For the first time since she met him, Colleen heard a genuine laugh from Matt.
He rose and retrieved the placemat, kissing his diminutive mother on the top of her head as he passed. “I’m just being efficient, Mom.” He grabbed plates from a cupboard and quickly set the table.
“We don’t need to be efficient.” The tiny woman wagged a finger at her tall son. “This is family dinner time.”
The son has a playful side, too, Colleen reflected as she watched the exchange between mother and son. She felt a nudge on her arm and looked down at the Newfoundland who had followed them into the kitchen. For a few seconds, she patted his head before he turned and plopped down on a pillow in the corner.
“Your Tri-Pacer looks to be in excellent condition,” Stan commented as he placed the meat platter on the table.
“I got a great deal,” Colleen agreed. “Captain Rogers was my flight instructor in Florida. He knew I’d been looking for a small plane. A friend of his in San Diego decided to sell when he couldn’t pass the medical exam for his license any more.”
Stan waited until his wife set a bowl on the table and sat before he took his seat. He looked back at Colleen. “How long have you been a pilot?”
“Fifteen years.” Colleen’s stomach growled as the aroma of the roast drifted her way. She patted her belly and giggled. “Excuse me. I guess I’m hungrier than I realized.” She looked around the table at the three smiling faces. Even Matt had a small grin on his face as he buttered a piece of bread. “Anyway, taking lessons was convenient, since I lived on base.”
“You said you were landing at Mineta Airport. Do you have family in the area?” Mrs. Berk passed her a bowl.
“My younger sister lives in Almendra. She’s expecting her second child.” Colleen ladled the steaming potatoes and carrots onto her plate then passed it to Stan. “I was in Korea when her daughter was born. I wanted to be here this time.”
Matt held out the bread plate.
As she took it, she avoided his eyes. Her skin still tingled where his hands had smoothed the afghan around her body. “Homemade bread.” Colleen inhaled the pleasing aroma and took a big slice.
Olivia shrugged and smiled. “Baking it warms up the kitchen in the wintertime.”
With an expert touch, Stan carved the roast and passed the first piece to Colleen, a twinkle in his eye. “Since you’re company and apparently very hungry, you get the first slice.”
Colleen dug into her food with gusto. The tender beef practically melted in her mouth as her taste buds jumped with joy. “This is delicious, Mrs. Berk.”
“Hunger is the best appetizer, they say,” responded the older woman, offering the bread plate again as Colleen popped the last bite of bread in her mouth. “So do you have any other siblings?”
Colleen eyed the bread plate for only a second before giving in to her taste buds and took another slice. “Another younger sister—she’s kind of a free spirit. She’s in sales and travels up and down the coast.” She didn’t bother to specify Wendy sold sexy lingerie…at least that was her latest endeavor. She never stayed with one company for long.
The four adults chatted companionably as they ate. The conversation progressed from Colleen’s flight experience to Matt’s teaching to Stan’s medical problems just months earlier. As she glanced around the large kitchen table, Colleen couldn’t remember enjoying a meal more. She wrapped the edges of the soft afghan around her, savoring its warmth.
Matt carried his empty plate to the sink. “So why were you looking for a small plane?”
Colleen studied the straight back and broad shoulders of the tall man at the sink as he rinsed his plate and stashed it in the dishwasher. She waited until he turned and she caught his eye. “I like adventure, I guess.” She shrugged.
She held his gaze as he approached and reached for her empty plate.
“Me too,” he responded with a hint of a smile.
Ha, he’s thawing. Colleen felt an absurd sense of satisfaction.
Mrs. Berk rose and busied herself at the counter. “If I’d known we were having company, I would have set the table in the dining room.” She set a large slice of apple pie in front of Colleen.
“Dining room or kitchen, this is wonderful, Mrs. Berk. If you only knew how long it’s been since I’ve had a home-cooked meal. Even when I go to my sister’s.” She rolled her eyes. “My middle sister thinks home cooking is using the microwave. And my youngest sister thinks home cooking is eating takeout at home.”
“That’s the younger generation…and call me Olivia.” Mrs. Berk set pie at each of their places before grabbing the coffeepot and filling their cups.
“Livvy, for Pete’s sake, sit. We can get our own coffee.” Stan patted the empty chair to his right.
“I’m going to have to run an extra mile tomorrow, Olivia.” Colleen rested a hand on her full stomach.
“You run?” Matt’s dark eyes appraised her.
“Yes.” Colleen cocked her head to one side. “Are you surprised?”
“No, not at all.” Matt studied his apple pie. He scooped a piece onto his fork and eyed her as the fork approached his mouth. “Most of the coeds at the college like those dance-type classes, that’s all.”
“I hardly qualify as a coed.” Colleen chuckled. “After I help you with the dishes, I better call my sister. Her husband can drive out and pick me up.”
Olivia glanced up at her as she sipped from her coffee cup. “I think you’d better spend the night here, Colleen. We have plenty of room in this old house.”
Colleen looked at the three—make that two and a half, she couldn’t interpret Matt’s expression—friendly faces.
“That’s very kind but I don’t want to trouble you.”
The married couple shared a look before Stan responded. “This is a tule fog, Colleen. Sometimes, you can’t see more than ten feet in front of you on the highway. Our farm is more than ten miles from town. That’s just too far to risk it. You really should stay here tonight. We have a spare room. If the fog lifts tomorrow and it’s still not clear enough to fly, Matt can drive you into town.”
An unfamiliar yet pleasant warmth spread through her as Colleen considered their concerned faces. “I feel terrible putting you on the spot like this. I’m sure my brother-in-law can come out.”
“Nonsense, Colleen. We’re happy to have company, aren’t we, boys?” With a smile, Olivia looked from Stan to Matt.
“I know I am.” Stan raised his bushy, gray eyebrows at his son. “No offense, son, but a little bit of agricultual economics goes a long way. I’m ready to change the subject. I’ve been cooped up in the house with these two all winter. Matt talks about the world marketplace and Olivia talks about nutrition.” He waved a hand. “You’re a breath of fresh air, Colleen.”
Matt threw a crumpled paper napkin at his father. “Thanks a lot, Dad.”
Colleen smiled at the older man. “Glad to oblige, Stan. If you’ll excuse me, I should call my sister and let her know where I am.” She retrieved her phone from the bottom of her purse in the hallway.
“You’re where?” Bobbi screeched. “You landed the plane in a field?”
Colleen jerked the phone from her ear. Staring out the sidelights of the front door at the immaculate front yard, she waited ‘til the screeching stopped before she returned it to her ear. “Not in a field, on a lane in the middle of a ranch. I didn’t want to go all the way back to San Diego.”
“Sometimes, I can’t believe we’re sisters,” Bobbi laughed.
“Tell me about it,” teased Colleen. Memories of Bobbi screaming as Colleen pushed her off the diving board into the deep end flitted through her mind. Just try it once, she would tell her younger sister. It’s fun.
“So what are you going to do now?” asked Bobbi.
“I thought Rob could come out and get me, except these folks insist we shouldn’t drive in this fog.” Colleen slumped onto a bench next to the door.
“They have a point. This is a tule fog
. But Rob won’t leave me alone, Colleen, I know he won’t. This baby’s due anytime.”
“Isn’t Wendy there?” Annoyance flared briefly as Colleen thought of her irresponsible youngest sister.
“Wendy hasn’t shown up yet. I think she’s still in San Jose. I’m really sorry.”
Colleen caught a tinge of disappointment in Bobbi’s lowered voice. “It’s okay, sis. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you when I see you. Tell that baby to wait for his aunt, okay?”
“Okay, Colleen. Love you.”
Colleen snapped shut the phone and took a deep breath. She walked back into the kitchen, where the Berks lingered over their coffee, and the big dog snored and twitched on his plaid pillow. “I guess you have a houseguest tonight.”
Chapter Three
Colleen stared at the ceiling and listened to the night sounds of the ranch. Water trickled through a drainpipe somewhere. A branch scraped rhythmically against the window.
She knew better than to drink coffee at dinner. Who knew when she would fall asleep? But the coffee and pie were too good to resist. And the kitchen had been so cozy as they sat around the table—the parents bantering back and forth, the large, black Newfoundland snoring on his bed in the corner, and tall, blond, and handsome Matt—a feast for the senses. Even annoyed, he was cute, and he thawed some during dinner.
Colleen had been around men long enough to know a hungry man pretty much guaranteed an irritable man. Maybe Matt had only been hungry.
In the long run, what did it matter? She’d probably never see these people again, although she had already grown fond of the welcoming older couple. She need never see Matt again, so why the sudden desire to win him over? What made him different from the hundreds of other men she had met over the years?
Colleen sighed. Thinking about her attractive host in the middle of the night was not a good idea. Instead of relaxing her it had the opposite effect. The last time her body felt this wired was the night before she went hang-gliding in Garmisch. She closed her eyes and pictured fluffy sheep along a little country road in Ireland. One, two… There ya go, girl. Three, four… Keep counting. One eye drifted open and her gaze landed on a picture of a younger Matt on the dresser. Where was I? The sheep faded away. Maybe Mrs. Berk had some health magazines in the den to take her mind off the thick unruly blond hair and chocolate brown eyes.
Colleen threw back the covers and touched bare feet to the rag rug. Tiptoeing over to the door so she didn’t wake anyone, she eased it open.
A nightlight at the top of the stairs illuminated the Persian runners in the hallway. As she glided down the carpeted stairs, she held on to the banister. She remembered seeing a magazine in the kitchen. Turning to go back toward the kitchen, Colleen noticed a light through a partially open door. Maybe they left on a light during the night in the den. She pushed open the door, and her lips parted as she caught her breath.
Wrapped in a plaid robe, Matt sat at a large wooden desk covered in papers. A single desk lamp shone down on the book he held open with one hand. The other hand threaded through his tousled blond hair.
Colleen pressed a hand to her chest, surprised at her sudden erratic heartbeat and willing it to return to normalcy.
It’s that hang-gliding thing all over again! What the heck?
****
Matt heard the door squeak as it eased open. Two bare, tanned, and very shapely legs stood in the shadows by the door. He inhaled sharply. The legs certainly didn’t belong to his father and his mother refused to tan, which left one person. “Colleen.” He leaned back in the leather desk chair.
“Hello.” She moved slowly into the room. “I’m sorry to disturb you. I was looking for a magazine.” She approached the desk with caution. “I couldn’t sleep.”
Matt pointed to a basket of magazines behind his desk. “Mom keeps magazines here until we recycle them. There are all kinds.”
Colleen moved around the desk. When her legs came into view, Matt caught his breath. She wore a long, baggy T-shirt.
“I have on shorts,” Colleen blurted as she lifted the edge of the shirt, exposing a short pair of gray knit gym shorts.
Before he knew what he was doing, Matt’s arm reached out and caught her around the waist. He pulled her onto his lap. She didn’t resist. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck. A sudden burst of pleasure shot through him at her response.
Once again, they were eye to eye. But this time, Matt saw more in her eyes than sparkles.
****
It’s always the quiet ones. Colleen’s heart thudded in her chest. She ended up firmly in Matt’s lap, her arms around his neck. Matt’s rough hand traveled the length of one bare leg, making her shiver from head to toe. When she’d vowed to bring him around, she hadn’t had this in mind, although who was complaining?
For a full minute, they stared at each other, before Colleen’s gaze wandered. The dark flannel robe gaped open, exposing a muscular, tanned chest with a sprinkling of blond hairs. As if it had a will of its own to explore, her hand traced the line of his jaw. Her fingers trailed down his neck to his chest until she felt the steady beat of his heart against her palm.
A long, long, long-long time had passed since Colleen had been in the arms of a handsome man. In the arms of any man, for that matter. Jumping out of a helicopter and landing on top of one didn’t count.
She rested her head on Matt’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
This was crazy. She’d just met the guy, for heaven’s sake. When his arms tightened around her, she involuntarily nestled closer.
She’d forgotten the feeling of being held by a man. During most of the years in the military, especially after the promotions, policy constrained her in the area of relationships. Fraternizing with either enlisted or officers inevitably caused problems. So she resisted and instead traveled to exotic locales, and learned dangerous sports.
Now, she was a civilian.
Single.
Available.
Her heart racing, she raised her head and stared into eyes like deep pools of dark chocolate—coincidentally, her one permissible vice. She would let him make this one decision. Although Colleen knew the sight of her tanned legs in the short shorts was flirting, Matt made the first move and pulled her onto his lap.
How long would he make her wait? Was he a patient man? She was a patient woman—sometimes. She moved her hand reluctantly from his chest and slid it up his throat, one long finger coming to rest in the dimple in his whiskered chin before it moved upward to trace the full lower lip.
His eyes flickered and he leaned forward, tilting her back over the arm of the chair. He covered the hand tracing his lips and returned it to his heart.
On a sigh, she closed her eyes and felt his breath on her lips. Arms covered in goose bumps, she waited for the inevitable kiss.
Their breath intermingled, but still he hadn’t pressed his lips to hers.
She opened her eyes to his, mere inches away. “What are you waiting for?” Her breath came in short gasps.
A corner of his mouth turned up. “I really don’t know you, Ms. McLachlan.”
Her thoughts tumbled over each other in muddied confusion as she stared at the man. “W-what?”
“I mean, how do we know you are who you say you are?” Matt’s brow furrowed.
She sat straight up, bumping his wire rims askew before he jerked back. “You don’t know me?” She stared at the handsome man who seconds before she was certain was about to kiss her.
Matt straightened his glasses with the hand that had just been exploring her right leg. “Well, actually, when you first landed I thought maybe…”
Colleen eased her arms from around his neck. “You thought maybe…” she coaxed.
Matt squirmed underneath her, his gaze darting about the room at everything but her. “Well, how you dropped out of the sky like that just seemed so odd, I thought maybe you were…” He cleared his throat. “Maybe you were a drug runner or something.”
A ball of fire sp
arked in her middle and exploded into her head. Colleen’s mouth opened but no words came out. Of all the things she had been called in her life, drug runner was not one of them. Her muscles stiffened. She was a JAG officer, for heaven’s sake! Drug offenses were particularly abhorrent.
She kicked her legs, trying to get them off the chair’s arm and back on the floor. Instead, she slipped on the flannel and slid down Matt’s straightened legs, landing spread-eagled on the floor. As Matt reached down to help her, she quickly crab-walked backward. “No, thank you, Mr. Berk, I am perfectly capable of getting up off the floor.”
With a push, she backed into the couch. Not sure her legs would support her, she levered herself up onto the soft leather. Her heart pounded crazily and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
Colleen closed her eyes and counted quickly to ten. When her emotions threatened to take over, this technique usually worked. She opened her eyes. Hands resting on his stomach, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, Matt hadn’t moved from his comfortable position in the chair. The plaid robe gaped open, exposing the broad chest her traitorous hand had been exploring.
Not working…this called for twenty.
Colleen closed her eyes, counted to ten again. Her heart rate slowed. Years ago, she’d learned techniques of controlling her body. Maybe she couldn’t control this man, but she could control her response.
Once more, she opened her eyes, taking in the casual pose of the quiet man at the desk. She pulled her gaze from the gaping robe and focused on the bookcase next to Matt’s desk. “I have a military ID.” Pressing back her shoulders and thrusting out her chin, Colleen spoke in crisp tones, determined to regain control. “I have a private pilot’s license. I have two credit cards in my name. All you had to do was ask.”
Matt leaned forward and propped elbows on his knees. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I have to watch out for my parents. They think the best of everyone. I don’t want them to get hurt.”
Colleen rose on shaky legs. As long as she kept her distance from this guy, she should be okay. What a fool she had been. The retirement, the sudden loss of structure… Allowing herself to fall into this man’s lap was so out of character, it must have something to do with the recent changes in her life.
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