Rainn on My Parade

by LoRee Peery

  And experience more than one kiss with you.

  At the side door of his SUV, he paused before pulling up the handle. He grazed her smooth cheek with his knuckles. “And I’m going to be up front with you, Geneva Elaine Carson.”

  One corner of Geneva’s mouth twitched at his use of her full name.

  “You do something to me that no other woman has ever done. I want to explore whatever that something may be.”

  Her color rose and her nostrils flared, but she must have changed her mind about speaking. Had she sensed how deep his feelings flowed?

  Rainn opened the door, and she gracefully slid onto the seat. No plopping for this woman. She glided. He tapped the roof of the car after closing the door.

  He rounded the hood and climbed in.

  “Now,” he spoke from behind the wheel. “You brought her up. Tell me about Kate Rawlins. Why does she get to you?”

  “Goes way back. Small town memories are passed down generation to generation. Our trouble had to do more with Moselle than me, but as her mother, it’s one and the same.”

  Her hand went to her throat then landed in her lap to clasp the other. “Has Eric told you much about what happened between him and Moselle before they left for college?”

  “Not really. Just that he and Moselle grew up together and then broke up. He’s touched on his mistake with his ex-wife, Beth.”

  She chuckled. “That pretty much sums it up. Moselle was heartbroken. Then she closed off her feelings. She felt as though she’d lost the love of her life as well as her best friends, who were Eric and Beth in high school.”

  “So what’s that got to do with Kate Rawlins?”

  “Eric can give you his side of the story. After a big fight in the country on their last date, Kate Rawlins saw Moselle wearing her torn blouse in the wee hours. So the stories started flying over the telephone wires.”

  Rainn whistled through his teeth. He started up the SUV and backed onto the street.

  They rode in companionable silence after that exchange, for most of the ride to Mahoney State Park. At the lodge, he thought the huge buffet gave Geneva perfect choices. But he would have preferred a more intimate setting for their first date.

  If Mia were there, she might eat three things out of the hundreds of dishes offered. But he got a kick out of Geneva’s enjoyment. The scenery from the high dining room overlooking the Platte River was a definite plus for their outing, especially when they saw a pair of soaring eagles.

  “Before I forget,” Geneva said, arching a brow with her direct gaze, “I want to thank you for saying grace here in the restaurant. I wouldn’t be with you at all, if you didn’t have a relationship with the Lord.”

  “I am who I am. And I thank God for His grace, Geneva, so I’m not ashamed to pray in public.”

  He asked how things were faring for Lanae.

  “She had a good day, thanks. Eric told me there’s no news of your sister. How about you tell me how Mia’s doing.”

  “She continually finds interesting things to line up like her ponies. And in true Texas fashion, she informs me when she’s ‘fixing’ to do this or that before she fixes the place up.”

  Geneva’s arched brows rose higher. “I would imagine she doesn’t pronounce the ‘g’ when she speaks like a Texan.”

  “Got it right, pardner. Before she had her own clothes arranged, she’d already been in my closet. She lined up my shoes from athletic to dress to boots, so it ended up being a size thing. But while that occupied her time, she didn’t distract me with chatter or need to be entertained while I cleaned up some church glass.”

  “You’ll fall into familiar patterns soon.”

  “Mia has other ideas when it comes to her timetable,” he rubbed his belly, replete. “I’ve discovered her to be a very careful child who can occupy herself for long stretches of time, no matter what she has in front of her.”

  They were interrupted by wait staff, and he indicated their table could be cleared except for their water glasses. Neither one moved when they were alone again.

  “I’m convinced surrogate parenting skills don’t come naturally. I may drive you nuts with questions, Geneva.”

  “When I don’t have the answer, you can try the children’s pastor at Faith Bible Church.”

  “I have too many things to figure out. I’ll need to ask as things arise. I sure can’t take the chance of doing anything harmful that may have a long-term effect on Mia.”

  “Rainn, you’re a natural when it comes to Mia. And remember, no matter what, our lives will work out the way the Lord plans for them to work out. No adult, or parent, is perfect.”

  “Do you believe that goes for time spent with me as well, sweet lady?”

  She sat back and gave him that wise-woman smile he was getting used to. “As a matter of fact, my scripture verse for the day is from Jeremiah twenty-nine, verse eleven.”

  “Ah yes. He does know His plans for us.”

  “And even if they are calamitous, He’ll lead us through.”

  “First Corinthians ten thirteen.”

  “I appreciate your forthrightness. I think it’s admirable the way you dropped everything to come to the aid of your sister and niece.” She took a drink of water. Not a sip, but a gulp, and he liked that so much about her, the way she went after even a drink of water with such delight.

  “Have you come to any conclusions about Lindsay’s whereabouts?”

  Rainn shook his head. “I don’t know what to think about it.” He was ready to move. “Would you like to take a walk?”

  “Yes, I’d like that. And thank you for a lovely meal.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  She wandered into the gift shop while he took care of the bill. When he came to her side, she was handling a sun catcher in muted blues and pewter.

  “The stained-glass-cross design you made Moselle for the loft is so lovely. You are a talented man, Mr. Harris.”

  “No more talented than you, pretty lady. What is your favorite flower?”

  “I don’t have one really. I like purple, of course. So I suppose iris, maybe a pansy, but they’re so delicate. I love the fragrance of lilac but the flower itself is so transitory, too frail somehow. I don’t care for that kind of delicacy.”

  “That’s because you’re not fragile. You are strong and resourceful. Purple calla lily, I think.”

  “Not resourceful enough to get a cat down from a tree.” Her spontaneous laughter encouraged a group of men to direct admiring glances her way.

  Rainn didn’t give in to jealousy. His esteem grew for Geneva instead. She didn’t have a clue her vitality had drawn the others’ attention. She was a lady, all right. And he wanted her to be his lady.

  He reached for her elbow. “Ready for that walk?”

  Outside the mammoth front entrance of the lodge, he drew her hand into his. “A woman’s hand is so soft compared to a man’s.”

  “And a man’s is so strong that it helps her feel safe and secure.”

  I’d like to be strong for you, and make you feel safe and secure.

  They meandered for a while, not really going anywhere. The breeze was a soft whisper. The birds fluttered but had begun to settle in for the evening. A hint of fall hung in the air, like a promise of change.

  He let go of her hand, and reached for her opposite shoulder, pulling her to his side. “I could get used to this, spending time with you at the end of the day.”

  “And I could get used to the same.” She stopped walking and turned to face him.

  Her countenance invited exploration, but the place was too public. He’d say goodnight properly.

  “Don’t you think we should get back? Moselle or Eric hasn’t called. I know that doesn’t mean bedtime went smoothly with Mia.” She stared off into the distance. “I’ll never forget when Moselle had a friend spend the night for their first sleepover when they were in kindergarten. I made the mistake of wetting the friend’s toothbrush. Heavens, I don’t even remember he
r name, but the little twerp had a genuine hissy fit. She carried on like I had beaten her bottom.”

  Rainn joined her laughter, picturing a little girl screaming in anger. Then he sobered. And checked his cell phone. No messages, what a relief. “Yeah. It’s probably time to get back.”

  During most of the return drive to Platteville, Rainn thought about how nice it would be to have a bench seat, so he could hold Geneva’s hand.

  She spoke when they turned off the highway. “Do you want me to come in and check on Mia with you?”

  “No way, but thanks for the offer.” His voice sounded gruff, and he hoped she didn’t mind. “I was taught to take a girl home to her front door after a date. That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

  Geneva’s hand flew to her throat and fluttered in that familiar way she had.

  He thought of Mia and her fidgeting hands. Girls. They were a mystery to most guys.

  They didn’t speak again until they stepped onto the front porch.

  “Rainn, seeing my glider just reminded me. If you can’t find a rocking chair for Mia, she can come on my porch any time she needs to.”

  “You are some awesome lady, Geneva. I had already forgotten she said she liked to swing. It makes sense. Penny’s rocker swivels. That movement is comforting to autistic children.”

  At the door, he moved in close and she didn’t step back.

  He’d anticipated this goodnight kiss ever since their dinner date was a sure thing.

  Neither raised their arms.

  He angled his head, she tilted hers.

  At the first meeting of their lips, his were a little too high, so he adjusted them lower.

  Rainn was unprepared for the explosion that jarred the core of his being.

  She moaned and swayed forward, but their mouths alone touched.

  Shaken to his foundation, he pulled back. His breath was ragged. “You’re playing with fire, lady.”

  “I doubt that you are any more combustible than I am.”

  Rainn on My Parade

  7

  “Did I really say that out loud? That I could be combustible?”

  At Frivolities an hour earlier than usual, Geneva found herself working before she was awake enough to face the day. The bottle of flavored syrup slipped from her hands to the floor.

  Was there lack of communication between her brain and her sense of feeling? She’d been daydreaming about Rainn’s touch. Her insides felt mushy.

  At least she didn’t have to clean up a mess like the sticky chocolate syrup on the floor, since the bottle lid stayed secure.

  He was a young man. How in thunderation could he be interested in her?

  The grinds and whirs and swishes of the espresso machine couldn’t drown out thinking about their age difference.

  “Morning, Geneva.”

  She almost choked on the water she was sipping. The unexpected sound of his familiar low voice created a shivering rain of awareness. She cleared her throat, finding it difficult to produce a lighthearted sound. “Looks like I need a bell above the back door as well as the front.”

  “Think you’d hear it way up here? Saw Moselle from the alley struggling with unfolded cardboard at the door so I gave her a hand.”

  Geneva positioned her body between the coffee she poured for him and the machine, grasping the cup with both hands to make sure she kept hold, then passed it over with one hand as she turned.

  “I sure could get used to this every morning.”

  Geneva tried to ignore the pleasurable sound of his voice, as well as the implication of his words, by changing the subject. “So, where’s Mia?”

  “Moselle took her up to the loft. I didn’t think they’d ever make it to the top of the stairs. Mia had the compulsion to step on every painted green leaf, as she followed the vines on the steps.”

  He sipped, and then rolled his tongue from cheek to cheek. Geneva felt flattered that he sought a more thorough taste of the coffee flavor.

  “That girl of mine.” She smiled with pride. “Moselle works so hard to give little extras to the places she impacts. And now every spare moment goes into the Frivolities Memory Boxes. They keep getting better and better. All that creativity helped plan her wedding.”

  For a man, Rainn moved fast. The old floorboards squeaked when he joined her behind the counter, setting his coffee out of reach, he lifted Geneva’s chin with a long artist’s finger, callused in just the right places.

  She wanted to hide from her conflicting emotions.

  She wanted to look at his face forever.

  “Thank you for last night. I like the idea of you and me more and more.”

  Geneva blew a loud exhalation. The idea of the two of them as a couple was preposterous. Wasn’t it?

  “Rainn, how could this possibly work? All you have to do is look at the numbers. Twelve years I have on you!”

  He clucked his tongue and shook his head. “I keep telling you. Age doesn’t matter.”

  “How can you say that?”

  His long-fingered hand covered the side of Geneva’s face, soft as a painter’s brushstroke. “We have something here, Geneva. You bring out the best in me somehow, make me feel whole. When Eric introduced us and you said, ‘you must be Rainn,’ it was like I’d never heard my name spoken before.”

  “Oh come on.” Geneva stepped back, unable to stand the contact, or the gentleness of his caress another second.

  “And, since you listen to oldies here in the store, I have been tuning in. When I heard the song about seeing someone’s face for the first time…” He traced a line across her brow to her temple, grazed her ear, followed her jaw, tapped her chin, and whispered his finger over Geneva’s bottom lip.

  There was no more room to step further away. She felt caught in a dream of sensation, lulled by his sensitive artist’s finger and the strength of his presence.

  “What can I say? The lyrics brought your face to mind. That first meeting is something I’ll never forget. And the impact you had.” He punctuated the next phrase with that killer grin. “Still have on me.”

  All Geneva wanted to do was nuzzle into his hand like a kitten, scrunch her eyes, and purr.

  “Do you know what I said to Eric after meeting you?”

  “I have no clue.”

  “I told him, if the daughter looks anything like the mother, he’s got a good thing going.”

  Geneva frowned and started to raise her hand to her throat. She dropped her hands to her sides.

  “We could have a good thing going if you’d give us a try,” Rainn insisted.

  It was beyond incredible. Beyond words really, that this kind-hearted, unselfish, giving, handsome, talented artist, whom any woman would fall for, stood there coming on to her.

  At a noise from behind, she moved out from the small space behind the counter with Rainn following along, hand at the small of her back.

  Could he feel that extra flesh back there? Self-conscious, she slipped away as soon as there was room, putting space between them.

  Mia and Moselle eyed ladybug items on display. From her smile, Geneva got the impression Mia really liked ladybugs.

  Lanae entered from the office.

  Rainn grasped Geneva’s waist from behind, a hand on either side, and directed her to the corner cabinet that displayed Moselle’s vine-painted picture frames.

  Out of sight of the others, he leaned in close. “I want to see you again, just the two of us.”

  With his words, her circling thoughts returned to reality. A woman in midlife with a newly established boutique had no business lusting after a younger man, even if he did find her attractive and turned her insides to mush.

  Her eyes drifted shut at the thrill, but she blinked them open. Then Geneva struggled in his grasp. “Rainn, this seems like such nonsense to me,” she blurted. “I mean, I’m flattered. I’m flabbergasted over your attention. I’m so much older than you.”

  Crinkles deepened around his mouth. “Your argument is beginning to irritate
me. Age is a state of mind.”

  She lifted his hands off her hips, and he grasped her fingers between his.

  His proximity unnerved her. Tears welled in her throat. “I like to have you interested in me, but I’m so…middle-aged. Rainn, you’re handsome and talented and virile. You could have your pick of nice young women.”

  Yet deep down, those contrary thoughts flew right out the decorated display window, maybe to get caught in the giant puffs of lime green tulle cascading above the framework over the entrance. She felt clueless over his apparent attraction. Her emotions ran amuck. His hold on her hands remained firm.

  “I’m not interested in another woman, right now. I imagine you’re the size Marilyn Monroe was. I doubt any of her admirers cared what numbers were stamped on her birth certificate.”

  How should a mature woman respond to that one?

  Every line in his face softened. “Geneva, what I see in you comes from the inside. And I see nothing wrong with what’s on the outside. I admire you, and want to know more about you.”

  Oh, my. Oh, my-oh-my. Ohmyohmyohmy.

  All the sensible molecules, or cells, or whatever made up a body, pulled apart. Her composure shattered to smithereens and scattered into the tiniest knickknacks and corners of Frivolities.

  From the stairway, Mia’s giggles rose to a crescendo. Moselle’s laughter joined in.

  Rainn chuckled and let her hands go. He tipped an imaginary hat in farewell. He turned, snagged his to-go cup off the counter, and grabbed Mia’s hand. But when she brushed against small wind chimes too close to the aisle, he stepped back to give her his attention.

  Rainn held one of the tiny chimes up to Mia’s ear. “Look at that. I’ve found you an earring.”

  Mia tinkled the chimes, became fixated, and dinged them over and over and over.

  The next five minutes passed into nothingness. The background music of the pinging chimes got lost in the pounding of Geneva’s heart. Rainn’s patience with Mia melted another glob of Geneva’s resistance into that growing puddle of mush.

  It took a blink or two before she tuned in to Lanae and Moselle’s presence, before she registered Rainn and Mia’s absence.