“We have to talk to Pastor Neal and Mrs. Neal.” Tammy steered me toward the minister and his wife, something which wouldn’t have bothered me overly much if it hadn’t happened to also be toward Abraham. “If we don’t, people will talk.”

“As old as you are, you should know people are going to talk no matter what you do or don’t do.” And since I was currently thinking of all the things I’d let Abraham Hansom do to me last night, I didn’t think I was in a good state of mind to try and talk to a man of God. “I despise small talk, Tammy, and I’m hungry. I didn’t have time to eat breakfast.”

“Well, if you hadn’t slept so late....” She trailed off when she caught the glare I sent her, giving an indignant sniff as she lifted her chin. “That’s all I’m going to say about the matter.”

“Which is more than you should have said to begin with but I’ll let your attempt at moralizing go this time.” I pasted a smile on my face as we scooted closer to the Neals, wondering if it was possible to get out of the church before Abraham spotted me. “Did you decide where you want to eat lunch?”

Dolly turned around and started tugging at my dress which, thankfully, was high necked and Puritanical. “I did, Aunt Jeannie.”

“Awesome.” I knelt and picked up Conway, who was dragging his feet and his doll, propping him on my hip as we continued to inch forward in the departing line. “Tell me it’s a place with good breakfast food and coffee because I need the caffeine.”

Dolly giggled and wrapped her arms around my hips, all but toppling me over. “You always need caffeine, Aunt Jeannie.”

“Yes, I do.” Although at the moment what I needed was a stiff drink since we were almost to the Neals and Abraham was only a few feet away. It wasn’t that I thought he would say or do something scandalous... well, actually, I didn’t know what to think. The Abraham Hansom I knew—or rather knew of—in high school was a far cry from the Abraham Hansom who’d made me orgasm so hard I would have sworn I saw stars and maybe God. “Tammy, you’re better at this stuff than me so you do all the talking and then let’s get out of here.”

Whether or not she would have followed my instructions/orders would always be a mystery since the instant we reached the head of the line, Mrs. Neal clapped her hands together and all but shouted, “Jeannie Jackson! We are so happy to see you!”

I wouldn’t say every head turned my direction—quite a few people had already been staring at me—but it was close.

And one of those people who turned to stare was Abraham Hansom.

The only hint he might have been as surprised to see me as I was to see him was the slight, very slight, widening of his eyes—and how I could have stared at them half the damn night and not recognize them when I’d spent all of middle school and high school mooning over him was beyond me. He took a step forward and then stopped, something which might have been uncertainty flickering over his face for the briefest of seconds. He sucked his lower lip between his teeth and started to turn away and I sent up a thankful prayer.

Something I instantly regretted when Mrs. Neal grabbed his arm and yanked him over, exclaiming, “It’s not often we have two prodigals return at the same time! Jeannie, you must know Abraham from back when you were in high school.”

“We’ve met.” Ashamed at the weak tone of my voice, I cleared my throat, adjusting my grip on Conway so I could extend a hand to Abraham. “How are you?”

“Fine, thank you.” His smile—damn it, how had I forgotten that smile?—was slow and sure and did things to me which could only be called sinful. “I heard you were back in town for a bit.”

“Oh, you must have heard Jeannie bought the old Fisher place and is fixing it up.” Mrs. Neal, who was apparently the voice of the couple when her husband wasn’t preaching, beamed at me as if I’d done something more worthwhile than pour thousands of dollars in to a property solely to piss off the uppity people in town. “She’s staying here and raising her sister’s children, bless poor Loretta’s soul.”

“No, I hadn’t heard that.” Abraham released my hand, his fingers slipping over my palm almost like a caress and I fought back the resultant shiver. “I’m sorry about your sister.”

“Thanks.” I shifted Conway to my other hip, wincing when his doll dug in to my ribs. “Sorry to rush off but it’s lunchtime and you know how kids are.”

“Oh, if you haven’t been to Cracked Egg, you should definitely go.” Mrs. Neal nudged Abraham toward me, all smiles and fluttering hands but with a gleam in her eyes which made me wonder how many other meet-cutes she’d tried to arrange in the past. “Abraham, take Jeannie and the kids to lunch. It would make your parents so happy to know you’re being part of the community again.”

“That’s not necessary.” I started nudging Tammy toward the door, shooing Dolly behind her. I didn’t give a good damn if my attempt at escape was obvious—the last thing I wanted was to share a meal with my sister’s children and the man who’d given me multiple orgasms. “I’m sure Mr. Hansom has other plans for the afternoon.”

“Not really.” Before I had chance to protest further, he reached over and plucked Conway out of my arms, setting him on his hip with a suspicious ease. Inclining his head toward the exit, he said, “After you, Jeannie Jackson.”

Since any further attempts at refusal would have held up the line and caused more harm than good, I forced myself to smile brighter and follow Tammy and Dolly outside, doing my best to ignore the whispers already starting. Even knowing he was a good two feet away from me, I would have sworn I felt heat rolling off him in waves and I was sure more than a few ovaries went in to overdrive at the sight of him carrying a child. I was having a hard time controlling my own and I wasn’t even particularly fond of him or the idea of having children.

Walking across the church lawn and parking lot felt like the equivalent of walking through the halls of high school naked as a jaybird and I was all but delirious with relief when we reached my car. Turning to face Abraham, I held out my arms for Conway and said, “I can take him.”

“We’re fine.” As if to demonstrate his point, he bounced Conway, his lips curving upward when Conway laughed. “I’d appreciate if you opened the door, though. This little guy is sturdier than he looks.”

“Right.” I fumbled with the handle, cursing under my breath while Dolly giggled and Tammy looked on with her usual pious frown. Wrenching the door open, nearly kneecapping myself in the process, I said, “There you go.”

“Thanks.” He settled Conway in the car seat with more skill than I would have expected of an apparently single man in his thirties, glancing over at the girls. “If you two want lunch, you should probably get in and get buckled up. I have a feeling your aunt would have no problem leaving you if you decided to dawdle.”

“No, she wouldn’t.” Dolly giggled again, covering her mouth with her hand but failing to conceal her dimples. “She like us.”

“True, but she has the appearance of a woman desperate for coffee and I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.” He straightened, shutting the car door and leaning against it. He shifted his gaze to me, his smile taking a decidedly wicked edge. “She looks like a biter.”

“Girls, car. Mr. Hansom, can I have a word with you, please?” Without giving him a chance to reply, I stalked a few feet away, crossing my arms as I turned to face him. Squaring my shoulders, I took a deep breath and said, “Look, I’m not sure what you’re trying to do here but—.”

“At the moment, I’m trying to take you to lunch because if I don’t, the good Mrs. Neal will call my mother and tell her all about how I was unwelcoming and inhospitable and then I’ll have to listen to my mother sigh and wonder where she went wrong and why I can’t be the nice boy she raised.” His smile faded as he took a step forward, the faint breeze fluttering his jacket, the crisp cotton grazing my bare arms. For the first time, I noticed the absence of the eyebrow ring and the tightness in his jaw. “You’re not the only one living under a microscope, Jeannie Jackson, so maybe you could give a guy a hand.”

“You’ve already gotten way more than a hand.” Even though it was stupid considering what had happened the last time we got too close, I shifted closer, dropping my voice to almost a whisper. “Did you know who I was last night?”

“Yes.” He met my stare without flinching. “Are you telling me you didn’t know who I was?”

“Not a single clue.” It was petty of me, I know, but I couldn’t help feeling a small spurt of glee when he blinked, his surprise obvious. “Why would I? I haven’t thought about you or this town in years. I’m willing to bet the only reason you knew about me was gossip.”

His smile disappeared entirely as he pressed his lips in to a thin line. “I don’t listen to gossip.”

“Right.” I shook my head and snorted out a laugh. “So you say.” Uncrossing my arms, I raked one hand through my hair and sighed. “Fine. We’ll go to lunch. I’m warning you now, no dirty talk or innuendo. Dolly and Conway might not pick up on it but Tammy is old enough to not only understand but disapprove.”

“I tend to save my dirty talk and innuendo for after five p.m.” He gestured toward my car where the kids were waiting patiently—or at least as patiently as a fifteen year old, an eight year old, and a five year old could wait. “I’ll meet you at the restaurant. I’m sure Tammy knows the way.”

“Fine.” Resisting the urge to yank the door open and slam it shut, I forced myself to at least look as if I wasn’t torn between annoyance and arousal as I slid in to the car and fastened my seatbelt. When Tammy cleared her throat, I said, “What?”

“I didn’t know you knew Mr. Hansom. I just thought you went to high school together.”

“I don’t know him.” I studied him through the windshield as he crossed the parking lot to a car which looked as painstakingly and lovingly restored as the building which housed his bar and was as far from an oversized, jacked up pickup truck as it could be and still be considered a vehicle. “I don’t know him at all.”