Luke turned then, his shoulder
against the fence. His
head lowered toward hers. He was
going to kiss her!
His lips brushed hers. He pul ed
back and said, “Your
eyes are open.
“I know. I want
to watch.
Luke smiled, cupped the side of her
neck with his hand
and kissed her again. She did watch
for a second or two, but
never-before-experienced feelings
flooded her, and her eyes
drifted closed. She savored every
single sensation. There
were so many. The smel of him, warm
and overheated
from their run across the field. The
feel of him, big, broad,
the very essence of him male and
thoroughly intriguing.
His head tilted, and he deepened the
kiss. Shock waves
of surprise and pleasure ricocheted
through her. Somehow,
they managed to get closer. His arms
went around her waist,
and she found herself pressed close
against his chest. It felt
so good. Better than she'd imagined.
Better than she'd ever
dreamed.
She'd been kissed a couple of times.
But never like
this. Not quite sure what to do, she
let instinct guide her,
hoping she wasn't opening her mouth
too wide, following
his lead when his tongue brushed
against hers.
They kissed for long, pulse-pounding
minutes until Luke
lifted his head. “When
you set out to prove a guy wrong,
you pul out all the stops.
Lena smiled. “I
like to win.
“Yeah. I can see
that. His thumb caressed her chin,
lingering at her bottom lip, filling
Lena with a yearning for
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something she didn't quite
understand but wanted more of
nonetheless.
“I think we'd
better get back, Luke said in a reluctant
voice.
Disappointment tumbled through her.
She straightened
her clothes, feeling as if she'd
done something wrong.
“Yeah. Someone
wil have missed us by now.
“Hey. He reached
for her arm and stopped her jerky
motions. “Lena, I
didn't expect. . .I mean—
“Please don't say
you're sorry, she said. Being with
him made her feel better. For a
short while, she'd even
become her old self, not the bitchy
brat she'd been since
she'd discovered her mother's
betrayal. Being with Luke
made her feel wanted and worthwhile.
Being with him
made her forget about the father who
hadn't wanted her.
She didn't want to hear that he
wished it hadn't happened.
“I don't know
what you're thinking, Lena. He reached
out and curved his hand around her
neck. “But the last
thing I want to do is go back.
In the span of a couple of hours,
her whole life had
changed. She knew without a doubt
that she would never
be the same again.
Once he'd made sure Lena had reached
the campsite,
Luke climbed the hil to Tim
Anderson's Wagoneer and
pul ed a sleeping bag out of the
back. He made his way to
the tent the two of them had pitched
earlier.
Tim was already inside. Opening the
flap, Luke ducked
in, trying not to wake him.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“Where you been?
the other boy asked, lifting up on
one elbow.
“Went for a walk.
“Some walk. Who
went with you?
“Nobody.
Tim grinned. “Yeah,
I believe that.
Luke rol ed out the bed, then lay
down on it, ignoring
the other boy's baiting.
“Somebody said
Lena Wil iams wasn't back a little while
ago. She wasn't out walking with
you, was she?
‘“Night,
Anderson, Luke said, rol ing over on his
side.
Tim chuckled. “I'll
take that as a yes.
Luke couldn't fall asleep, his mind
wide-awake with
what had happened between Lena and
him. Everything
about it surprised him.
Lena Wil iams was nothing like the
girls he'd hung
around with in the city. Most of
them would have eaten her
alive. But something about her
appealed to him. She had
guts, that was for sure, but kissing
her had been the biggest
surprise of al . It had just
happened as if it were supposed
to all along. And he'd enjoyed it.
More than he wanted to
admit, even now. He'd liked the way
she felt against him.
He'd sensed that she hadn't done a
lot of kissing. He'd
gotten used to girls who showed him
things. He'd liked being
the one to show her. It was a rite
of passage for al guys to
brag when they'd been with a girl.
So why hadn't he wanted
to tell Tim?
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Lying there on his sleeping bag,
Luke avoided answering
that question. He stared up at the
ceiling of the tent and let
himself admit that maybe Keeling
Creek wouldn't be so
bad, after al . Something about the
place had kind of started
to grow on him. It was even getting
to his dad. He'd
actual y gone out and bought a calf
a few days ago. A calf,
of al things! When Luke had come
home and found it tied
under one of the oak trees in the
front yard, he'd thought
for sure his father must be losing
it. Luke questioned him
about it, but he'd just said a farm
needed animals.
Luke still couldn't get over it.
Even though he hadn't
let on as much to his dad, he
thought it was pretty cool. This
place was definitely having a weird
effect on his father. And
maybe on him, too.
198
31
fter leaving the clinic on Saturday
morning, Colby
Astopped by her parents' house for
lunch since
Lena wouldn't be home from the
campout until later that
afternoon.
She knocked at the back door,
sending a glance around
the familiar yard. Samuel and Emma
Williams had the
neatest house around. They weren't
wealthy by some
standards, but they took great pride
in their things. They
loved working in the yard together,
planting bulbs in the
spring and fal , pruning bushes and
keeping the lawn as
closely mowed as the golf course at
the Low Val ey Country
Club. People drove from as far as
seventy-five miles away just
to see her mother's flower garden.
An enormous old
magnolia tree stood in the front
yard. In the spring and
summer, red impatiens encircled it,
thick as clover in a hay
field. Fal brought out different
flowers, the driveway now
lined with burgundy mums, four
plants wide on each side.
Standing there on the brick walkway,
Colby realized
not for the first time that if
things had worked out
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differently for her, theirs was the
kind of marriage she
would want. A partnership. Someone
to share things with,
do things with. After Doug, she'd
been so busy trying to
prove that she could accomplish on
her own all the things
in life that really mattered that
maybe she'd never real y
given anyone a chance. The hurt he'd
caused her shaped
her adult life, and she wondered now
if she'd been wrong to
let him have that much power over
her.
Her mother appeared at the door, a
pleased expression
on her face. “Colby.
You're just in time for lunch, dear.
“I'd hoped I
would be. She stepped inside and gave
her mom a hug. “Sorry
I didn't cal first.
“As if you need
to. Your father's golfing this morning,
so he won't be back for a while yet.
Let me grab another
bowl, and we'l sit down.
Colby washed her hands and tested
the soup on the
stove. “Um,
that's good.
“Vegetable soup.
Every one from my summer garden.
She poured them each a glass of iced
tea, and they began
eating. The soup tasted perfect for
an early fal afternoon.
“How's Lena?
“The same.
“Maybe I should
talk to her, honey.
“Thanks, Mom, but
this is something I need to handle
on my own.
“I understand,
and you're probably right. But you
know it's a mother's nature to want
to fix whatever's
wrong in her daughter's life.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“I know, Mom. And
I appreciate it, Colby said,
stirring some sugar into her tea.
“While we're on
that subject, I ran into Phoebe at the
grocery store this week. She told me
she'd fixed you up
with Mr. McKinley.
“It wasn't a
date. You know Phoebe. She thinks I'm
desperate for a husband.
“Wel , he is
awfully handsome.
“Handsome and
engaged, Colby said pointedly.
Emma's expression fell. “She
forgot to mention that
part.
“Phoebe's an
optimist. She considers that a minor
hitch in her plan.
Emma chuckled and shook her head.
“Your father said
he saw your truck at Oak Hil last
night, though. We thought
you might have had a date.
Colby reached for some crackers and
crumbled them
into her soup. “Actually,
I helped him de-skunk his dog.
“Oh.
“Not the answer
you'd hoped for, I gather.
“Now, honey—
“Mom, even if I
were interested, which I'm not, she
emphasized, trying not to think
about last night, “the man
is not up for consideration. You and
Phoebe both might as
well accept that.
“All right,
honey. Whatever you say, she said, a
curious look in her eye that Colby
determinedly ignored.
It was almost dinnertime when Mrs.
Mitchel 's car pul ed
up in front of the house, and Lena
got out, wearing faded
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jeans and a multicolored sweatshirt.
From her position at
the living room window, Colby
noticed that she was smiling
and looked happier than she had seen
her in months. The
sight of it both lifted her heart
and sent it plummeting.
How long since Lena smiled at her
that way?
A minute later, Lena bounded through
the door, her
hair tousled, her cheeks bright with
color.
Colby tried to keep her voice light
when she said, “Hi.
How was the campout?
Lena looked up, her expression
closing immediately.
“It was okay.
“Did they have a
good turnout?
“Yeah. Lena
headed for the stairs without looking
back.
“Lena?
She stopped midway up and said,
“What?
Sighing, Colby decided then and
there to take the bul
by the horns. This couldn't go on
any longer. She'd done
everything but stand on her head to
try to mend a rift she
didn't even understand. “Come
down here. I think we
need to talk.
“I've got stuff
to do, she called back with attitude.
“This can't wait,
Colby said, her voice unusual y firm.
Lena turned and clomped down the
stairs, the heaviness
of her footsteps echoing her
reluctance.
Colby went into the den and stood by
the window.
Confrontations had never been a part
of her relationship with
her daughter, and she wished
fervently that they weren't
now. “I want to
know what's wrong, Lena. And don't say
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
‘Nothing.' I've
tried to be patient, hoping that whatever it
was would blow over. But obviously,
it isn't going to. So
tell me what's going on.
Lena folded her arms across her
chest and glared at
her. “There's
nothing to talk about.
“I don't believe
that.
“Believe what you
want.
Anger and hurt were neck and neck
among the emotions
gal oping through Colby's insides.
She subdued them both
and said, “We
used to be able to talk about everything,
Lena. What's changed?
“Nothing.
“Yes, it has. Why
is it different now?
For a long time, Lena didn't say
anything. She kept her
gaze locked somewhere over Colby's
left shoulder. When
she spoke, her voice rang out harsh
with anger. “Why did
you lie to me?
“About what? she
asked, caught off guard by the
question.
Lena turned and stomped up the
stairs without
answering. Stunned, Colby stayed
where she was. What on
earth was she talking about? Just
when Colby started to go
after her, Lena tramped back
downstairs with a piece of
paper in her hand. She held it out
to her with a look of
condemnation in her eyes.
Colby took it, glanced at it and
then felt the color drain
from her face when she realized what
it was. “Where did
you find this? she asked in little
more than a whisper.
“In your old room
at Grandma's.
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Dread marched down Colby's spine,
followed by a
crystal clear understanding of what
brought about the
changes in her child. “Lena—
“Why couldn't you
just tell me the truth, Mom? That
he didn't want anything to do with
either one of us.
“Oh, Lena, it's
not what—
Tears running down her face, Lena
ran back up the