AlmostHome (7 page)

He raised an eyebrow as if he doubted her words. “And you,
too, I expect. I’m sorry, Haley.” He turned on his blinker and took a right
turn onto the long lane leading to her home. “I’m no saint but I promise you
I’ve never raised my hand to a woman, nor will I.”

She smiled. “Never occurred to me you did. I’m just saying,
honesty’s like a two-lane highway, everybody’s got a side and the truth tends
to run right down the middle.”

“Is that your way of telling me you give people the benefit
of the doubt until they prove different?”

“Pretty much. But you ought to know, I don’t trust easy.
Never had a reason to.”

Ben slowed to a stop in front of her house. “Duly noted.” He
shut down the engine, hopped out, and opened her door. “I’ll walk you to your
door and we’ll call it a night.”

She’d read about this. The awkward walk to the door. Would
he want to kiss her good night? Did she want him to? She’d heard girls talk
about this moment but had never experienced it before. And the talk was right.
It was uncomfortable. Did she want Ben to kiss her? Wyatt had kissed her and
she’d liked that, though she really had nothing with which to compare. Her pa
had made sure of that, running off any boy that came to call, any cowboy who
showed an interest. He didn’t want to lose his meal ticket to some randy young stud,
so he’d made sure Haley was never alone.

Oh lordy. They were up the stairs and across the porch. Ben
smiled down at her, her hand in his.

“I’d like to see you again, Haley.”

His gaze captured hers and wouldn’t let go. He had beautiful
eyes. Like the color of spring grass. She wanted to look away but it was as if
he had her in some hypnotic spell. He laced his fingers with hers, stroked her
cheek with the other, then slid it behind her neck to draw her closer. She
watched in fascination as he lowered his head to press his mouth against hers
with a touch so gentle she thought she might have imagined it. Until his
fingers burrowed into her hair, tugged a bit, and his tongue stroked
tentatively against her lips. Almost instinctively, she opened her mouth, inviting
him in with a soft gasp.

He didn’t press, instead keeping their fingers entwined,
arms loosely at their sides. His kiss was gentle, almost sweet, but for the
tongue stroking hers. But the kiss remained non-threatening, tender, a
tentative testing of the waters. When it was over, he smiled and stepped back.
“Good night, Haley.”

She smiled back. “Good night. Thanks for dinner. It
was…nice.”

“Yeah, it was. I’ll call you.”

She nodded. Maybe he would and maybe he wouldn’t but she
didn’t think there would be another date. The kiss had pretty much sealed that.
There was no fire. Not even a spark. Not like there was when Wyatt kissed her.
She turned and went inside, relieved that she’d only have to fight an
attraction to one man.

* * * * *

Wyatt tapped his fingers on the leather-clad steering wheel
as he waited to turn off the main road and onto Haley’s long driveway. It
hadn’t taken long for the gossip machine to fire up. His phone hadn’t stopped
ringing last night to fill him in on the latest news. Haley had been seen at
Lum’s on a date with Ben Bell. The news hit him like a mule kick. He hadn’t
expected it and he didn’t like it, not one bit. Not that he was bothered that
she’d gone out with someone. It was the idea that someone happened to be Ben
Bell, who had a well-deserved reputation as a lady’s man.

Wyatt told himself he was just being protective of his new
and decidedly unsophisticated neighbor. “Yeah, right,” he muttered. “You just
keep telling yourself that, dumbass.”

When he pulled into the ranch proper, the sight that greeted
him nearly stopped his heart. There was Haley, barefoot, clad in a pair of
low-slung cutoffs and a baggy old tee knotted above her waist to show off a
flat, tight belly as she washed her truck. She looked up and waved as he braked
to a stop next to the barn. Her sun-kissed locks were pulled up and clipped to
the back of her head. Bits of it had come loose to frame her face in damp
waves. She smiled, the soggy shirt clinging to her body, then went back to her
work. He climbed out of his truck, ordering his unruly body to behave itself as
he approached. “Thought I’d stop by and see if you wanted to head to Kerrville
in the morning. Washing your truck?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Well ain’t you got a gift for
the obvious?” She gave him an impish smile. “Dang thing wouldn’t fit in the
dishwasher.”

Wyatt chuckled and picked up the hose. “Pure sass,” he said,
returning her grin a second before his finger pulled the trigger and nailed her
with a blast of water. She rewarded him with an outraged screech, then narrowed
her eyes, clearly bent on retaliation.

“Dog food, Brody. That’s what you are.” Quick as a hiccup,
she dipped into the bucket and slung a sponge at him, catching him in the
center of his chest. Soapy water spattered his shirt and dripped down to soak
his jeans.

“Oh, it’s on now, sweet pea,” he declared, and turned the
hose on her full blast.

“Nooo…” she screamed and ducked around the other side of the
truck.

Wyatt chased her, dragging the hose behind him, but she was
a clever minx and scrambled up behind him, hurling the contents of the bucket
at him, drenching him from his shoulders down. He turned, laughing as she
backpedaled, and spun to get away from him. He snagged her around the waist and
hauled her back, lifting her off her feet. She wriggled and squirmed, laughing
uncontrollably. Wyatt’s booted feet slipped in the wet grass and they both went
down, rolling around in the muddy water.

“I think you need to wash your hair, darlin’,” he crowed,
clamping the sponge over the top of her head with a hard squeeze.

“Ack,” she sputtered, wrestling him for the hose. She got it
away from him and let him have a full blast. “You could use a good washing,
maybe I ought to toss you in the dishwasher, Brody.” She gave him another
blast, then screeched again when he grabbed her ankle and hauled her to him.

“Maybe I’ll throw you in instead,” he threatened, giving her
a good yank until she straddled him.

“Wait, wait, wait!”

He paused, thinking maybe he’d been too rough, but she
uttered an evil cackle and gave him a short blast to the middle of his
forehead.

“Sucker.”

Wyatt threw back his head and laughed, then fell backward
with a muddy splash, taking her with him. “Sassy little thing,” he said. There
was something about way she looked at him, her face alight with the sheer joy
of playing. Her bra showed clearly through the white clingy t-shirt, her
nipples stiff from the cold water. He’d never wanted anyone the way he wanted
Haley at that moment. He took her face in his hands. “Ah god, woman, you take
my breath away.”

On the drive over, he’d told himself to take it slow, not to
do anything to scare her. She’d been treated rough by the men in her life and
he wanted her to know that not all men were like that, that he wasn’t like
that. Now here she was, stretched out over him, his unruly body hard and aching
against hers, and all he wanted to do was strip her out of those wet, dirty
clothes and have his way with her in the damn front yard. He couldn’t help
himself. He kissed her.

When her mouth opened over his, he jumped at the chance make
her feel even a tenth of what he was feeling, his tongue tangling with hers,
driving the heat of the kiss a few notches higher. And it was working. She
moaned and pressed herself against his hard length, wrapping her arms around
his neck. He plucked the clip from her hair, buried his hands in the sodden
strands. It slipped through his finger like wet silk as he stroked her
shoulders and lightly massaged her back until he reached her bare midriff.

Soft. Lord but she was soft. He wanted to touch every inch
of her, trace the well-defined muscles of her arms, feel the weight of her
breasts in his hands, know the strength of her thighs as they gripped his hips.
He cupped her bottom, pressing her firmly against him so she would know exactly
what she did to him. She moaned, thrusting her tongue into his mouth with
increased ardor. He had a fleeting thought of stopping before things went too
far but he couldn’t bring himself let her go.

He relinquished her mouth and nuzzled her neck, inhaling the
scent of peaches and soapy water. Maybe he could get her inside and up the
stairs to the master bathroom. Strip the wet clothes from their bodies and
rinse off the mud before sinking into the big slipper tub Jack had installed
the year before her death. Just him and Haley, the mirrors foggy with the
heated water. They’d take their time washing each other, hands slippery with
soap, gliding over limbs, stroking curves and planes…

He never heard Ezzie, the youngest of the Dooley children, until
she came pelting around the corner shouting, “Water fight, water fight!”

Wyatt knew a moment of total frustration when Haley rolled
off him like she’d been scalded and he knew he had to do something quick before
she shut down. “That’s right, little bit,” he said, raising the hose. “You
wanna play?” He pointed the sprayer at her and gave her a good soaking. Ezzie
howled with delight and threw herself at him. Within seconds, all four Dooley
kids were on scene, wading in and everybody was rolling around like a bunch of
farm animals, screaming and laughing. An alarmed Dooley and Maria came running
to the rescue, backing away before they could be dragged into the mess.

“What the devil…” Dooley jammed his hands on his hips. “I
swear. And the two of you are supposed to be grownups.”

Maria merely folded her arms over her ample chest and tapped
her foot in the rapidly spreading puddle. “Wasting water in Texas.” She shook
her head then pointed at her children. “Home. All of you, and to the shower.”

Wyatt pressed his lips together, hoping he looked contrite,
but didn’t miss the fact that Haley’s foreman was practically biting his lip to
keep from laughing. When Maria stalked away, Dooley looked at him and shook his
head. “Wyatt, I do believe a grown man shouldn’t be such a poor influence on
children and impressionable young women.” He turned on his heel, his shoulders
shaking as he walked away.

Wyatt looked at Haley, snorting with laughter as she pressed
her hands over her mouth. He pushed himself to his feet and offered her his
hand. “Come on, darlin’, we’d better get ourselves cleaned off and finish
washing this truck before he comes back with a switch.”

When they were done, he sloshed back to his truck and headed
home, after reminding Haley he’d be there first thing in the morning, and
they’d have breakfast in town before making the fifty-mile drive to Kerrville.
Despite the misery of wet jeans and soggy boots, he was happier than he’d been
in a long time.

* * * * *

Margie’s Diner was packed with ranchers and cowboys now that
the spring roundup was over. Haley couldn’t remember a time when she’d gotten
so many speculative glances, nor could she understand why people found her so
interesting. Sure, she was new in town, but she would have figured some of the
novelty had worn off by now. After all, she’d been all over Junction, putting
in orders for feed and hay, stopping at the farm store for parts. Out of all
the unfamiliar faces, there was one she recognized—Holden Petrie—and she smiled
when he approached their table.

“Mind if I join you?”

Wyatt smiled affably. “Any time, Holden.”

“Please,” Haley said. “I was gonna call and make an
appointment to see you.”

Holden chuckled. “Well, you can find me here most any
morning. Can’t get enough of Margie’s blueberry pancakes.” He turned his coffee
cup up when the waitress approached with a fresh pot of the brew. “What can I
do for ya, Haley?”

Haley held up her own cup and smiled at the waitress. The
woman looked her right in the eye, then filled Wyatt’s cup first.

“Hey, Wyatt. How you doing, darlin’?” The waitress threw her
a smug look and overfilled her coffee to the point that some of the steaming
liquid splashed against Haley’s hand.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the waitress cooed. “Lemme get you a
cool rag.”

“Not a problem,” Haley told the woman. “My hands ain’t that
delicate. Manual labor, you know…I’m pretty tough.” Haley held the woman’s gaze
as she patted her hand dry, leaving no doubt that she knew exactly what the
waitress was up to.

The woman looked down at Haley’s bluntly trimmed nails.
“Yes, I can see that. You know, Thelma’s Cut and Curl has a gal that does
nails. You might wanna go get yourself a manicure.”

Haley smiled sweetly. “Maybe I will. I could get me some of
them fake nails. You know, just in case I need to scratch somebody’s eyes out.”
She kept the pleasant smile on her face as Wyatt choked on his coffee and
Holden snorted out a chuckle. “Thanks for the advice…darlin’.”

The older woman swept the table with a glance and snapped
her gum. “Y’all ready to order?”

They all ordered blueberry pancakes and Haley admitted, “I’m
not generally a big pancake fan but I figure it’ll be easier to tell if she
spits in my food.”

Wyatt gave her a horrified look. “Helen wouldn’t do that.”
He glanced at Holden for confirmation. “Would she?”

The lawyer grinned. “Well, she sure seems to have taken a
dislike for Haley here.” He gestured toward her with his cup. “Helen’s always
had a thing for you, Wyatt. You ain’t noticed that from the way she talks to
you?”

Haley snickered when Wyatt blinked. “Hell no. Why would I?
The woman’s…well, let’s just say she’s got a reputation for being free with her
affections. Or so I hear tell.”

Now Haley choked on her coffee. “Wyatt Brody. That’s a
horrible thing to say.”

“That may be, sugar, but it don’t mean it’s not true.
Helen’s made a career of looking for love in all the wrong places.”

Holden turned to Haley. “You wanted to talk to me?”