A Reunion and a Ring. GINA WILKINS
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with me. The bags are out in my car. I was going to try to find a market for some fresh food if I decided to stay the full three days, but I...”
“I have food,” he broke in curtly. “The kitchen’s stocked. Help yourself to anything you find in the cabinets or pantry. I doubt there’s anything salvageable in the fridge. I’m not hungry, but I’d take coffee if you want to make it while I wash up. There’s a French press in the cabinet by the stove.”
“Are you still running a fever?” She resisted an impulse to step forward and touch his face. He hadn’t seemed to like that last night. It was probably best to keep the touching to a minimum, anyway, while they were stranded here together.
“I’m fine.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him entirely, but figured it would be a waste of time to argue. Or even to point out that a man with an injured shoulder probably shouldn’t be out in the rain clearing storm debris.
He disappeared into his bedroom. After folding away the sleeper sofa and neatly stacking the sheets and pillows, Jenny rummaged in the kitchen. She filled the kettle with water and when it boiled she made the coffee, then two bowls of instant oatmeal she found in the pantry. A few bananas were turning brown on the counter, so she sliced a couple on top of the oatmeal and set the steaming bowls and mugs on the table. She’d just taken her seat when Gavin joined her again. He hadn’t changed, but he’d tried to clean the mud splatters on his clothes, leaving damp, streaked spots behind. She had to glance quickly down at her oatmeal to hide any hint of the feminine appreciation that flooded unbidden through her again. She was really going to have to put a stop to this, she thought irritably.
“I said I’m not hungry.” He dropped into his chair and studied the oatmeal with a scowl, proving himself to be just as grouchy as she was feeling. Was it possible he was dealing with some of the same unwelcome emotions she was trying to suppress?
She shrugged and answered with outward nonchalance. “Don’t eat it, if you don’t want it. I’ll have yours for seconds. But it’s there if you think you need to fuel up before doing any work outside today.”
After a moment, he heaved a gusty sigh and picked up his spoon. “Fine.”
She smothered a smile by stuffing a spoonful of oatmeal and bananas into her mouth. After washing it down with a sip of the passable coffee, she tried to ease the tension between them with small talk. “When did you buy the cabin?”
“My dad bought it nearly seven years ago. When he died five years later, I ended up with it.”
She replied with genuine sympathy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your dad. He was a good man.”
Gavin nodded. “He was.”
“How’s your mother?”
“She’s well, thanks. Yours?”
“Still working as a nurse in a hospital in Little Rock.” Her mother had liked Gavin, and had been openly disappointed when Jenny broke up with him.
“And your grandmother? Still living?”
Her grandmother, on the other hand, had not approved of Gavin, and the antipathy had been reciprocal. Jenny could still hear the faint edge of resentment in his voice, though the question had been civil enough. She focused on her breakfast when she said, “Still feisty as ever.”
He responded to that understatement with a grunt.
Maybe that subject was a bit too touchy still. She changed it quickly. “How’s Holly?”
“Married to an air force pilot. They’ve got two boys, Noah and Henry, six and four. They’re living in Illinois at the moment. Scott Air Force Base.”
An only child herself, Jenny had always been somewhat envious of the warm relationship Gavin had with his older sister. They’d gotten along amazingly well for siblings. During the time Jenny had spent with them, there had always been friends of Gavin’s and Holly’s around, usually engaged in good-natured but fierce competitions—basketball or softball or flag football, or spirited board games indoors. The memory of all that fun and laughter made her throat tighten as she studied the unsmiling, hard-looking man across the table. It had taken a lot worse than a college breakup to leave those dark shadows within his navy eyes.
“How do you like being an uncle?”
She was pleased to see a shadow of his old grin flit across his firm lips. “The boys tend to think of me as an automatic treat dispenser. Tug at my jeans and candy magically emerges from my pocket. Holly says it’s a good thing I don’t see them often or she’d have to put a stop to it. As it is, she turns a blind eye. She knows I won’t overdo it. And I always get them to work up a sweat to burn off the extra sugar.”
An image of him roughhousing with two cute little boys distracted her for several moments. As prickly as he could sometimes be with adults, Gavin had always liked kids, and the feeling had been mutual. She would bet he was the kind of uncle who would roll in the dirt with his nephews, let them climb all over him, sticky fingers and all.
Thad would be more likely to teach his nephews, if he had any, to play chess. Which would also be quite cute, she assured herself quickly, feeling a vague, totally unjustified ripple of guilt course through her, as if she’d been disloyal.
Gavin changed the subject. “What are you doing these days?”
“I own a fashion and accessories boutique in Little Rock.”
“What’s it called?”
“Complements.”
He nodded. “I’ve heard of the place. Someone I dated briefly shopped there a lot.”
“That’s good to hear. That she liked my store, I mean.”
He chuckled drily. “She complained about the high prices, but she still shopped there enough to max out her credit cards.”
“We carry high-end merchandise,” Jenny replied without apology. “Designer items that can’t be found in the local department stores.”
“Yes, well, it’s been a year or so since I’ve seen her, but I’m sure she’s still a loyal customer.”
Judging from his dispassionate tone, she doubted he’d been particularly invested in the relationship. If the woman was a regular patron at Complements, it was entirely possible Jenny knew her, but she had no intention of asking him. It was none of her business who Gavin had dated since she’d last seen him. Nor if he was dating anyone seriously now. Just as she saw no reason to discuss Thad with him.
He pushed away his empty bowl and picked up his coffee cup. “So you accomplished your lifelong goal. You own your own successful business. I assume you obtained an MBA, as well? That was always the plan, wasn’t it?”
She felt her chin rise in instinctive irritation, and she lowered it deliberately, keeping her expression composed. “Yes. I’m planning to open a second store in the next few months. I love my work.”
Which was absolutely true—and another reason she was having trouble deciding whether to accept Thad’s proposal, she thought somberly. Marrying Thad would change her life significantly. Though he’d always expressed his respect and admiration for her business achievements, he’d been quite candid about what he was looking for in a life partner. Supporting his political aspirations was high on his list of attributes in a mate. To keep up with the demands of that undertaking, she’d either have to sell her business eventually or at the very least turn over most of the daily operations to employees. After spending so much time tenaciously building her clientele and reputation, it was hard to contemplate putting Complements in the hands of anyone else.
None of which she was going to discuss with Gavin, of course. She sipped her rapidly cooling coffee, then set the cup on the table. “So, you did what you wanted, as well. You became a police officer.”
She hadn’t forgotten that he’d once wanted that career more than he’d