Jane watched Walter touch the woman’s shoulder again. . .and again something inside her flinched. This time her gaze followed the movement, mesmerized by his fingers on someone other than her. She suddenly felt like retching. It was not a good sign of her being able to deal maturely with the situation, she decided.
“. . .meet my new office manager—Amanda Ravenwood,” Walter said.
Barely functional in her jealous daze, Jane finally caught on that Walter was introducing her to the smiling woman. She walked forward on autopilot and stuck out her hand. The younger woman clasped it firmly. Jane noticed how much older her hand looked next to the woman’s ringless one. Her gaze went back to Walter as Amanda let go.
“Amanda is taking care of the day-to-day needs around here,” Walter said, finishing his introduction, while he tried to figure out the reason for the weird expression on Jane’s face.
Jane nodded and forced a cheerful smile. “That’s great, Walter. Every business needs reliable help.” Her comment had sounded like one of Harrison’s lectures, but nothing more pithy occurred to her.
The woman and Walter were both looking at her strangely now. Yet all Jane could think about was Walter touching other women. He was probably kissing them too. Did he still want to kiss her? Had he totally lost all interest like she had assumed he would?
Had she actually been hoping to be wrong?
“I’m glad to see you’re settling in so well here,” Jane said, adding one more lame comment to her previous lame speech.
Walter walked around the desk, stopping as he faced a strangely glassy-eyed Jane. She wasn’t moving, just staring up at him.
“Did I forget to shave this morning?” he asked, running a hand over his chin, checking to make sure it was smooth.
“What?. . .no. Of course not. You look. . .fine. Just fine,” Jane repeated, stepping back, because he looked a little too fine. “I thought I might take you up on that tour you mentioned, but you seem too busy to make time. . .I mean, to take time. . .to show me around this morning.”
“I’ll never be too busy for you,” Walter promised, smiling wide at the relief his answer garnered in Jane’s gaze. Her nervousness made him want to laugh and kiss her senseless, but that couldn’t happen. God, what he wouldn’t give to put his mouth on hers again. He glanced back over his shoulder. “What do you say, Amanda? Do I have time for a tour?”
“Go. I’m good for now. I’ll text you if I need your help,” Amanda said, motioning him out with her hand.
Jane waited until Walter turned toward the side door of the main lodge before falling into step beside him as easily as he used to do with her. “Listen Walter, I can come back some other time. You looked really busy when I came in and. . .”
Walter snorted and grabbed her hand. When Jane sucked in a breath at the contact, the predator beast in him went on full alert. Her frightened gazelle mode did something evil to his libido.
“Haven’t we both waited long enough already?” he demanded softly, stopping and forcing her to stop walking as well.
“What are you talking abo. . .” Her question was cut off when Walter pulled her around until she was practically in his arms. Her whole body bumped up fully against his, reminding her of when he had kissed her at the hospital. She wanted to look around to see if anyone was watching them, but her gaze seemed locked to the man in front of her. They hadn’t even made it to the door yet.
What was Walter trying to do?
Confusion cleared finally with her awareness of his mouth slowly descending toward hers. While it cleared up the mystery of his plans, it also sent the annoying butterflies in her stomach scrambling for cover. They certainly knew what was happening, even if her mind was still in denial.
Why was she having so much trouble thinking clearly today?
When the puzzle pieces started falling into place at last, it was the ridge pressing against her stomach through his slacks that set her heartbeat thundering in her chest. Did Walter’s actions mean he still. . .he still. . .
“Walter?” she whispered, realizing that even saying his name brought relief. She was in so much trouble. “Walter, I . . .”
“Jane, your doubts about us are absolutely killing me. I’m tired of waiting. Aren’t you?” he whispered back, bending and bending until his mouth hovered just over hers.
“Hey, Walter,” Amanda called loudly, skidding to a stop just outside the door of the office. “Oh good, you’re still in the building. Your mother is on the phone. She says it’s important. Do you want to take the call before you give Jane a tour?”
His mother was calling? Jane blinked in shock. Walter’s new office manager might as well have poured a bucket of guilt over her head. Maybe that had been the younger woman’s intention. Regardless, Jane still pulled her hand from Walter’s.
Then she stepped away from his seductive heat and tried to breathe normally.
“No—Stay,” Walter ordered huskily, but had to stop talking before he swore at her for pulling away from him.
As Jane backed up, he stayed frozen where he was, not sure it was wise to walk in his condition. Nothing on him ever twitched around Jane. Everything just went from flaccid to rigid with lightning speed. In fact, all his body parts seemed to function at maximum capacity in Jane Fox’s presence. It was a way worse problem to have than nothing twitching at all, and considerably more uncomfortable.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me? Or are you truly in denial?” Walter asked.
When Jane’s gaze dropped to sweep the front of him, her olive complexion was suddenly infused with various shades of pink. Walter wanted to shout “Hallelujah!” when her alarmed gaze rose back to meet his determined one.
“My mother is a very insistent woman. Whatever you’re thinking right now, hold that thought until I take this phone call,” he ordered.
“What are you talking about? I’m not thinking anything,” Jane denied, the lie clogging her throat so much that she had to clear it.
“Yes you are, and I like it,” Walter replied sternly, laughing at both her bold lie and her shock at him calling her on it.
He took a single step toward Jane intending to prove it was the truth if necessary, only to end up laughing again when she backed up a single step in return. He couldn’t help being thrilled or grinning about it. The predator in him was still on full alert, and the urge to pounce on Jane Fox was becoming nearly impossible to ignore.
“Stop looking at me that way, Walter,” Jane demanded, embarrassed by the tremor in her voice. Two seconds more and he would have kissed her again. She wanted it more than she wanted her next breath.
Bad Jane, she thought, very bad Jane.
She raised a hand and swept back her hair for something to do. Now he was making her nervous. Walter wasn’t the only one acting crazy.
“You know what, Jane Fox? My grandfather warned me about women like you,” Walter said, grinning at the panic that flared in her gaze at his words.
“Harrison? What did that outrageous old man have to say about me? I mean—about women like me,” Jane demanded.
Walter laughed. “Hang around until I finish with my mother and I’ll show you.”
His flirty dare snapped Jane out of the fog of her lust. “No, thanks. I think I’ll come back tomorrow. You seem really busy today. See you later, Walter.”
“Running away again?” Walter demanded, walking beside her as he headed back to take the phone call.
“Of course not. Don’t be childish. I’m leaving you to get back to your business. I’m sure my presence is nothing but a distraction,” Jane said.
“You got that much right, but come back anyway. I want to see you, Jane. I want to. . .hey, where are going in such a hurry? There’s no fire here. I’m a trained fireman. I’m sure I would know if there was one,” Walter called, watching Jane waving over her shoulder, as she literally did run toward the front entrance and out the door.
He laughed again, shaking his head this time. What else could he do?
Then he was suddenly wishing like hell that he’d worn jeans that day. He could have used the support of tighter pants.
“Well, damn. Kissing me is not that scary,” he said aloud.
Behind him Amanda giggled and it made him turn.
“Your wicked intentions about that woman are being broadcasted in your face, Walter. I’d pay good money to have Daniel look at me that way. Why don’t you talk to him for me?” she teased.
“Are you saying when you move in with someone, the fun is over?” Walter asked, grinning at her teasing. Amanda and Daniel were the happiest couple he knew.
Amanda giggled. “No. I’m just saying it takes a lot for Daniel to let himself show that he feels that strongly. You’re not like most guys, Walter. You’re not afraid to admit how you feel. But you also don’t play nice with girls who aren’t as smart as you. Macy is still mad at me.”
He ignored the reference to his botched date from hell.
“Tell you what, I’ll talk to Daniel if you’ll talk to Jane for me. Make sure you tell her all the good stuff,” Walter ordered.
“Can’t yet. She thinks you and I have a thing,” Amanda said, grinning as she handed him the office phone.
“Why would Jane think that?” Walter asked, confusion wiping his smile away.
“How should I know, Walter? Maybe because she’s a lot older than you, and I’m not,” Amanda suggested, adding a shrug for emphasis.
Then she pointed to the phone now in his hand.
Staring at the door Jane had run out of, Walter sighed and raised the phone to his ear. “Hello, Mom. How are you?”
“Who’s Jane?”
Walter winced at the demand, fighting not to sigh or swear. April Graham would only read either as a sign of his guilt.
“Jane? No one. Just a friend. What did you need? You said it was important and I’m really busy this morning.”
Walter quietly cursed the crystal clear phone connection Jane had made sure was in place, despite the age of the facility.
“How much older than you is she, Walter? Don’t lie to me. I heard your conversation and I want to know what’s going on.”
Walter sighed at his mother’s escalating tone. He really didn’t want to have this conversation, at least not yet. “Jane is not interested in me that way, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Are you interested in this older woman? Have you talked to your father about this?”
“No. I don’t want to discuss Jane at all. . .not with you or Dad. Why are you calling?”
“Walter, I’m being very serious here. Whatever you do, DO NOT talk to Harrison about her. He will tell you his crazy theories and just make things worse. Please promise me, Walter. Promise me that you won’t confess your crush to Harrison.”
“Mother—please stop worrying. Now tell me the point of your call?” Walter demanded, irritation in his tone as he interrupted her pleading.
There was momentary silence, but Walter could tell April Graham was gearing up for the next lecture. He fought valiantly not to sigh loudly in her ear. Any show of impatience would only make her feel slighted and the lecture would be worse. There was a rustling of papers before she came back full force in his ear.
“You know your father and I appreciate that you do charity work, but really Walter, posing for a beefcake calendar? What were you thinking? My friends in Falls Church are buying it like crazy, but did you have to be on the cover too? I mean, at least you kept your clothes on—which I appreciate—but that undressing pose was a little over the top, don’t you think, Mr. March?”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t pose for the fire station calendar.” Walter yelled the denial. Then he looked at Amanda who winced and shrugged. “Are you sure it’s me in the pictures? All I did was help the photographer set up for the shoot. The rest of the time I was moving equipment around.”
There was another short silence, abruptly ending with a frustrated female sigh.
“Why are you lying about this, Walter? I can’t believe you’re going to pretend you know nothing about the calendar when it’s obviously you in the photos. I actually had someone ask me how it felt to be the mother of ‘Mr. March’. It was embarrassing, Walter. And just what do you expect me to tell your father about this? He’s repeatedly asked you not to make a public spectacle of us. You know scandalous publicity distresses him.”
Taking the phone away from his ear, Walter held it in front of him. Because he didn’t know what else to do, he pushed the button and hung up. That act would cost him later, but first things first.
Amanda’s snicker pulled his attention to the door of the office.
“Here,” he said, handing the office phone back to her.
“I can’t believe you did that. Did you really just hang up on your mother?” Amanda asked.
“Yes. Now mind the shop,” Walter said, heading to the front door at a run faster than Jane’s. “I have to go by the fire station.”
“Got an emergency?” Amanda asked.
“Yes,” Walter said, as he thought about several ways to kill a lying photographer.
***
“When I told Ames all the guys at the station had signed a release, I was talking about all the guys that posed. I wasn’t thinking about you goofing off beforehand. But what’s the big deal, Walter? It’s for charity. Why would you mind?”
“I want my photo pulled, Chief. I didn’t sign any release,” Walter said.
“Sure we can do that, but even if we pull the calendar off the press right now, there are twenty thousand already in print that have been sold. Those calendars paid for themselves, and they helped buy a new engine last year without costing the taxpayers one red cent. And think about this Walter, the publicity could garner you some media coverage for your eco experiments at North Winds.”
Walter shook his head. “There are reasons I didn’t put my name in the pot. My mother’s friends are buying the calendar. You can’t believe the grief I’m getting from just her alone.”
“Great! We want everyone to buy it,” the chief said. “More is better.”
“Not really,” Walter insisted, rubbing his forehead. His headache was getting worse.
“What’s up with you, son? I would have thought a young guy like you would appreciate the side benefits of being the man on the cover. And you’re fully dressed, for pity’s sakes. The only questionable photo of you is Mr. March. You have a wicked smile that goes great with your shirt up, Walter. My wife says it’s sexier than the bare-chested ones.”
“Don’t make things worse for me,” Walter ordered. His chief made no secret of how sexy he found his wife, or how interested his wife was in men in general.
Walter shook his head as the chief kept laughing at his anxiety.
“Before the print run, we found out Garrett’s wife was pregnant and apparently feeling a tad insecure. He decided the limelight was a bad idea at the moment. Have you ever dealt with a hormonal woman?” the chief asked.
“Only in my dreams,” Walter exclaimed. He was miserable with worry over what Jane would think. “The woman I like isn’t going to take this well either.”
He watched the chief rub his chin, but still didn’t think the older man cared one bit that Jane was never going to trust his feelings for her.
“Sorry if we’ve caused you grief, Walter. I didn’t know you had a woman. You haven’t brought her around for a tour. How was I to know?”
“I haven’t brought her because I don’t have her yet. And I might never get her after this mess,” Walter said, throwing up his hands. “She thinks I’m a kid as it is. Now she’s going to think I’m out to. . .hell, who knows what she’ll think?”
“Maybe she’ll understand. Some women love that stuff. They pass naked photos of guys to each other in email. Don’t ask me how I know. That’s in the TMI category and my wife would kill me for sharing.”
Walter snorted and stood. “I give up.”
“I can only apologize so many times, Walter. What do you w
ant me to do? Pull it or don’t pull your photo from the next run? They want to go back for a reprint tomorrow. Have you even seen it? We’re selling them as fast as they can come off the press.”
Walter shook his head. Twenty thousand or two hundred thousand. One was all it would to take for Jane to write him off. He wished like hell that he had kissed her senseless today instead of playing it so cool. He was going to die of frustration if he didn’t get his hands on her soon.
“Sure would be nice to buy another shiny new fire engine, don’t you think?” the chief asked.
Walter swore. “Fine. Don’t pull the photo. I know I didn’t undress, so what the hell. It’s not like it’s the first time I made my parents mad over something concerning the firehouse.”
“You’ve been making decisions on your own for years. Your parents need to realize that you’re all grown up now. And if your woman is the right woman for you, she’ll have a sense of humor and understand why you would do this. Of course, you might have to convince her that her attention is the female attention you need. . .if you get what I’m saying.”
Blowing out an exasperated breath at his chief’s suggestion, Walter got up and left.
It was going to be hard to convince a woman who ran every time he touched her that she was the only woman he wanted or needed.
***
“Laugh all you want, just don’t have a stroke. I need you alive so you can convince Mom and Dad that I didn’t do this to embarrass them,” Walter said.
“I want to see the photo. I bet you look great. Where’s your copy?” Harrison demanded, grinning at Walter’s angry face.
“I didn’t get one. I haven’t seen it. And I don’t want to,” Walter declared, feeling like a two year old throwing a tantrum. Suddenly, he had more sympathy for JD’s desire to escape his confining life. Between his parents’ concerns and Harrison’s health, his decisions were constantly hindered.
“Nonsense, boy. That calendar is free publicity. I think you should go on local shows and pimp the calendar for good measure. Then pimp yourself and your work in the same breath. It’s just good business, Walter,” Harrison advised, noting his grandson’s deepening frown with pleasure. Sometimes it was good for a man to become desperate. It forced him to act.
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