“Who’s that?” Riker asked.
“A friend.” Although a friend wouldn’t have kept her waiting without calling. An acquaintance possibly. Someone who didn’t care. She handed the reins off to Riker. “You wait here.”
“Why?”
“Because I said.”
He rolled his eyes, and she cursed the unreasonable statement that she’d sworn before she had a child that she’d never say. While growing up, she’d always thought it was a condescending statement, always wanted to know the real reason behind things her mother had told her to do. Strange how now that she was a parent, she found those three little words were appropriate more times than she’d ever realized they would be.
With her boots kicking up the straw and dust, she marched through the barn, aware that her hands were balling into fists and her stomach was knotting more tightly with each stride that brought her closer to the man who had yet to move from the doorway. When she finally reached him, she refused to be amiable. Instead she simply said with as flat a voice as she could muster, “I didn’t think you were coming.”
“I wasn’t.”
The anger spiked and disappointment roared in. She didn’t know whether to ask why he’d decided not to come or why he had. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I see.”
“No, you probably don’t.”
“Then explain it.”
“It’s like I said last night. Relationships aren’t exactly my thing. It occurred to me that some of the things I said might have given you the impression I wanted more than I did. I’m not looking for anything permanent—”
“Did I say something that made you think I was?”
His eyes widened at that, as though the tartness in her voice as well as the words might have taken him by surprise.
An easy smile spread across his face. “No, you didn’t. I just figured a woman with a kid—”
“I have a son. I have a child. I do not have a kid. A goat has a kid.”
His smile vanished. “You’re mad. That’s the very reason that I decided not to come. Because if a guy sees a woman more than once, she starts to get demanding, has expectations—”
“Then why did you bother to come at all?”
“Because I couldn’t stay away.”
His obvious displeasure at the confession would have pleased her if she weren’t so angry at him. “Took you long enough to figure that out.”
“As a general rule, I have a great deal of self-control.”
“So I’m supposed to be flattered that you battled with yourself for only two hours before losing the good fight?”
A corner of his mouth hitched up again. “That’s right. I’ve never lost the battle before.”
Now she was not only flattered, but hit with a strange sort of self-satisfaction. It was an odd feeling to know that she was…irresistible. But it hardly made up for his behavior today.
“And what do you expect now that you’re here?”
“I was sorta hoping that you’d cut me some slack and forgive me for being late.”
“I see.” With her arms still crossed, she slowly walked around him. He did have a fine butt. When she was facing him again, she said, “I don’t see any flowers.”
He angled his head. “What?”
“When a man is seeking forgiveness, he usually brings flowers. Since you make it a habit not to see a woman more than once, am I to assume that you’re not familiar with this ritual?”
He chuckled low. “I’ve never given a woman flowers.”
“How about a box of chocolates?”
“Nope.”
“For future reference, a box of chocolates goes a long way with me.”
“You’re assuming a lot there, thinking that there’s going to be a future when I can’t even get a warm hello out of you.”
“I’m hurt, Hunter. Last night, you told me that I’d hurt you. Well, now I’m hurt, because you didn’t care enough to—”
“I did care, damn it. That’s the reason I fought not to come. Because I know I could hurt you.”
“Have you ever hit a woman?”
“Hell, no!”
“Then how are you going to hurt me?”
“By not being what you need.”
She lifted her shoulders with a hapless shrug. “How do you know what I need? I don’t know what I need. A relationship takes time to build and it’s more than what happens between the sheets. I haven’t asked for a commitment. I didn’t ask for you to do anything more than go on a picnic. If you don’t want to be here, then save us both some grief and just leave.”
She watched the muscles in his throat work as he swallowed.
“I do want to be here, Serena. And I apologize for showing up late.”
She felt the anger subsiding. “You could have told me you had a flat tire.”
“I told you last night that my words would always be honest.”
“Even if you know they’ll make me angry?”
He slowly nodded. “I like you too much not to be honest with you.”
“I like you, too. I’m glad you came.” The dark expression on her face slowly faded, and was replaced by an impish smile. “Do you know how to ride a horse?”
Hunter slid his gaze past her to where Riker still waited with the horses. Her son had begun shifting from foot to foot, rocking his body back and forth, a sure sign that his impatience to be underway was escalating. She was surprised he hadn’t started to pester her yet. Though he did know her well enough to know when she was angry, so he’d probably decided keeping his distance was his best strategy until she cooled down.
“I think I can manage,” Hunter said.
“Riker, come here,” she called out.
She watched him approach with obvious apprehension, as though he were on his way to the first day of school. He’d had her to himself for so long, and she wondered how he’d react to sharing her for the afternoon. The only time he’d ever even hinted that he wanted a father was when he and Jason had cooked up a scheme for her and Jack to marry.
And she was getting way ahead of herself here. Marriage wasn’t even remotely on the horizon. As a matter of fact, she wasn’t certain she’d see Hunter beyond this afternoon.
With his faint eyebrows puckered, his mouth set in a mulish twist, Riker stopped before her.
“Riker, this is Fletcher. He’s going to go fishing with us.”
“How come?”
“Because I invited him to join us.”
“Why?”
She wished she’d prepared him for this moment earlier. She should have expected that he’d be inquisitive about a change to his expected routine, especially when it involved a stranger.
“Because I thought it would be fun to have someone go with us.”
“Grandpa could go with us.”
“Grandpa took you fishing yesterday.”
“But Grandpa likes fishing. He’d go every day—”
“Riker, I wanted to take a friend so I invited Fletcher to join us. Okay?”
Riker lifted a shoulder. “Okay. Has he got kids?”
Hunter cleared his throat, and Serena wondered if he was expecting her to correct her son for using a word she’d lambasted Hunter for using.
“I don’t think so.” She cast a glance at Hunter, wondering if he did have children. Based on what he’d said last night, she’d assumed he didn’t…but what did she really know about him? Just because he’d never married didn’t mean that he didn’t have children. “Do you have children?”
“No, I don’t,” he admitted.
So she’d guessed correctly. What she knew about him was a series of guesses. What she absolutely knew about him she could stick on the head of a pin. And yet, here she was, once again, grateful to have his company.
“You like kids?” Riker asked.
“Riker, of course he does,” Serena answered quickly, wondering what would possess him to ask such a question. Did he have a fear that he wouldn’t be liked? Or perhaps he was simply no
t comfortable with her introducing a new man into his life. After all, this occasion was a first. And she realized that it shouldn’t be a new experience for him, that men in her life shouldn’t be so rare that neither of them knew how to respond. “Everyone likes children. Why don’t you get a horse for Fletcher while I introduce him to Grandpa?”
“Actually I met your dad when I drove up. He told me where to find you.”
She didn’t like hearing that, would have preferred he hadn’t had to face her father alone. Sometimes her father took his protective stance a bit far. “I hope he didn’t give you the third degree.”
“On the contrary. He went out of his way to make me feel welcome. Even went so far as to show me his membership card for the NRA.”
The National Rifle Association. All right, so her father was a little on the overprotective side. She should have warned Hunter to expect it.
“I’m surprised he didn’t show you his rifles,” she said, hoping he wasn’t offended by her father’s protective demonstration.
“He offered to.”
“Mom, I’m starving,” Riker said with a feigned gasp and cough, his hands wrapped around his throat. She’d never been able to determine why he thought either action was a sign of hunger.
“All right. Hurry along then and fetch another horse.”
As soon as Riker was outside of hearing distance, she turned back to Hunter. “My dad may not look it, but he’s as sharp as barbed wire and old enough not to be afraid to speak his mind. Since I don’t usually have men stopping by to visit me, he’s probably figured out you’re the one I was with the other night.” She tapped the mark Hunter had left on her throat.
“Ah,” he said with a slow nod. “That’s the reason you warned me not to leave any marks.”
“Exactly. I hope my dad didn’t say anything that made you uncomfortable.”
“He wanted to know if my intentions were honorable.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“That I’d let him know when I figured it out.”
She laughed softly. “He must have loved that.”
“Actually, that’s when he acquainted me with his NRA membership.”
Yes, she could see her father doing that. But she was glad to realize that Hunter didn’t seem bothered by her father’s inquisition or his response.
She didn’t know what to make of this man who was standing before her when he didn’t want to be, whose words were honest—although she was left with the impression that he wasn’t revealing everything.
He intrigued her. She’d seen him handle a drunk without hesitation. And yet here he was, constantly backing off from her. The one thing she did know was that as long as they could talk honestly with each other maybe a chance existed that they’d be more than lovers.
She smiled with the thought, but knew she was getting ahead of herself. They needed to survive the picnic first.
Chapter 9
It was the middle of June with temperatures threatening to hit triple digits, and yet Hunter felt as though he’d found paradise beneath the shade of the towering tree with the breeze blowing off the large pond cooling him. The idyllic scene was one Norman Rockwell would have painted.
A quilt that he was fairly certain had actually been stitched by hand was beneath him. A wicker picnic basket was beside him. A boy with a fishing pole sat at the edge of a pond with a brown and white spotted beagle sitting at his feet. Horses were tethered off to the side, munching on the brush, occasionally dipping their heads to drink from the pond.
And a woman sat beside Hunter, her arms wrapped around her long legs, her chin resting on her drawn-up knees. Her jeans were stretched taut across her hips and thighs. She was wearing a tight little red tank top that dipped down to offer a glimpse of what lay beneath the fabric. For the most part she watched the boy. But every now and then her gaze would drift over to him and she’d smile before turning her attention back to the boy.
He thought he could stay here forever. It was what he’d been looking for when he’d bought his house near the lake. He’d thought the house, the land, and the lake were enough. He’d thought that was paradise. Only now was he discovering that he’d been mistaken.
He was stretched out on his side, his full stomach making him lethargic. He’d followed two chicken salad sandwiches with brownies chock full of nuts. He’d topped the meal off with a bright red apple that he wouldn’t have been surprised to discover that Serena had actually polished. The boy had eaten a container of strawberries coated in sugar, and fed most of his sandwich to the dog.
“Did you grow up around here?” she suddenly asked, bringing him back to the moment.
“No, I grew up around Houston.”
“Do you know where Hopeful is?” she asked.
“Been through there a time or two when going somewhere else.”
“That’s where Riker and I live now. I didn’t know if you remembered me mentioning that last night.”
“I’m pretty good at remembering things.”
She tilted her face, placed her cheek on her knee, and smiled at him. He liked her smile, the warmth and sincerity of it. His life was filled with deceptions, and he didn’t want that with her. He wanted the honesty he kept alluding to. More, he wanted her with an intensity that was almost frightening.
Reaching out, he wrapped his hand around her booted ankle, though he really wanted to place his hand against her rear end. Ease up and over her, lay her down on the quilt. Kiss those soft lips, have her wrap those long legs of hers around him.
But she had the little chaperone with her, and he didn’t know how long the kid was going to be content to fish. Hunter hadn’t seen him catch anything yet. He couldn’t imagine that the boy would keep at it for much longer.
“You haven’t lived here long,” she said, her voice rising slightly, as though she couldn’t quite determine if she was stating a fact or asking a question.
“I bought the house five years ago.”
Her eyes widened at that. “You haven’t decorated it much.”
“It’s shelter.” He shrugged, moving his hand up her calf and back down to her ankle, wishing the legs of her jeans weren’t so straight that he couldn’t slip his hand inside. He liked the silkiness of her skin. A shame she hadn’t worn shorts.
He’d enjoyed watching her ride the horse. She sat a horse well, had obviously grown up riding.
She settled down beside him until she was on her side as he was. The tank top shifted, stretched, revealed the barest hint of black lace. She was killing him, because if she was a creature of habit, her panties matched the black lace of that bra.
“Surely, you need more than that,” she said.
He did. He needed her clothes off so he could feast on the perfection of her body, which he’d only seen in moonlight. And that had been a spectacular viewing.
He took her hand, remembering the feel of her fingers dancing over his skin. He rubbed his thumb along the pads of her palm. “I don’t spend much time there,” he confessed.
“When you are working, what do you do?”
He’d known that question would come up sooner or later. “I’m a consultant.”
“What do you consult people about?”
“Security.”
“I’ve been thinking about getting a home security system. Jack promised to—”
“Who’s Jack?” he interrupted, surprised by the hard edge he heard in his voice. He didn’t bother to correct her assumption that he was in home security rather than national security. Who he really worked for and what he really did wasn’t something that he was allowed to disclose.
“Jack Morgan is my neighbor, my friend. My best friend actually. A by-product of his son, Jason, and Riker being best friends. They do everything together.”
“So you and Jack do everything together.”
She smiled. “Not everything. We do even less together since he got married last Christmas.”
He couldn’t explain the relief that washed
through him. He formed an immediate impression of this Jack, and it wasn’t very flattering. If he’d never put a move on Serena, then he was obviously a man without taste in women. If Serena hadn’t been attracted to the guy, then he was probably a loser. Like she’d said, they hung out together because of their sons. A person didn’t always have control of who his neighbors were. That was part of the reason that Hunter had bought a good deal of the land surrounding his house—so he wouldn’t have to deal with neighbors.
“You must have an understanding boss if he’s letting you spend the summer here,” he said.
She laughed lightly and flopped onto her back. “I’m my own boss. I have a small business. I design and create window treatments.” She turned her head to the side and looked at him. “I could do yours.”
He shook his head. “Window treatments? What do you treat them with?”
She laughed harder. It was a magical sound that wrapped around his heart.
“You know. Curtains, blinds, draperies. Your windows could use a little personality.”
“If I put something on the windows, I couldn’t see the lake.”
“I could do something creative that wouldn’t obstruct the view.”
He rolled onto his stomach until their sides were touching. “How did you get into doing people’s windows?”
“I had some time on my hands. I wanted to do something that was flexible. I didn’t want Riker in day care. Not that there’s anything wrong with day care. I’m just a little overprotective. I guess I take after my father. But I sew the curtains at home and hire a handyman to hang them for me. Brings in enough income to get us by.” She blushed. “If you have trouble finding work, I could probably offer you some odd jobs—”
“It’s not necessary.” He knew he should probably disabuse her of the notion that he was unemployed, but he’d promised honest words and so far he hadn’t actually lied to her. He’d only said he was between jobs. Which was true. He was taking a few weeks off before he went on his next mission. He’d only been off a couple of days and so far, his vacation wasn’t going at all as he’d expected, because he hadn’t anticipated Serena.
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