catalogs off the corner of his desk.
She moved to where he’d knelt, but made no attempt to help him pick them up. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were all right after what Miss Franklin said.” Her soft voice seemed to whisper through the cluttered room as she reached out and touched his shoulder.
He straightened and tossed the catalogs into the trash behind him. “I should have tossed these a long time ago.”
He didn’t move away. He just stared at her delicate hand sliding down his arm. “I’m all right,” he finally said, more surprised that she was worried about him than upset by anything Daisy could ever say.
Maria nodded. “Of course you are. Daisy Franklin didn’t mean anything. Her words get ahead of her brain sometimes.”
He sat on the corner of the desk so he could look at her face. “It was kind of you to worry about me.” He still towered over her.
He thought about touching her, maybe her cheek or covering her hand with his, but that might not be right. If he were another man he might ask her out, or kiss her cheek. Then he remembered what she’d come back for. It was time to settle the account. He needed to pay her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. If you’ll wait a moment, I’ll write your check.” He sat down at his desk and opened his checkbook.
She remained at his side.
Dread settled like lead in his chest. She must have something to tell him, and if she closed the door it had to be bad. She was moving? Marrying? Selling out to the Franklin sisters?
He placed her check on the corner of the desk without looking at her and waited.
Swiveling in the chair, he started to stand. Maybe it would be all right to walk her out this time?
She took a step and placed her hand on his shoulder again, holding him down with her feather touch.
When he looked up at her, he saw her sunbeam smile just for him, and her fingers brushed his jaw.
Then she did the strangest thing. She leaned down and touched her lips to his.
He was so shocked, he didn’t move.
Straightening, she frowned at him, then kissed him again. Harder this time.
He reacted like a man waking up and finally kissed her back. A light kiss. An almost innocent kiss.
Then she stepped away as if the tidal wave that had just rolled over him was simply receding back into place.
“I’ll see you next week,” she said, as proper as ever.
“Yes,” he answered. He stood and awkwardly opened the door for her. “Hope you get home before the cold front comes in.”
She never turned back as she left the store, but quiet Maria Anne Davis had just changed his world.
Wes stood in his cluttered office and wondered how people sleep with strangers they meet at closing time and have more lovers then they can count. He didn’t even know how to talk to women anymore, or ask Maria out. He had no idea what to say but he was pretty sure a weather report wasn’t right.
But if she kissed him, she must like him.
If he did figure it out, she probably wouldn’t know how to answer, or they wouldn’t have anything to talk about on the date. Neither knew much about communicating.
He smiled. Maybe it didn’t matter. She’d kissed him. That was a start.
CHAPTER THREE
TRAVIS WALKED INTO the county offices, thinking, How bad could this new home be? The three great-uncles probably had no clue about how to raise a kid. He barely remembered his father mentioning them, and if they were kin to his dad, they were probably drunks. New town, new house, same old problem. He’d still be on his own.
When the deputy motioned him into the sheriff’s office, Travis swallowed his gum apprehensively and stepped into his new life.
The three old men lining one wall were worse than he’d feared. One’s face was so wrinkled that at first Travis thought it was a mask. One was tall, real tall, and skeleton-thin. And the third looked like he was wearing pajamas.
The deputy smiled. “Travis, meet your nearest relatives.”
Travis thought of bolting, but it was like looking at the freaks at the circus. He was afraid to blink.
The wrinkled uncle grinned and removed his hat that said CAP. “Hello, son, I’m your Uncle Cap, Cap Fuller.”
“Of course you are.” Travis took his offered hand, wondering what the other two would be named—probably Slim and Crazy.
“We’re sorry about your folks,” Cap said, without letting go of Travis’s hand. “We’ll do the best we can for you while you’re here.”
The bony one took a long step like he was crossing a line in the sand and committing himself to sudden death. He removed his cowboy hat and nodded. “I’m Dice, Dice Fuller. You’re a fine-looking boy. How old are you, son?”
“Almost sixteen.”
“I would have guessed older, maybe seventeen. You got old eyes.” Dice looked him up and down as if there would be a test later. Height, weight, hair color.
Travis decided he liked the thin man—unless, of course, Dice was planning on frying him up for supper. He probably hadn’t had a meal in years.
The third uncle was chubby and looked like he’d spent way too much time staring at the refrigerator light. He didn’t speak, but he smiled at Travis like the criminally insane might. The guy had too many teeth to be normal and his lips looked like rubber bands pulled tightly between fat cheeks.
In fact, none of them seemed normal. That one point probably confirmed they were kin to him.
About the time Travis had decided to run, a uniformed man stepped into the room. The deputy straightened slightly.
The stranger, who had kind eyes, introduced himself as Sheriff Brigman. “I know this isn’t going to be easy on you, Travis, and I want you to remember that I’m right here if you need me.” He turned to the uncles. “You’ve all made changes to make this work.” He looked at Travis. “This won’t be like home, son, but if you give it a chance it won’t be so bad.”
Travis lowered his head, not wanting to say anything. The last time he saw the trailer he called home, there was trash everywhere, broken furniture and bl
ood. Even the uncles’ place probably wasn’t that bad.
Cap shook the sheriff’s hand. “Thanks for your help, Dan. If you’ve no objection, we’d like to keep him out of school until the new year? Let him get used to the place and us. He’ll stay at Horace’s house with Dice at night, but they’ll drop him off at my place across the street on the days they’re working. Among the three of us, we’ll do our best to keep up with him.”
“You guys work?” Travis was shocked. They all looked old enough to be drawing Social Security checks.
Cap turned to him, talking slowly, as if there was a language barrier between them. “I retired from teaching several years ago, but I still help out at the retirement village. The manager needs my advice often. And as a former captain of the volunteer fire station, I’m called in to handle problems. I’ve even been known to work crowd control for the sheriff from time to time. It seems to be in my DNA to take charge in emergencies.”
Typical teacher. Ask him the time and you get a lecture on how the watch works.
“You ride, son?” skinny Dice Fuller asked.
“Horses?” Travis thought of yelling that he wasn’t any of their sons, but he’d save that tantrum for later. Four-to-one odds didn’t look so good.
“Yeah, horses. We don’t usually ride the cows.” Dice chuckled.
“Nope. Never had the chance, but I’ll give it a try.”
“I’ll teach you. A man oughta know how to ride.”
“How about drive? That’s important, too. I’ll be old enough to get my license next year.” Travis saw the first ray of hope. If these old guys would teach him to drive he wouldn’t have to run away; he could drive. Then he could really go places, live in his car, much safer than the streets. If he didn’t like the place he landed, he’d just drive away.
Dice leaned his head sideways, as if swashing water to brain cells he hadn’t bothered using for a while. “You learn to handle a horse and then we’ll take on a car. Fair enough.”
Travis smiled. “Fair enough.” This prison wasn’t going to be so bad. In three, maybe six months he’d learn all he needed to know and be driving out of here.
Free, he thought. And these three old guys would simply think they forgot where they put him.
CHAPTER FOUR
ONE WEEK TO the day after Maria Anne Davis kissed Wes Whitman, she walked back into his store with her arms loaded down with boxes of jars. Wes rushed to help her and accidentally brushed her arm as he took half the load.
“Sorry,” he said, remembering she didn’t like help.
“That’s all right,” she answered with a shy smile.
Then she turned away as if he was no more than a stranger again. As if they hadn’t kissed. As if he hadn’t spent hours thinking of what he should have done.
He knew all about running a store; he’d learned from his father. He could make small talk with customers and stand back in crowds until he seemed invisible. Wes knew how to live an orderly life, but he had no idea what to do with Maria.
She stocked the shelves while he helped a few early customers. She was never out of his sight for more than a few minutes. With her dark hair pulled back in a braid, she looked more like a teenager than a woman into her thirties. She had the quick step that made him believe she’d always be young at heart.
He knew every detail of the way she looked, the way she worked, but he knew little of how she thought. Or why she’d kissed him last week. Or if she’d consider doing it again.
Blade Hamilton had come in with her. He had an easy way of talking to her, like they were old friends or family. He even kidded her about plotting a jelly takeover of the entire store because her shelves seemed to grow every week.
When Wes joined them, Blade said he’d given her a ride because Maria’s sister had to go into work early. “When I marry Dakota, Maria will be my sister. I count that as a real blessing.”
Maria laughed. “Dakota also comes with Grandmother, don’t forget.”
Blade laughed. “I’m much blessed,” he said, but Wes didn’t miss the way he rolled his eyes.
Wes relaxed. “How’s the remodeling coming, Blade?” Everyone in town knew Blade Hamilton was fixing up his old place next to the Davis farm. They also knew Dakota Davis, Maria’s sister and Blade’s bride-to-be, had yet to step foot on Hamilton land. “You going to have it all ready for a bride to move in soon?”
“I hope so, but to tell the truth, I don’t know if we’ll end up living there. Dakota believes in curses. If I fix it all up and she still refuses to cross the property line, I’ll have to sell it. With my job and all the travel I have to do, it’s not coming as fast as I’d like and neither is talking her into giving up the belief in a curse she’s heard about all her life.”
Blade gave details, most of which Wes didn’t understand, then he asked if Maria minded waiting while he drove over to the post office to see if any parts had come in.
She shook her head without pausing in her work.
Blade disappeared.
Wes waited.
All was finally quiet in the store. He’d thought about what he was going to say all week, but now it seemed too bold.
He had to try. He’d lost sleep every night waiting. He couldn’t wait another week. He stepped to the next aisle and faced her over the four-foot-high shelf that held her items. “You have time to stop in at the office for a cup?”
Maria didn’t raise her head.
Wes almost swore. He’d been too bold. She might not have gotten the hint that he was offering more than coffee.
He couldn’t say another word or he’d make a fool of himself.
Starting for his office, he was surprised she moved the same direction. She waited, almost near enough to touch him, as he opened the door for her, then closed it when they both stepped inside.
She looked so small standing next to him. When she moved near her chair, he sat down at his desk, hoping that would help her feel at ease. “Would you like a cup of cocoa instead?”
“No,” she answered without taking her seat.
She just stood there, her fingers gripping the back of the chair. If she’d just relax, he could start his speech. Maybe he’d ask her if he could sit next to her at church, or even ask for a date. He’d heard she hadn’t gone out with a man since her accident, so he’d understand if she said no.
His words wouldn’t come.
Slowly, she walked around his desk, her fingers gliding over the cluttered receipts.
He swiveled his chair to face her, half expecting her to slap him and tell him to forget the kiss ever happened. But she leaned down and just as she had before, cupped his jaw with one feather touch as her lips met his.
This time he reacted. As the kiss deepened, he put his hands on her waist and guided her down to his knee. When she settled on his leg, they were the same height. Her hands rested on his shoulders as he returned the kiss.
He thought maybe he should say something, but he didn’t want her to pull even an inch away. Maria Anne Davis was kissing him and that was all that needed to be said.
Slowly they learned each other. Awkward caresses turned loving. He moved his hand to her back and pulled her gently toward him until their bodies touched. He could feel her breathing against his chest as he entangled his fingers into her hair and held her still when he broke the kiss.
She let out a little sigh as his mouth moved over her cheek and down to her throat. The room was so silent; he could hear her tiny sounds as he gently tasted her skin.
He smiled, thinking he was being bold and she was loving it.
His hand shook a bit as he realized he held perfection in his grip. He didn’t want to do anything to mess this up, but he couldn’t miss his chance to show her how he felt.
Slowly he worked his way back to her lips, leaving her skin
warm and damp.
Her mouth was already slightly open and hungry. Passion sparked between them and he felt her entire body warm in his arms. This one moment would stay in his memory every day of his life.
Wes had never been high or truly drunk, but now he knew what it must feel like. The dates he’d had in his twenties had been nothing special, mostly first dates, or let’s be friends dates. The few women he’d been with were lonely, or had just broken up with another man, or were simply looking for something to do. He wasn’t anyone important to them.
But Maria kissed him as if she’d been starving for him.
He felt her hand move over his, which was resting at her waist. With a tug, she tried to pull it away.
He resisted, not wanting to let go of her, but she insisted. With her fingers wrapped around two of his, she moved his hand up to her breast.
Wes straightened, breaking the kiss. She was cradled against his chest, her eyes closed, her rapid breathing pushing her soft breast against his palm.
“Are you sure?” he whispered.
“Yes,” she answered, “if it’s all right with you. I’d like to be touched here while you kiss me, Wes.”
He laughed as his fingers tightened over the fullness on her. “It’s more than all right, dear one.” She’d said his name and he’d called her dear. Wes couldn’t stop smiling.
Catching her sigh of pleasure in his mouth, he began kissing her again. Part of him feared this was only a dream that he’d wake up from soon, but while it lasted, he planned to enjoy it.
When they were both out of breath, he let her rest against his shoulder as his hand moved over the soft flannel of her blouse and the rough denim of her jeans. She didn’t move or speak, but he loved the little sounds she made against his ear.
“Are you all right with this, Maria?” His hand closed over her breast once more, tightening, until he heard her sigh.
“Yes. It’s what I want.” Her words came breathily. “This and more.”