The Only Man for Her

by Kristi Gold

  Rachel handed him the phone back. “Helen said she wants a rematch because she’s sure you and Jack cheated. She also said Jack was happier tonight than she’s seen him in a long time and to thank you for that.”

  He pocketed the phone and shrugged. “I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. I always play pool with the judge.”

  “That’s the point. You didn’t treat him any differently and Helen appreciates that. So do I.”

  “Not a problem.” Finally he’d done something right without even trying. “What did you two talk about while we were playing pool?”

  “Just general stuff. She did tell me that J.W. doesn’t know about Jack’s illness.”

  He found that weird. “Why not?”

  “Jack doesn’t want him to know yet. And worse, Helen says he hasn’t visited in months. She tried to defend him by saying they’re busy with the kids, but I frankly don’t buy that excuse. Jack and Helen are getting up there in years. He should come around more often while he has the chance.”

  “I agree, but people tend to get wrapped up in their own lives and overlook the important things.” He’d been guilty of that. “I’m sure once J.W. knows, he’ll make the time.”

  “True, but each moment with Jack is precious, and according to Helen, he’s been depressed since he had to stop officiating weddings. Apparently Helen can’t find anyone to take over for him, not to mention the chapel’s in a state of disrepair. I can’t imagine the place being closed down for good after all these years.”

  Neither could Matt. Not the place where it had all begun for the two of them. That would signify an end of an era, and he couldn’t accept that it might somehow be an omen of the future of their marriage. “You know, I have an idea. Why don’t we go to the chapel tomorrow and see what we can do to clean the place up?” Not only would they be helping friends, he’d be buying some more time with his wife. Maybe even an extra day.

  “It’s not just cleanup, Matt,” she said. “It’s going to require some painting and plumbing repair and who knows what else.”

  “Then we’ll call a few people to help. This community has always banded together and they’ll be more than happy to do it for Helen and Jack.”

  Rachel sat quietly for a few moments as if digesting his words. “You’re right. If we make a few calls, we can have a whole slew of people at the chapel after lunch. Maybe not a slew, but enough to make a dent in the repairs. As soon as we get back to the cabin, I can call a few women to make some potluck dishes and you can call the men to bring paint and tools.”

  That wasn’t what he had in mind to do when he got back to the cabin. “You’re forgetting it’s almost midnight and too late to start organizing tonight.”

  She screwed up her face into a frown. “Most of the people I’ll be calling were in the rec hall tonight.”

  “Yeah, and most of those people left hours ago. If you recall, we closed the place down. Harry and Barb Sanders were the only people left, and they were waiting on us so they could lock up.”

  “You’re right. We can start calling first thing in the morning and catch people before they leave for church.” She grinned. “You’re brilliant, Matthew Benjamin.”

  “And you’re cold,” he said when he noticed she was chafing her arms. Another brilliant idea hit him. He flipped up the console separating the split-bench seats and patted the space beside him. “Why don’t you slide over here and sit next to me?”

  She looked at him as if he’d grown a second nose. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I am. You used to do it without thinking.”

  “Yes, when I was still in my teens. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I sat beside you.”

  Too long, as far as he was concerned. “I’m pretty sure there’s no rule that states two people in their thirties can’t sit side by side, so we won’t be breaking any laws. Now, if I told you to get naked and get over here, that would be cause for our arrest, although it would be mighty fun.” And that last comment could be cause for her to climb out of the truck and hoof it back to the cabin.

  “Okay.”

  Just like that, without further argument or even a minor objection to his “naked” talk, she slid right next to him and secured the seat belt. He shoved the gearshift into First, inadvertently brushing the side of her leg. With three more gears to go, he figured she’d probably move so it wouldn’t happen again. Oddly, she didn’t, and that gave him enough courage to rest his right hand on her thigh as they hit the main road to home.

  When Rachel circled her arms around his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder, he couldn’t have been more pleased. And halfway back to the cabin, when she brushed a kiss across his neck, he couldn’t have been more turned on. He rubbed his thumb along the inside of her leg in a slow, rhythmic motion. She shifted a little, leading him to believe she wasn’t completely unaffected by his touch.

  Damn if he didn’t feel like a kid again. A jacked-up teenager who wanted to pull off onto a back road and engage in some heavy petting. But they had less than a mile to go and a cabin complete with a big bed at their disposal. If his luck held out, maybe they’d use that bed for something other than sleeping.

  As soon as he pulled into the drive and shut down the truck, he got out of the cab, Rachel sliding out after him. After he closed the door, she immediately walked straight into his arms, where they kissed some more. He really wanted to pick her up and carry her into the bedroom, but he remembered her accusation that he used sex to smooth over their problems. That led him to consider another plan, one that involved some romance. A plan that would prove he wasn’t a totally oversexed Neanderthal, although throwing her over his shoulder wasn’t totally out of the question.

  Stick to the plan, he told himself as they walked arm in arm toward the house. When they reached the porch, he let her go. “Wait here.”

  “Matt, I’m freezing.”

  She wouldn’t be for long. “Hang on. I’ll be right back.”

  He walked inside and grabbed a sweater from the hook hanging on the wall. Then he turned and tossed it to her through the open door. “Put this on and don’t move.”

  She opened her mouth, but he didn’t hang around to hear what she had to say. Instead, he strode to the entertainment center, located the appropriate CD and slid it into the player. It took a little longer to adjust the surround sound to play through the outdoor speakers, but he was banking on her considering it worth the wait.

  He arrived on the porch to find Rachel leaning against the railing, hugging her arms close to her body. He wouldn’t be surprised if her teeth started chattering. Nothing he couldn’t remedy with the plan.

  He unfolded her arms, took her hands and tugged her close. “Since we didn’t dance tonight, I thought we might as well do it now.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

  Well, yeah. “I’m trying to be romantic. Any objections?”

  “Not as long as you keep me warm.”

  “I can do that.” He’d gladly keep her warm and safe and well loved, if she let him.

  They swayed to one of her favorite songs, a country-music ballad that talked about closing out the world because the only thing that mattered was being with someone you loved. He’d never paid much attention to the lyrics before that moment, but then, he’d been at fault for not paying enough attention to her and what she needed. That ended right here, right now. He vowed to do better by her every day and night from this point forward…as long as she gave him another chance.

  She laid her head against his chest while he pressed his palms against her back. And when she lifted her face, he angled his head and kissed her again. They stood that way for a long while, kissing as if they had traveled back to a time when that had been enough. It might have to be enough. It could be all she was willing to give him tonight.

  She pulled back and stared at him, a dreamy kind of look in her eyes that he knew all too well. “Let’s go
to bed.”

  He also knew better than to presume anything. “To sleep?”

  “No.”

  Hot damn. “Then I don’t have to toss a coin to see who gets what bed?”

  “You only have to get me to our bed, unless you want to have your extremely wicked way with me right here on the porch.”

  “Not a bad idea, except for the possibility of splinters. We’ll try that some other time.” As much as he wanted to grab her hand and head toward the bedroom at a dead run, he had an important question to pose. “If we do this, no regrets in the morning?”

  She sighed. “Helen said something to me tonight that made sense. She told me sometimes it’s best to forget all the garbage and make love like there’s no tomorrow, at least for one night.”

  She might not be proposing “bandage” sex, but he wondered if this could be goodbye sex. Even if it turned out it wasn’t the last time they made love, he planned to love her like it was. “Helen’s a wise woman.”

  “Yes, she is.”

  Without another word, he took her by the hand and led her inside, releasing her only long enough to lock the door. He wasn’t going to rush this—the reason he took his time getting to their destination, stopping before they reached the hall to give her another kiss and then another before they entered the bedroom.

  When he paused by the bed and tugged her into his arms, she wrested herself away and took a step back. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  The only place he’d be heading was crazy from need. “Where are you going?”

  She failed to answer him as she walked to the bureau, opened the drawer and took out something she concealed in her arms. He could only tell it was black, and that sent his imagination straight into overdrive. When she passed him, he tried to catch her arm to satisfy his curiosity. She managed to evade him and backed into the bathroom. “Have a little patience, Matthew. You won’t be sorry.”

  But he might be dead from a lack of oxygen in his primary brain, since all the blood had pooled below his belt. After she closed the door, he tugged off his boots and socks and set them on the floor at the end of the bed. He tackled the buttons on his shirt and practically ripped them off when they didn’t want to cooperate. He managed to strip out of his jeans and underwear in record time and made a three-pointer when he hurled his clothes into the corner chair.

  Now, to cover up or not to cover up. He picked not. After raking back the comforter and sheets, he sat on the edge of the mattress and waited. And waited.

  What in the hell was she doing? Maybe that black thing she’d pulled out of the drawer happened to be a full-body wet suit. Getting that off her could be a challenge, but he was a resourceful kind of guy. And he was obviously losing his ever-lovin’ mind. A wet suit?

  Not even close to a wet suit was his first thought when Rachel came out of the bathroom wearing a short, lacy gown that barely covered her birthday suit. His second thought—what had he done right in his life to deserve a beautiful woman like her?

  She turned in a circle and smiled. “Tell me what you think.”

  His voice momentarily went the way of the wind with his mind. “Did you bring that with you?”

  “You don’t remember giving me this two years ago for our anniversary? Unfortunately, you were so impatient that night, I never had a chance to put it on. It’s been in the drawer ever since.”

  Oh, yeah. He remembered that night. He’d been in such an all-fired hurry they’d never made it to the bedroom. Another sofa night.

  He caught both her hands and brought her between his parted knees. “I’m going to be real patient. I’m going to let you leave that on so I can enjoy the sight. For a few more minutes anyway.”

  He made good on that promise as he brought her down onto the bed in his arms, not bothering to turn down the light. That was okay. He wanted her to be able to see every detail when they made love. On that thought, he grabbed both pillows and propped them beneath her head, allowing her a clear field of vision.

  He started with a light kiss on her lips, then lowered the straps and kissed her shoulders. He kept going, taking the barely-there scrap of lace with him as he worked his way down, lingering a little while at her breasts. After he pulled the gown to her waist, he rested his chin on her sternum and looked up at her. “Do you remember the first time I did this?”

  She drew in a ragged breath. “Yes. The second night of our honeymoon. I was scared to death.”

  “You were shaking, like you are now.” He moved lower and traced a line from her throat to her navel with a fingertip. “Believe it or not, I was scared, too.”

  “Really?”

  “I was scared I might hurt you.” He had the means to hurt her now with the truth she’d been seeking for months. He refused to think about that.

  “You definitely didn’t hurt me,” she said, sounding winded. “I’d never felt that way before.”

  “I’m still surprised you let me that first time.”

  “I trusted you, Matt.”

  “Do you still trust me?”

  She hesitated a little longer than he would have liked before she said, “Yes.”

  That was all he needed to hear. He slipped the gown completely away and tossed it aside, then lifted her leg and brushed a kiss on the inside of her thigh. They’d learned a lot about each other through the years, initially by reading the signals until they’d finally become comfortable enough to talk about it.

  No words passed between them tonight. No words were necessary. He knew what she liked. He’d learned how to use his touch, his mouth, to give her the kind of pleasure that came with this ultimate intimacy. He knew when to up the ante until she shifted restlessly against the impending climax, as she was doing now. He knew when to let up and wait while she rode every wave.

  He kissed his way back up her body, her skin damp beneath his. Before they went any further, he still felt the need to ask the question that he’d forgotten to ask the last time they’d made love. The question that had set her off like a firecracker. “Do we need to worry about—”

  “Pregnancy? Trust me, that’s not an issue.”

  Fortunately she didn’t sound angry. And he did trust her. A good thing, because he wasn’t sure he could stop now, even if he wanted to. He didn’t want to.

  He twined her fingers with his and lifted her arms above her head. Then he eased inside her and watched her satisfied smile come into view. Take it slowly, he kept telling himself. Easy does it. He called on all his endurance to make it last. He was winning the battle until Rachel let go of his hands, planted her palms on his back and rolled, taking him with her. She rose above him and claimed complete control, leaving him happily defenseless. And from the victorious look on her face, she damn well knew it, too.

  Her power play was such a turn-on, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hang on. And with one wicked twist of her hips, he let go as he’d never let go before.

  After a time, she stretched out and rested her head against his pounding heart that refused to immediately return to a normal rhythm. They remained that way for several minutes, holding each other in the silent room.

  When his body calmed and his thoughts came back into focus, he brought his lips to her ear to say the words he needed to say. Words he hadn’t said often enough. “I love you, baby.”

  He held his breath and waited, worried she might not return the favor. More worried she no longer felt the same.

  Then she opened her dark eyes and gave him the prettiest smile. “I love you, too.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  AS MATT STEERED THE TRUCK up the steep drive, Rachel felt as if the years had done an about-face. Not only were they approaching the place where their life as a married couple had begun, she believed they were close to establishing a new beginning. Last night had been incredible and in some ways miraculous. Her husband still loved her, and he’d told her so, and she’d told him. He’d also shown her how much he cared about her in ways that would make a statue blush. Thinking back on thos
e moments gave her a sense of euphoria, made her want to stay at the cabin indefinitely, where their world seemed to right itself. Yet that wasn’t reality. Eventually they would have to return home, hopefully with their marriage intact.

  Matt shoved the truck into Park and turned off the ignition. “It might take more than a day to fix this place,” Matt said.

  When Rachel brought her attention to the picturesque chapel bathed in early-morning light and saw the peeling paint on the facade and overgrown flower beds crowded with weeds, she had to agree. “Nothing a little yard cleanup and fresh paint won’t cure.”

  “But that’s just the outside,” he said. “No telling what we’ll find inside.”

  True, but if the phone call she’d made that morning worked, they should have a few people to assist them. “Did Brody say what time he was meeting us to let us in?”

  “He left the key under the mat by the front door.”

  Not her idea of adequate security, but then Wayhurst wasn’t known for a high crime rate. Basically, it wasn’t known at all outside Tennessee. That made the small community all the more appealing.

  “Let’s get this show on the road.” She grabbed the handle to open the door, yet Matt failed to move. He continued to stare out the windshield, his brows drawn down in concentration. “Matt, are you coming?”

  He seemed startled by the question. “What?”

  “I thought we should get a head start, since I don’t expect any volunteers until after lunch.”

  “Okay.”

  His lack of enthusiasm flabbergasted her. Something was out of kilter. “What’s wrong?”

  He draped an arm over the wheel and sighed. “Chase called about Dad around 4:00 a.m.”

  She feared the worst might have happened. If so, he’d never forgive himself. “I didn’t even hear your phone ring.”

  “You were pretty out of it.”

  Thanks to their unbelievable lovemaking. “What did he say?”

  “He told me they took Ben to the hospital for treatment last night, but he’s okay and back at the jail. I had Chase put him on the phone, just to be sure.”