Heiress for Hire (35 page)

"I never realized quite how much the sound carries on a clear night," Willie said to Daniel, who was drinking a beer and reading the paper under the porch light.

"Me either." Daniel folded his paper. "You, ah, close Piper's window?"

"Yep. Got the fan running." On the other hand, obviously Danny's windows were wide open. "You think they realize their window's open?"

"Willie, I don't think they'd realize if the house was burning down around them." Daniel stuck his paper under his arm and lifted his beer. "Maybe we ought to head into the house. The 'squi-tos are biting anyway."

Fine by her. Willie stood up. "She's a nice girl, isn't she? Underneath all that money. I wouldn't have thought it, but it's true."

"Yep. He loves her, you know."

Willie knew that. She saw it every time her son looked at Amanda. It made her happy at the same time it scared the bejeezus out of her. Little Shelby had hurt Danny, more than he'd ever admit, and she didn't want to see him go through that kind of pain again.

She had to trust that if Amanda Delmar stayed, it would be for good. Part of her was certain Amanda would, which was why she'd agreed to Daniel's idea to take Piper for the night, but a small piece of her was scared for her son.

Daniel put his hand on her back as he moved around the wicker chair toward the front door. "Quit worrying. He's a grown man, Willie."

"Yeah, well, a mother never stops worrying about her child. It's written in the rule book."

"You know what else is written in the rule book?"

Willie stared across the yard at Danny's house, thinking, worrying. "What?" she asked in distraction.

"That a man never stops wanting his wife."

Daniel had octopus hands when he was in a mood, and clearly he was tonight, because suddenly he was everywhere. "Daniel James Tucker, your granddaughter is in the house."

But she was already turning toward him a little. She was only fifty, after all, right in her prime. They had a good twenty-five years of passion ahead of them still.

"Exactly. She's in the house, and we're out here."

Well, he had a damn good point.

Danny woke up just like he always did, when the sun started creeping through the blinds on his window and Rudy started his daily speech. Rudy bleated every morning, and Danny woke at dawn every day alone.

His life had a pattern, a familiar one, that he liked, but an empty bed wouldn't be something he would miss. But today might be the only chance he had to wake up next to Amanda, so he was going to enjoy it.

She was still sleeping, her hair falling in her eyes, mouth open a bit. No snoring, just soft, soundless breaths in and out, her eyelids twitching like she was dreaming. Sometime during the night, she had slid off of him, but she was still tucked up against his hip and chest.

Her fingers splayed over his stomach, and he liked that they fit together so well, that making love to Amanda was exciting and easy and intimate, with no awkwardness between them. They had both brought issues to the bedroom—doubts and insecurities—but with a little trust between them, those problems had been laid to rest. And then some.

"Good morning." He kissed the top of her head, hoping she'd wake up, but not willing to really shake her awake. That would be selfish, though he was sorely tempted.

Fortunately, she stirred and gave a little mewling sound. "Morning." Her eyes opened and she smiled up at him, nuzzling into his chest. "Did I really do what I think I did in the middle of the night, or was that just a really hot dream?"

Danny had woken her up at two A.M. and been pleasantly surprised that she wanted to work out some more issues and insecurities about performing oral sex. By performing it on him. He had been happy to comply and had nearly ripped the sheet in the process. "No dream, Princess. And after that, I think I'm going to have to promote you to queen. You were amazing."

It had him hard all over again just thinking about it.

Amanda grinned. "Glad you liked it." Her hand started roaming south. "And let's see… we already established you're Mr. Honest and Mr. Unselfish. Last night showed you're Mr. Exciting too."

She found him and squeezed the length of him in her hand. Danny bit back a moan. "Now you're clearly Mr. Dependable."

He was more like Mr. Full of Regret. "I hate to say this, but I have to go to work. I'm supposed to be at the construction job site at 6:45, and it's 6:15 now. It's a twenty-minute drive."

It burned in him, the urge to blow off his responsibilities and stay wrapped up in Amanda for the rest of the morning. But that wasn't him. He had made a commitment. He had a job to do. He needed the health insurance for his daughter, and he couldn't change who he was in the core of him.

There was a lot he needed to say to Amanda, but there was no time right now and he didn't want to rush through what he wanted to lay before her. Which was his heart and his hope and a plan to spend their future together. He wanted one chance to tell her how he felt and let her decide once and for all before she left in a few days.

If she left.

But now wasn't the time to discuss it.

"Alright," she said, pulling her hand away. "But I expect compensation tonight."

Danny sat up and studied her. She didn't look like a woman who was planning to ditch him in a day or two. She looked… happy. Carefree. Sexy.

It was reassuring enough that he was able to get out of bed, throw on some clothes, and give her a kiss good-bye. Avoiding the dog, who was sleeping on the circle rug at the foot of the bed, he padded to the kitchen in his socks. He was starving, having skipped dinner the night before for more pressing physical needs. Scrounging in the pantry, he found a breakfast bar.

He had half of it in his mouth and was reaching for his boots when Amanda stumbled into the kitchen. Swallowing the dry mess in his mouth, he said, "You can go back to sleep, gorgeous. Piper won't be back for hours."

"I need coffee. And I'm starving. What are you eating?" She ran her fingers through her hair and put a hand on her hip. She had pulled on one of his T-shirts and looked sexy and rumpled.

He held up the wrapper for her to see. "Help yourself to anything in the pantry or the fridge. You know where the coffee is."

"Yes, I do." She already had the can out and was dumping what looked like a hell of a lot of grounds into the machine. Filling the pot with water from the sink, she asked, "What time are you going to be home?"

"Around two. We're framing a barn, and we should get a good start on it, but I need to get back and put the corn in the silo. We're supposed to get rain tomorrow, and it needs to get put up before then." Danny sat down at the kitchen table and jammed his foot into a boot. Like Amanda really gave a crap about his crop.

She turned on the coffeemaker, twisting the pot a little to make sure it was lined up, and turned around. Leaning against the counter, she yawned. "Why don't we ever eat the corn for lunch? There's like three million ears of it right out in the yard, and we never eat it."

"It's not sweet corn. It's feed corn, grown specifically to feed livestock. It wouldn't taste any good to us."

"You really work hard, don't you?" She studied him, hands folded over her chest.

Danny shrugged. He did what needed to be done. Amanda turned and rooted in the cabinet for a coffee mug while he laced his boots and stuck the other half of the cereal bar in his mouth. Damn, he didn't want to leave and go sweat with a nail gun in his hand. He wanted to stay.

"You going to be around when I get home?"

Now it was her turn to shrug. "Sure, if that's okay."

"Yep." It was more than okay. It was exactly what he wanted. Danny stamped his feet in his boots to get a better fit. Then he stood up, reached for the keys to his truck lying next to the phone. Shoved his wallet into his pocket.

Amanda poured herself a cup of coffee and took a deep, fortifying sip. "Aahh. That's better."

Danny meant to leave. He meant to just turn and leave, maybe giving her a little kiss good-bye. Instead, he found himself pausing in front of her.

"I wasn't going to say anything, Amanda, and I don't want you to answer. But I just want you to think about this while I'm gone today." He cupped her cheek with his hand, drew his thumb over her lip. "I want you to stay here with me, forever. As my wife."

She opened her mouth, eyes wide, and he spoke again before she could. "I know it's asking the world of you, and there are a million details and complications that we should discuss, but I just want you to think about it today. Think about how you feel."

Again her lips parted, like she was going to say something. He quickly covered her lips with his hand, his heart pounding. God, he couldn't take her rejection right this second, when they still had the scent of each other on their skin, and he felt so much love for her, he could just about burst from it. "Shhh. Don't answer. Not yet. Think about it."

"I don't…" she said behind his fingers.

He cut her off with a kiss, one that he hoped poured all of his emotions into her.

One that he hoped wasn't good-bye.

"I'll see you tonight."

"Okay. Tonight," she said, her green eyes bright and glassy.

If this were the end, he would never forget the look of her standing in his kitchen, looking beautiful and sensual.

It was a perfect moment of hope and happiness, and God, he hoped it would last.

When he pulled out of the driveway, she was in the doorway, her mug in front of her lips, wearing his shirt and a sweet smile as she waved to him.

He almost wrecked the truck staring into his rearview mirror.

" Ready, set… Go!"

Amanda ran across the hard dirt toward Willie and Daniel's house, her Skechers taking the jarring impact of her feet slamming down. Baby barked and ran alongside of her, little poodle legs straining to keep up.

When she reached the mailbox in front of the farmhouse, she touched the rooster on the side of the plastic box and headed back. Her lungs were burning, her legs straining, and a really disgusting line of sweat was trailing between her shoulder blades. As she crossed the finish line, a ribbon stretched between two Barbies, she ground to a halt and bent over.

"Thirty-eight seconds!" Piper shouted, holding up the watch in her hand.

"Geez, that's hard work." She sucked in her breath and stretched her legs. "And I think I'm actually getting slower, not faster. What's your record?"

"I did it in thirty-four seconds."

"That's because your legs are shorter," Amanda told her, smiling at Piper. God, she loved this kid. She was just such a sweet, happy child, despite everything that had happened in her life, and when she looked at Piper, Amanda felt pure, unselfish love.

"Nuh-uh! You should be faster because your legs are longer."

Amanda laughed. "Okay, you caught me. But I am wearing a skirt, you know." She hadn't brought a change of clothes with her the day before, except for her gym shoes, not expecting to spend the night. She was back in her floral skirt, though truthfully, she couldn't claim it was constricting. "Or maybe I'm just a pokey-Joe."

Speaking of pokey-Joes, Amanda wondered where Danny was. It was almost two, and she was restless for him to get home. She had tried to tell him this morning how she felt, tried to tell him that she wanted to stay here with him, on the farm. As his wife.

But the goofball wouldn't let her speak, and now she'd spent the whole day in anxious excitement. She hadn't ever felt this happy, this sure of herself in her entire life. When she ran across this yard, she felt free, she felt satisfied. This could be her home, her family.