Sophie couldn’t look Wade in the eye when he arrived at the police station offering her and her grandmother a ride home to Mountainview.
“You’re a saint, Wade,” Grans said, as he opened the back passenger door of his SUV to her.
He took her arm and helped her up into the back seat.
“I feel like Martha Stewart now I have an ankle monitor.”
“I’m guessing you’re a better cook than she is,” Wade said.
“Okay, make sure your legs are inside before I shut the door.”
Sophie slid in to the passenger seat at the same time as Wade got into the SUV. They almost bumped heads as they did so.
“This is just like old times, isn’t it?” Grans said. “The three of us back together. The first thing I’m going to do when I get home is take a nice long bath. I can still smell that jail cell on me. And the blankets, well, someone should tell them they need a good fabric softener. In fact, I might take them some tomorrow.”
Sophie and Wade glanced at one another, both on the verge of laughter but managed to keep it under control.
Wade pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the road leading to the edge of town and the shortest route back to the bed and breakfast.
“Wade, why don’t you stay and eat dinner with me and Sophie tonight?” Emily asked.
Wade gave a quick glance at Sophie.
“I’d love to, but I’ve already promised Cathy I’d have a meal with her. I’ll take a rain check if that’s okay.”
“It’s more than all right. In fact, how about tomorrow night?”
Wade slyly looked at Sophie again.
“That would be perfect,” he said.
“Good, and I’ll make all your favorites.”
“What about my favorites?” Sophie asked.
“If I remember you both always liked the same things,” said Emily.
It was Sophie's turn to glance at Wade. It was true they had liked all the same things. Food, movies and music.
“Is Cathy a good cook?” asked Emily.
Sophie couldn’t stand to listen to her name mentioned again. Shit, was this Karma paying her back big time? Wade had probably hated the name Travis for years. For all she knew he still might have an aversion to it.
“Emily, I tell you if I ever found a woman who can cook as well as you, she’d get a ring on her finger tomorrow.”
Sophie hoped Cathy was the worst cook in the world.
Emily slid forward and perched in the space between the two front seats before she spoke again.
“Maybe you should send her to my place for some cooking lessons. Well, that is, if that’s the only thing that’s stopping you from proposing,” Emily said.
Sophie turned the radio on, and it blasted throughout the SUV.
Wade flinched as Emily put both hands over her ears. Wade turned it down to a less painful level.
“That was very rude, Sophie,” Grans said.
“Sorry,” Sophie said, looking out of the window.
“At least you haven’t forgotten how to apologize,” Emily said.
Sophie knew Wade was looking at her again. She sighed with relief when she saw they were just a few hundred yards away from the entrance to Mountainview. Once inside she’d go up to her old room and get everything out of her system with a good cry.
She was first out of the car and held her grandmother’s arm hoping she could manage the step down from the SUV.
“It’s so nice to be home,” Emily said, taking a deep breath. “I’ve only been gone overnight, but I feel like I’ve been away for months.”
“I’d like to stop by tomorrow so we can talk about my investigation,” Wade said.
“Absolutely. Why don’t you drop by in the afternoon, and then you might as well stay if you’re having dinner with me and Sophie?”
“Sounds ideal. I’ll plan on that.”
Wade looked at his watch. “And if you don’t mind me just dropping you off and leaving, I’m already late for dinner with Cathy.”
“Of course, you run along to your honey,” Emily said.
He hugged her grandmother and gave her a peck on the cheek, and then looked at Sophie.
“See you tomorrow,” he said.
“Yes, have a nice evening,” Sophie said, almost having to force each of those words out of her mouth.
Her grandmother insisted they stand on the step to the entrance to Mountainview and wave until Wade’s SUV was out of sight.
She got hold of Sophie arm and squeezed it as they walked into the owner’s living quarters.
“Maybe I’m wrong, but I detected some tension between the two of you on the drive home.”
Sophie shook her head. “We’re getting on just fine.”
Sophie was about to walk away, which she knew was horrible because she hadn’t seen her grandmother for close to eight months.
Now they finally had a chance to visit with each other, but she needed time by herself for an hour or so.
However, her grandmother caught her hand and prevented her from walking another step.
“Sophie, I wasn’t talking about fighting tension. I sensed something romantic, not that’s not the word, it was sexual.”
“Grans!”
“Don’t you dare tell me I’m too old to remember what goes on between a man and woman.”
“There’s nothing going on between Wade and me.”
“Maybe not physically, but in your minds there’s something brewing.”
Sophie couldn’t argue about that. It was perfectly true. And now she wanted it to be so different.
“Have the two of you…well, you know.”
“I’ve only been home since yesterday.”
“But you’ve done something to cause the tension. I can sense it. And don’t think I didn’t see those little glances you were giving one another. They weren’t the sort old buddies do but two people who are just waiting for the moment that they can make love. And the loud music wasn’t a result of bad manners. I’ve taught you better than that. It was when Wade’s girlfriend was mentioned. I might not have got a good night’s sleep at that awful jail, but I’m alert enough to know you did it right after Cathy was brought into the conversation.”
“Okay, okay, we kissed, but that was all. Well, maybe done some hand holding, but just as friends.”
Without saying anything more Grans pulled Sophie in close to her and wrapped her arms around her so tight Sophie thought she’d suffocate. She hadn’t held her like this since she’d been a kid and had nightmares about her parents’ plane crashing.
“Sophie, my darling, one thing you have to realize is that Wade moved on a long time ago. He has a girlfriend now, and I’m thinking that maybe he’s ready to settle down and have a family. Seeing you might give him some ideas about rekindling things, but I know in the end he’ll never feel he can trust you, which means you’ll end up getting hurt, which in turn will break my heart. So please, please don’t give in to any temptations. Wade’s heart is meant for someone other than you now.”
Sophie didn’t answer but knew her grandmother’s words made perfect sense, every single one of them. She bit her lip as the first tear rolled down her cheek and bounced off her grandmother’s shoulder.
*****
Wade sat back on the chair and couldn’t eat another morsel. Cathy had really splurged on the meal, and he doubted anything was left in the deli at the supermarket.
“That was really good, thank you,” he said, placing his napkin on the table.
“Okay, Max, go and get your PJs on, and Wade will read you a story.”
“Do I have to go to bed so soon? I’m not sleepy tonight.”
Wade patted the boy on the head. He had dark hair like his mom and her brown eyes, too.
“Yes because Mommy and Wade need their alone time.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s what grownups want,” said Cathy. “Now off you go.”
Wade laughed as Max slid down from the chair without pulling it out from the table and went running out of the kitchen, his bare feet smacking against the wood floor.
“You have to remember we were his age once. I’m sure we wanted to stay up past our bedtime when company visited,” Wade said.
“I know, but he has to learn his mommy has her special time too,”
“I’m ready,” shouted Max.
“I hope this is a fun story,” said Wade standing.
He walked along the hallway and went into Max’s room where the boy was now in his PJs and sitting in the bed with a brown teddy bear beside him.
“Okay, so what story did you choose?”
“It’s in my backpack there, and it’s about a wizard.”
“I hope it’s not too scary for me,” Wade said. He lifted the book out from the blue bag and saw a wizard with a black robe and red hat carrying a yellow wand on its front cover. Wade sat down on the bed beside Max and opened it up to its first pages.
“Okay, you ready?” Max nodded.
“In a dark forest….”
Wade glanced at Max as he continued with the story and saw the little boy’s eyes starting to flutter. Wade didn’t know why, but he just thought of Sophie. If they’d had children together what would they look like? Would they be dark haired like Wade or favor Sophie’s light locks?
He stopped reading for a second and closed his eyes. He wanted to be in this very position reading to his and Sophie’s children. It scared him because it was something that more than likely would never happen, but seeing her again had given him just a silver of hope that it might.
“You’ve stopped read…”
With that Max fell asleep. Wade closed the book and was about to tip-toe out but realized he wanted to stay in the safely of Max’s room. Out in the living room Cathy would be waiting for him. She’d want to have sex. Before Sophie’s return, he’d had no problem granting Cathy her wish, but now he didn’t think he could make love to another woman. If he did he’d think of Sophie all the time they were having sex which wouldn’t be fair to Cathy, or him for that matter. But would she understand?
Probably not. And yes, he could be throwing away a relationship on the chance that Sophie would want to renew theirs. Sure, she’d shown physical signs, but she was grown up now, a woman, had needs and maybe all she’d be looking for was sex with him. She’d sleep with him just to see what she’d missed by going off with Travis, and then back home to Seattle she’d go. He couldn’t stand a broken heart again. The last time had almost destroyed him.
He wouldn’t be strong enough to pick himself up and start all over again a second time around.
Wade stood, regretting that a floorboard had creaked. He checked on Max. He was still asleep. Wade put the book on the bookshelf and turned off the light.
Yeah, maybe he shouldn’t throw away what he’d started with Cathy. She could be his last chance of having a family. Plus, he’d have a readymade one with Max, whom he thought a sweet kid.
Wade crept out the door and closed it as silently as possible. As he walked by Cathy’s room he spotted her lying on the bed in her bathrobe. She beckoned to him. He swallowed. He had to think and think soon if he was going through with this. He walked into the room.
“Shut the door just in case Max wakes up?”
Wade did, and as he turned Cathy took off the robe and threw it onto the floor. She was more tanned than she had been during their weekend away. Wade guessed she’d been using the tanning bed at the salon.
“You just going to stand there and look, or are you coming over to fool around with me?”
Wade was caught between those two places again. Being with Cathy, hoping she was the answer to his future happiness, and Sophie, who he wanted to be with, but would he be taking a big risk?
Cathy got off the bed, walked toward him and got hold of his hands and placed them over her breasts. When she’d done that at the hotel it had given him an instant erection, but tonight his dick didn’t even twitch.
Next she kissed him and pushed his hand down onto her mound.
Still nothing.
Even when she unzipped his fly and put her hand inside and ran it over his cock, nothing.
Wade swallowed.
“Who is Mr. Floppy tonight?”
Cathy squeezed his balls but still no reaction.
He swallowed again. Looks like she was going to be out of luck anyway. He was temporarily impotent. Shit, he’d never had that happen, ever.
“Am I going to get fucked tonight or what?” asked Cathy, running her hand along his shaft again. She bit his bottom lip as she squeezed its head.
Wade closed his eyes. What was he going to do? He’d give something a try, and then he’d have the answer.
It was Sophie who was naked before him. Sophie’s hand buried inside his boxers. Sophie’s delicate hand entwined around his cock. He could see her standing before him with her beautiful body waiting for him. And that’s all it took for the mother of all erections. In fact, he almost lost it there and then.
“Now that’s more like it, cowboy.”
She tugged his jeans and boxers down his legs and pulled him onto the bed.
He was about to do something he’d probably regret later.