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it! She told herself. What had gotten into her?
She was so traumatized by her thoughts, she couldn’t even open her eyes. So what? No one knew what was going on inside her head. Those erotic, mental meanderings were hers and hers alone and would bring harm to no one.
Wrong.
This was a dangerous mind game she was playing—examining her life, including her loneliness and her need to be accepted and loved. Still, the images wouldn’t let go—of mouths, tongues, entwined, of kisses that sucked out the soul.
The phone proved merciful to her, ringing with a jarring clarity just then. Lurching up, heart palpitating and drenched in sweat, Kelly let go of a pent-up breath.
“God!” she whispered, mortified and confused. Loosening her robe, she reached for the receiver.
“Hey, kiddo, how’s it going?”
Ruth again. Although Kelly didn’t want to talk to her, she had no choice. Perhaps her cousin’s laughter was the antidote she needed to gather her scattered wits about her.
“How was the rest of the day?”
“Are you sure you want to know?” Kelly asked, a tremor in her voice.
“Uh-oh, something happen?”
“You might say so.”
“Hey, I don’t like the sound of that.” Ruth paused. “Okay, did the help quit?”
“No way. They love me.”
“Whew. That’s a relief. If you knew how hard it was for me to find those two, you’d be relieved, too.”
“I am. They’re great.”
“So, if the place is still standing and you’re selling the goods, what could be so bad?”
Kelly cleared her throat. “Do you know a farmer by the name of Grant Wilcox?”
Ruth laughed. “First off, he’s no farmer. He’s a forester.”
“Whatever.”
“They aren’t the same, cousin dear.”
“That’s a minor point, but I’ll concede.”
“Girl, he’s the hunk I was telling you about. Surely you figured that out.”
“I guessed as much.”
“So what do…did…you think?”
If only you knew. “He’s okay.”
“Just okay?” Ruth practically screeched. “I’m not believing you. He’s had every female in the county and surrounding ones try to get him down the aisle.” She paused with a laugh. “Without success, I might add.”
“That’s too bad. You of all people know I’m not interested in being with a farmer, for God’s sake.” Kelly found herself squirming on the sofa.
“Forester.”
Kelly ignored that. “What he is is a country bumpkin who probably prefers to hug trees rather than women.” She paused. “No offense intended.”
“None taken,” Ruth replied with more laughter. “I know how you feel about the country. Or should I say the woods?”
“They’re one and the same to me.”
“Uh, right. So back to Grant. What’s up with him?”
Kelly cleared her throat one more time, then told the unvarnished truth, leaving nothing out.
Afterward, there was silence on the other end of the line, then Ruth whooped like a banshee. “Oh, my God, I wish I’d been there to see that.”
“You mean you’re not furious at me?” Kelly asked in surprise.
“For being clumsy as a lame duck?”
“I have no leg to stand on,” Kelly said, “and no pun intended.”
Ruth whooped again.
Kelly simply held her silence, confused about her cousin’s reaction. “It sounds like you think he deserved what he got?”
“Not at all,” Ruth said, her voice still dripping with humor. “It’s just that he of all men—the county stud—got burned where it hurts most.”
“Ruth! I can’t believe you said that.”
“Well, isn’t that what you did?”
“He had on jeans, Ruth. Surely—”
“When it come to scalding liquid, jeans ain’t that thick. You can bet his gonads took a hit.”
“I guess they did,” Kelly admitted in a meek voice.
“Let’s just hope, for the sake of gals still chasing him, that his pride is just burned and not charred.”
“Ruth, I’m going to strangle you when I see you.”
Her cousin’s giggles increased.
“You’re making me feel awful.”
“Honey, don’t worry about it,” Ruth said. “Grant’s a survivor. He’ll be fine. He may never come back in the shop, but hey, that’s the way it goes. Other than emptying hot coffee in customers’ laps, how’s business?”
Later, after they had talked at length about the shop, Kelly finally made her way back into the kitchen, then heard a knock on the door. She stopped midstride, then turned around and headed back to the living room. Frowning, she opened the door, only to receive the shock of her life. Her mouth gaped open.
Grant stood on the porch with flowers in hand.
Before he said anything, she felt his gaze roam over her.
She tried to swallow, but it seemed her tongue had grown too large and was about to choke her.
“It’s obvious you’re not expecting company.” He shifted his feet. “But may I come in, anyway?”
Three
Kelly felt her breath grow shallow. Of course he couldn’t come in. There was no reason for him to be here. Certainly no reason for him to come in.
Yet she continued to stand with the door open, her common sense beginning to crack. Surely she wasn’t going to give in to this insanity.
She wasn’t even dressed, for heaven’s sake. She had nothing on under her robe, but at least it was made of thick terry cloth, impossible to see through.
Grant cocked his head and grinned. “These flowers are sure hankering for some water. I don’t know how much longer they’re going to survive.”
Kelly shook her head and smiled. “I noticed they are a little droopy.”
“See, I knew we were bound to agree on something.”
She gave him an exasperated look. “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re full of it?”
“Yep,” he said.
That nonchalant honesty was followed by a chuckle, a deep belly chuckle that sent Kelly’s already hammering pulse skyrocketing. It amazed her that this man aroused her sexual nature where others hadn’t. And not from their lack of trying, either.
Even so, she hadn’t looked at men through any eyes except passive ones for a long time.
So why was he different?
Kelly didn’t know. For more reasons than one—none of which she cared to analyze, especially with him camped on Ruth’s porch as if his boots had been embedded in concrete—he frightened her.
“How ’bout I promise just to stay long enough for you to put the posies in water.” It wasn’t a question, though his raised eyebrows made