Before she pulled out of the parking lot, she found her Jennifer Nettles CD in the console and slipped it into the stereo and listened to that same song over and over all the way home. Lila could have written that song when she was sixteen, but that night every word became a part of her soul as she drove home with dirt swirling around her. She’d parked in the garage and hit the remote to close the door when she noticed a shadow in her side window.
Her door opened suddenly and with a flick of the wrist, Brody unfastened her seat belt. Then he scooped her into his arms like a bride and carried her toward the door into the apartment.
“You sure you want to carry me over the threshold, cowboy?” she whispered.
“Right now I’m not sure of anything except that I want to hold you in my arms and I want more than one kiss,” he said.
She reached down and opened the door and his lips closed on hers.
“The same room as when we…,” he whispered.
“Yes, the same,” she said.
He carried her to the bedroom, shut the door with the heel of his boot, and sat down in an old rocking chair with her in his lap. Light from an almost full moon flowed through the window that he’d crawled in and out of dozens of times all those years ago.
“God, I missed you so much, I thought I’d die some nights.” His voice was deeper than usual.
“But was it just rebellion because we weren’t supposed to be together?” she asked softly.
Half of his face was in shadows, the other half lit by moonlight coming through the window. The story of their lives right there. One side lived in secret, the other in the light of day. One wild side, one responsible. Tonight she had a passionate desire to feed the hungry wild child.
She slowly ran her hands under his T-shirt. “How are you not married?”
He tugged her shirt out of her jeans and his calloused hands felt like fire on her skin. In a split second her bra was undone and he had free rein of her whole back. “How are you not married?”
“I almost was…once. You?”
“Never, not even almost.” He nibbled on her earlobe. “But I want to hear about your near misses.”
“Not now,” she panted.
Effortlessly, he stood up with her in his arms and moved to the bed. “Is this the same…”
“Oh, yes, the same one where we both lost our virginity.” She smiled.
He removed her shoes and socks, kissed her toes, one at a time. “I remember that night very well. You didn’t cry.”
“Why would I? It was wonderful.”
Her jeans went next and then her shirt and underwear, all tossed on the floor. Her breath came in short spurts but she wanted him as naked as she was, so she pushed him backward on the bed.
“My turn.” She sat on his knees with her back to him and removed one of his boots, tossed it across the room, and then tugged off his sock. He massaged her back the whole time.
Lord have mercy! He had learned some impressive moves since the last time they were together. She flipped around to undo his zipper and turned loose an erection that took her breath. Tugging his pants down to his ankles and then shoving them off the bed, she decided that a long, slow bout of foreplay was not going to happen. She crawled back up his long frame and held out her hands. He put his in them and she pulled him forward. Effortlessly, he went from lying down to sitting and removed his shirt. It was nothing but a blur as it joined the other clothing thrown haphazardly around the room.
“Dammit!” he swore under his breath.
“What?” she asked.
“I don’t have a condom.”
“No problem. I’m on the pill.” She covered his mouth in a long, hard kiss that left her aching, just like words to the song in her head said. “I want you, Brody,” she whispered.
He flipped her over on her back and her long legs wrapped around his waist as he slipped inside her and they began to rock together. His mouth found hers and the last thing that crossed her mind was that she loved, loved tall men and then there was nothing but a scorching desire to put out the flames in her body…and only Brody Dawson had ever had the power to do that.
He took her right to the edge of release, then slowed down. She tightened her legs and he groaned. “Lila, I can’t…,” he said hoarsely.
“I know, me neither. One, two…”
“Three!” He managed a smile as they both hit the heights together. When he could breathe again, he rolled to one side, taking her with him and holding her tightly against his side.
“You remembered,” she panted.
“So did you.” He snuggled his face down into her hair. “One. Two. Three. We go together.”
“Yes,” she mumbled, and shut her eyes. She was back in Brody’s arms, where she belonged. Past and future didn’t matter—only the present.
Brody awoke to the sound of someone tiptoeing down the hallway. His first thought was that Jace had come in late, but then he realized that Lila’s long leg was thrown over his. The footsteps stopped at her door and a female voice whispered softly, “Lila, darlin’, are you awake?”
Every hair on his neck stood straight up. Even after more than a decade, he would recognize Daisy’s voice. In a few seconds, she chuckled softly and then he heard the wheels of a suitcase cross the hall. The hinges on that door didn’t squeak like Lila’s did but there was no mistaking the latch when she closed it.
He rolled out of bed, landed on his hands and knees, and quickly found his clothing, jerking each item on when he located it. The door across the hall opened again and Daisy cussed when she stumbled over a kitten; then her tone changed and he could hear her high-pitched apology to the cat.
He unlocked the window and, holding his breath, slid it open enough to crawl out. God, he felt eighteen years old all over again.
The clock on the dash of his truck said it was five a.m. and the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. He broke every speeding record he’d ever set on the way to Hope Springs and had just sat down on the porch when Jace came out of the house.
“You’re awake awfully early. Did you put a pot of coffee on?” Jace asked.
“Not yet. Had the dust storm stopped when you got home?” Brody answered.
“Only lasted about an hour, but that was enough. Kasey got home and then Paul and Gracie came in about ten minutes after her with the kids. They were going to keep them longer but Emma’s bandage fell off and she wanted her mama. I got involved in a television movie and didn’t go to bed until midnight,” Jace answered.
“Reckon we ought to get back inside and get a pot of coffee going. Kasey is an old bear if it’s not ready first thing when she gets to the kitchen.” Brody stood up, stretched, and rolled his neck to get the kinks out.
Jace frowned. “You were wearing that shirt when you left last evening. Where did you spend the night?”
“A cowboy does not kiss and tell.”
“You better not let Mama— Speak of the devil.” Jace pointed to the truck coming down the lane.
“Let Mama what?” Brody groaned when he saw Valerie’s bright red truck coming toward the house.
“Hey, I’m just sayin’ and I don’t have to spell it out for you. I can see the way you look at Lila but remember, she leaves at the end of summer. We ain’t kids anymore and Mama has never liked her. Family gets complicated.”
Brody waved when the truck came to a stop. “I wonder what she’s doing here at dawn.”
“Have no idea but Granny is in the passenger seat.”
Brody quickly crossed the yard and opened the door for his grandmother. “Y’all are sure out early this mornin’.”
“I left my cell phone in the kitchen. We’re on our way to have breakfast at the café and then we’re going to the cemetery to get the family graves in shape before it gets hot this mornin’,” Hope said.
“Want me to run inside and find your phone? Why didn’t you holler? I’d have brought it to you.”
“Didn’t know it was missin’ until this mornin’. It’s really your grandpa’s phone. I had mine so I could make calls but I carry his around with me,” Hope explained. “He had some pictures of the two of us together on it and sometimes…” Her voice cracked. “Yes, please go get it for me.”
“Be right back,” Brody said.
“Whoa! Before you leave, I heard that you had ice cream with Lila last night. What’s goin’ on?” Valerie asked.
“Sure was a demon dirt storm last night.” He smiled.
“Don’t change the subject. I want answers.” Valerie crawled out of the vehicle and got right into his face.
“Answer is that I had ice cream with Lila and Kasey and the kids. Paul and Gracie were there too. I’m not sure what’s going on but I’ve still got a lot of feelings for Lila and I intend to see where they go before she leaves at the end of the summer.”
She looked like she could chew up railroad spikes and spit out staples right at him. “I won’t have it, Brody.”
“It’s not your call, Mama. I’ve invited her to the Fourth of July festival.”
Valerie inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “I don’t like it one bit.”
“Well, I don’t like it that you’re being obstinate about something that’s in the past,” he shot back.
She crossed her arms over her chest just like Emma had done. Females! Didn’t matter how old or young they were, they could be a handful.
“You’re just like your daddy. He’d argue with a damn stop sign,” Valerie said.
“Get back in the truck, Valerie,” Hope yelled out the window. “He’s not a little boy. He can make his own decisions and live with the consequences.”
“Thank you, Granny. Sure you don’t have time to come in for a cup?”
“No thanks. I’ve got my heart set on some of Molly’s sausage biscuits this morning,” Hope answered. “We’ll visit later. And don’t forget, the Dawson family reunion is this Saturday.”
Brody shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’m lookin’ forward to it. Jace and I will be over Thursday evening to help Jack get the barn ready. If y’all need anything between now and then, just yell. And I’m giving you a heads-up, Mama. I intend to ask Lila to be my date for that too.”
“Well, crap!” Valerie got back into the vehicle.
Brody jogged to the house and brought out the phone, handed it to Hope, and took a step back. “See y’all later.”
Valerie kept her eyes straight ahead and didn’t even acknowledge him. Hope gave him a broad wink and a big smile.
“I love you, too, Mama!” Brody yelled as she drove away. Then he crossed the yard and flopped down on the porch beside his brother.
“You totally forgot that this was the week for the family reunion, right? Lila is messin’ with your brain. I can’t believe that you fought with Mama like that,” Jace chuckled. “Jack called this mornin’ to remind me about the reunion. Are you really going to ask Lila to be your date?”
“Jack is a good foreman. We’d have never made it without him when Daddy died,” Brody said. “And, yes, I’m going to ask Lila.”
Lila reached out to wrap her arms around Brody but all she got was an armful of pillow and covers. Her eyes popped open wide and her heart fell to her knees. Same ole, same ole! A booty call and then gone when she awoke. What ever made her think he would change? In the past, it had been necessary. If her mother had caught them sleeping together, her hot temper would have burned down the café. But now they were adults and her mother was in Pennsylvania for God’s sake.
Her alarm sounded and she hit the button to turn it off and crawled out of bed. More than a little angry, she headed toward the bathroom, took a quick shower, and then with only a towel around her body, she padded back to her room. Her phone pinged when she was tugging on a pair of jeans, but she ignored it. If it was Brody, she wasn’t ready to talk to him. When she was fully dressed and had her long black hair pulled into a ponytail, it pinged again.
Sure enough, there were six messages from Brody. The first one said: Call me.
The last one said: We have to talk. I can explain.
“There is no explainin’,” Lila muttered on the way to the café kitchen. Duke and Cora were sleeping together on the sofa, but she didn’t take time to stop and pet them.
She pasted a smile on her face even if she didn’t have one in her heart. “Good mornin’, Molly!”
“I’m not Molly but good mornin’ to you.” Her mother pulled a pan of biscuits from the oven, set them on the cabinet, and then opened her arms. “Surprise!”
“Wow.” Lila’s heart skipped a beat and then raced. Sweet Jesus! Was that what Brody wanted to explain? She walked into her mother’s arms and hugged her tightly. “When did you get here and where’s Molly?”
“Five minutes until we open the doors and there’s already trucks out there in the parking lot, so you get the short version. I wanted to see you, so Molly and I hatched a plan. I’d get into the airport at the same time she did and she’d loan me her vehicle for a week. She’s going to Florida for a test to see if she likes it there. I came here for the same reason. We meet again next Monday evening at the airport.”
Lila was speechless but finally found enough voice to at least ask, “And what time did you get here?”
“About five this morning. I knocked on your bedroom door but you didn’t wake up. Thought I heard you as I headed toward the kitchen to get things going, but it must’ve been those two kittens runnin’ around. Cute little fluff balls, by the way.” Daisy stepped away from Lila and stirred a pot full of sausage gravy.
Lila’s phone vibrated in her hip pocket. She pulled it out to see another text from Brody: Have you gone to the kitchen yet?
Her thumbs moved like lightning: Yes. No explaining necessary.
His came back: Thanks. Call you later.
She headed toward the dining room to turn on the lights, adjust the thermostat, and open the door for business. How did you get this number?
Lights on and she was flipping the sign around when she got the next one: Stole it after you went to sleep.
She sent a smiley face and tucked the phone back into her pocket.
The first two people to enter the café were Valerie Dawson and her mother, Hope. Lila hoped neither of them heard her quick intake of air and that they didn’t know where Brody had spent last night.
“Good mornin’, Lila. We’re here for the pancake special that Molly makes on Tuesday mornin’s,” Hope said.
“What gets you ladies out this early?” she asked as she came to their table with two steaming mugs of coffee.
“We’re makin’ sure the Dawson graves are cleaned up. The family likes to go to the cemetery while they’re here for the reunion.” Valerie’s tone had a definite chill to it.
“Hey, I saw a black cat out there in the cemetery. Y’all ever seen it?” she asked.
“That would be Chester O’Riley’s old cat. He lives in the house right beside the graveyard,” Hope said. “I heard that you got a couple of kittens out at Henry’s old barn.”
Lila nodded. “Cora and Duke. One is black and the other is white. Cute little things.”
“Speakin’ of Henry’s barn, did you or Daisy ever hear anything about where he went when he left Happy?” Hope asked.
It seemed strange that Hope was eager to engage her in conversation when Valerie’s whole body language said that she’d rather be talking to the devil than to Lila.
“Mama told me about him leaving town but it went in one ear and out the other. I hadn’t thought of him until I came back this summer,” Lila said.
“To answer your question, we have no idea where he went or why.” Daisy pushed through the swinging doors that separated the kitchen and dining room. “How are y’all doin’ this mornin’?”
“Daisy Jo.” Valerie shot icy looks toward Daisy.
“Valerie.” Daisy nodded. “I haven’t been called that since I left Texas.”
“Well, you’ll always be Daisy Jo to us. That’s what your mama called you,” Hope said. “I came for pancakes and crispy bacon and a side order of biscuits and gravy. And what are you doing in town? Coming back for good?”
“I don’t know yet. Molly is decidin’ if she really wants to leave. I’m decidin’ if I want to return. It’s a test. What do you want, Valerie?”
“For Molly to stay and you to go,” Valerie said without a hint of a smile.
“Well, some things never change, but I was talkin’ about food,” Daisy said.
“I’ll have the big country breakfast with three eggs,” Valerie answered.
Daisy propped her hands on the table and leaned in until her nose was only inches from Valerie’s. “Just for your information, I’m not in the market for a husband, a significant other, a boyfriend, or even someone to date, so if you’re seeing someone, he is totally safe.”
“That is enough,” Hope said. “Good God, y’all are both well past fifty years old and you’re actin’ like a couple of teenagers. Get over it, Valerie! And, Daisy Jo, you stop bein’ bitchy.”
“Mama!” Valerie gasped.
“Hope!” Daisy’s voice went high and squeaky.
“We’ll have those orders right out.” Lila looped her arm in Daisy’s and led her to the kitchen. “What just happened?”
“She accused me of trying to seduce Mitch Dawson in high school and she’s never gotten over it and neither have I.”
Lila bit back a giggle. “So that’s why she didn’t want me and Brody to date. Because you were still mad at his dad.”
“Maybe.” Daisy poured pancake batter on the grill. “But I didn’t want you dating Brody either. I’d rather see you in a convent as married to a Dawson.”
“Why?” Lila asked.
“They all think they are only a notch below God and the angels and you’d spend your whole life tryin’ to be what they want you to be rather than who you are. We’ve got a whole week to have this conversation. Take this to them and if Valerie asks, I did not poison her eggs but I might next time.”
“Well, you sure flunked this test with flying colors.” Lila smiled.
“Or I passed it. I’m not moving back here and it didn’t take a week to make me figure it out,” Daisy said.
“I’m surprised that you stayed as long as you did with the kind of anger you two have,” Lila said.
Daisy shook a spoon at her. “Don’t get me started.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lila picked up the orders and got the heck out of the kitchen.