“I don’t think…” Dana hesitated then spoke clearly. “It doesn’t bother me. Mark was my friend in high school before I fell in love with his older brother. And Mark’s been away from Rocky for so long, it’s not as if— Well, honestly, it feels as if he’s a bit of a stranger come to town, and I’m curious about him.”
Hope leaned forward and spoke softly. “Did you actually have a question, Auntie Dana? Because it sounds like you’re interested, but you’re worried someone will react badly to what you’re considering.”
Dana nodded slowly. “Do you think that’s silly? I’m sixty years old, with grown children and grandchildren and plenty of things to occupy my time. I’ve had a husband—I don’t know that I want another one.”
“Sixty years old is still young enough to want a good, close friend you like spending time with.” Hope said it with a decisive nod.
“And if you don’t want another husband, you don’t have to marry him.” Becky shrugged. “Date him. You can even fool around—we won’t tell.”
Hope snickered. “You are so bad.”
“Well, speaking bluntly, I plan to be having sex with Trevor when I’m sixty years old. I don’t see any reason why Auntie Dana shouldn’t have somebody nice in her world to enjoy that with.” Becky’s cheeks were also flaming red, but the sentiment was sincere.
“And on that note, we’ve officially gone well into the area where my daughters-in-law would have never dared venture, so thank you,” Dana said with her own embarrassed smile. “You’re right, on all counts. Now I’ll ask you to forget that this conversation ever took place. Especially the last part.”
“Already forgotten, although I’m very glad you came to us and didn’t go to Jaxi or Ashley for advice.”
Becky laughed loud enough Arabella’s arms shot out in surprise. “No, they would’ve been a little more blunt.”
“Oh, dear.”
Amusement danced in the room, the three of them from such different backgrounds, with different sadness in their pasts and yet sweet happiness in their current lives.
And for one, hopeful potential hovering so close.
Whatever it was that Auntie Dana was looking for, Hope wished her nothing but joy.
18
The past two months had felt like an eternity.
Dana had spent every minute of it with her mind whirling through questions and possibilities. To say that Mark’s arrival had been a shock was an understatement.
Back in March, she had only begun to ease toward the bigger changes she needed to make. Ben had been dead for over three years, and while sadness rushed in at times, she refused to lie to herself. There were moments when she was grateful he was gone. The man she’d fallen in love with had been missing for a long time. Not her fault, and not what she wanted, but it was real.
She’d grieved long before she’d watched his casket lowered into the ground.
And now, nearly two months after she’d stumbled into Mark at Becky’s house, it was time to admit another truth.
Dana picked up the phone and called him.
“Hello?”
“Hi. It’s Dana.”
It was a soft curse, a pause, then a loud clatter that had her jerking the phone away from her ear.
When he came back on the line, Mark sounded slightly breathless. “Sorry. Dropped the phone. Good to hear from you. Everything okay with the kids?”
Dana held in her amusement. “Since you’re probably working with Gabe, I’m sure you got apprised this morning about exactly how everyone’s doing.”
“I haven’t seen Gabe today.” Then Mark chuckled. “Although Rafe left about half an hour ago, so yeah. I’m up to date.”
“Why are you working for the ranch?” It was the one point Dana had gotten hung up on over and over again and still not been able to figure out. “You left Rocky because you didn’t want to work the ranch anymore.”
“It was a little more complicated than that, Dana.”
“Then uncomplicate it.” It might be an unreasonable request, but she no longer cared.
“It’s not a conversation I’m willing to have over the phone,” he returned.
Dana took a deep breath for courage and pushed ahead. “Then I guess you need to have a private conversation with me in person sometime soon.”
That was as bold as she could get. Even knowing she wanted to explore these feelings inside, she simply couldn’t—
Thankfully, Mark picked up the reins and ran with it. “Tonight. Dinner in town.”
“Darts at the pub,” she countered. If she was going to do this, it wasn’t going to be at a quiet dinner table the first go-round. That would be too intimate. “Drinks, if you still drink.”
A long, low chuckle carried over the line. “Traders? That’s fine by me. And once we’ve done some talking, we can try a round or two on the dance floor. I promise I won’t step on your toes too much.”
“You were the only one in our class who didn’t step on my toes,” Dana admitted. “Dear God, high school phys ed classes were a long time ago.”
“Don’t look that direction,” Mark ordered. “Our date is five hours from now, which is way too long, but thankfully getting closer by the second.”
Dana hesitated.
“This is a date,” Mark repeated. “Which means I’ll pick you up at the house. Six-thirty?”
She was a teenager again, with everything from the flutter in her stomach to the goose bumps rising on her skin. “Six-thirty.”
After hitting the end of the call, Dana stared out the window for a good half hour before she had herself together enough to be able to go on with her day.
Neither Rafe nor Laurel seemed to suspect anything, even though she rushed through dinner and dishes in order to slip back into her room to get ready.
When she came out, the living space was empty, both her son and daughter-in-law having vanished. Good for them. They’d probably appreciate her not being around for an evening.
Her living situation dilemma struck again. It was more than time to move on in that area as well—this house was old and too filled with memories, good and bad. She didn’t want to live there anymore. But she didn’t want Rafe and Laurel to feel they had to, either. If anyone deserved a fresh start, it was her kids.
She was so deep in thought, the knock on the door made her pull up sharply.
Mark stood on the front porch, a paper bag in one hand and a grin on his face that said he was very pleased to be there. “Hey.”
She gestured the man in. “I need my coat.”
“Trade you,” he said holding forward the bag and taking her coat from where it was draped over the chair by the door. “I made you cookies. Chocolate chip with macadamia nuts.”
Dana peeked in the package, somewhat shocked. “You made them?”
“With my own little hands,” Mark agreed as she put them carefully on the side table near the door. Then he held out her coat, and she slipped it on, intensely aware of how near he was. The feel of him nearly wrapping his arms around her as he settled the shoulders in place.
Then he stepped back and politely waited until she’d done everything up and slipped her shoes on.
The trip to Traders passed quicker than she’d imagined. Mark asked what she’d been up to, but when she answered with a typical “worked around the house,” and figured that would be enough, he clicked his tongue.
“Didn’t ask out of politeness,” he said softly. “I asked because I’m honestly interested.”
“I don’t know that how I spent my day is honestly interesting,” she returned.
“Sometimes the stuff we do isn’t fascinating but still needs to be done.” He glanced over. “After you called, I had to finish the task list that Blake put me on over at Whiskey Creek. But I was thinking about you a lot, and that’s when I figured I wanted to have something to bring with me. So I ran into the house and got a batch of cookies going, then ran out and did some more of my chores, then ran back in when the timer on my watch we
nt off.”
She laughed. “George must’ve thought you were out of your mind.”
“George thought I had a hankering for cookies, and since I left him a dozen, he wasn’t about to complain.” Mark glanced to the side again. “Now your turn. After you called, what were you working on?”
She wasn’t going to tell him about the daydreaming, the thought of his voice combined with the memory of how good he looked in that T-shirt stretching over his broad shoulders the evening he’d stopped in at dinner unexpectedly at Allison’s house—
The man was built in all the right ways.
“I spent a couple of hours going over information for Allison. She needed an update on garden produce harvest times from the past few years so she can give it to their chef for plotting out menus.” After that her day got really boring. “Then I made dinner. Laurel’s working at the library, and Rafe you see all over the place helping with the Coleman spread. So I told them while we were sharing a home, I didn’t mind being chief cook and bottle washer. Laurel does most of the groceries, and Rafe washes up more times than not, but it’s only right that I do my part.”
“How does it work, sharing a house with your kids?”
She’d answered this one more than a few times over the past years. “It’s not ideal, but I say that more for their sake than mine. Laurel is wonderful, and she never makes it feel as if I’m intruding in her home. It’s been sweet to see them grow from best friends into a solid couple.”
“They were friends in school?”
So many stories he didn’t know. Dana glanced over, examining his profile. “From kindergarten on. Those two got in so much trouble together over the years, I kind of figured they got married to keep on making mischief more conveniently.”
“Gabe said he and Allison also went to school together.” His smile was visible even as he focused straight ahead at the road in front of them. Wildly hinting that having been friends in school should lead to more…?
She focused back on his earlier question. “I’m trying to figure out the house thing. After Ben died, I was glad I didn’t have to be alone. But I think this might be a good time to make a move. At some point, Rafe and Laurel need a place of their own.”
“You want to move out?” He pulled into Traders, the place full enough that they had to park at the far end of the lot. “Hang on until I’m there.”
Dana paused in the middle of opening her door, wondering at the bubbles popping in her gut.
Up until now, it had been a slightly awkward yet normal exchange, but as Mark opened her door and helped her down, these were most definitely date feelings she was experiencing.
Mark held out his elbow, and she wrapped her fingers around his biceps, the position closing the gap between them as he led her across the parking lot. He picked up the conversation again. “So, are you house hunting?”
She shook her head. “I considered building a small place, sort of like Gabe made himself at the start. You can see where they’ve added on to his original cabin. But then I think about it harder, and if anyone should have a new house, it should be Laurel and Rafe.”
“Why not both? You and them?”
Dana laughed. “Because that doesn’t fit the budget.”
He pulled open the pub door. She walked in ahead of him, this side of the pub with multiple tables and seating areas, the pool tables at the back of the room. The volume was a low buzz instead of the high roar found on the dance hall side, so the sudden swell of voices was unexpected.
“Well, damn.” Mark tugged her little closer, helping her catch her balance when she realized the entire middle section of Traders was filled with Colemans.
Dana glanced at him. “I didn’t tell anyone.”
He shook his head. “Not me. Damn Coleman hive mind.”
An instant later, his oldest brother stood in front of them. Mike grinned as he glanced between them. “What can I get you to drink?”
It was not at all what she had expected, but after that initial panic-induced moment when she realized there would be no keeping any secrets from the family, Dana discovered she appreciated the interference.
Mark brought her to the table and sat next to her, the pair side by side as friendly banter swirled around them. Mike and Marion, Randy and Kate. George chatted with Daniel and Beth Coleman from the Six Pack side, while Mike’s twins and their wives circled around the activity. The girls drank pop while Jesse and Joel hovered protectively, hands resting on pregnant bellies every now and then.
It was relaxing, except that every time Mark moved, his thigh nudged against hers and shivers slid up Dana’s spine. That same thrill hadn’t gone away just because she’d gotten older.
And when he leaned close, his whisker-roughened cheek brushing past hers as he whispered, “Would you like to dance?” in her ear, literal goose bumps hit.
Maybe the family thought they’d been interfering, but the short interlude of being absolutely surrounded and supported had been exactly what she needed. The perfect dose of connection to shake away the fear and uncertainty.
She wanted this. So she should take it.
Clearly to his utter shock, Dana caught Mark’s hand then tugged him to his feet before turning to the rest of them. “We’re going dancing. We don’t need chaperones.”
A lot of masculine chuckling followed her comment.
Dana ignored them all, keeping a tight grip on Mark’s hand. He followed her willingly across the room into the opposite side of the pub and onto the dance floor.
That first moment when he twisted her toward him and brought his arms around her—
She could barely breathe. Didn’t really want to. It was like opening a fresh page on a brand-new journal, with so many pristine, blank opportunities going forward. Part of her was afraid of making a mark, of doing something that would mar the experience.
He moved her against his body, swaying in time to the music, and it was so strangely familiar and right that fear slipped away, and happiness warmed her, inside and out. She wasn’t going to worry if she made a few mistakes. Hope had said it—Dana was allowed to want a good, close friend in her life who wasn’t family or someone who had been around forever.
Unfortunately, that also reminded her of the other comment made that day in the quilt shop. The bit about how she was also free to fool around, and more, if she wanted.
Her fingers rested on his firm shoulders, his hand on her waist. It was intimate, and yet when the next song dropped a pace, Mark’s low, rumbling laugh made the tingles strike harder.
He settled her the slightest bit closer, lips brushing her ear. “Relax, darlin’.”
“I thought I was,” she said, happy none of her current lustful thoughts snuck into her voice. “I’m not doing chores.”
He had both hands on her hips, sliding them down slightly until the ends of his long fingers rested against the upper swell of her butt. “Looks as if we need to practice a little more. Mr. Stevens would be very disappointed right now. You’re not applying yourself adequately, Ms. Tetrenko.”
The reminder of their high school gym teacher’s favourite phrase made her laugh. Her maiden name sounded odd after so many years. She chose to push aside both amusement and uneasiness and simply savour the moment. “Quiet. I need to count the beats.”
It was his turn to snicker, because that had been his comment back in the day. The fact that she’d remembered put a smile on her face.
It felt good to be in his arms. Truth be told, it felt better than she wanted it to feel, because for one strange, inexplicable moment, guilt slipped in.
That useless emotion was pushed away rapidly. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. Her husband was dead, and she didn’t need to be faithful to a memory. She was alive and deserved to live.
They were almost all the way home before she realized the whole reason she had given him for the evening out still had not been answered.
They were on the porch steps when she twisted toward him. “You said you would tell m
e why you’re ranching again when you left Rocky to avoid it.”
“Right.” He adjusted the collar of her coat, smoothing the lapels as he stared at her lips. “I was drawn to you, all those years ago. I didn’t move fast enough, though, so when you and Ben fell in love, I couldn’t say anything. It wasn’t your fault, and it wasn’t your responsibility, but I couldn’t stay and watch you build a life together.”
His words took a moment to sink in. To register. Then the shock of it hit, hard and quick. “You left because of me?”
Strong shoulders lifted in a gentle shrug. “I left because it was the right thing to do, for you and for Ben. It wasn’t the ranching I was running from,” he confessed.
She didn’t know what to say.
They stood, separated by mere inches, staring at each other. It had been a wonderful evening, more wonderful than Dana had hoped. His confession was a piano falling out of the sky and striking the ground with huge impact.
He had hold of one of her hands. “I want to kiss you.”
“Maybe I’m not the type to kiss on the first date.” She tried for lighthearted, but her pulse pounded in her throat.
His lips curled upward as he leaned toward her. “I’ve dreamed about this day for so long, it doesn’t count as a first date anymore.”
And then he was kissing her. Fingers strong under her chin, holding her steady as he brushed his lips over hers once, twice. A soft kiss followed, slowly deepening as his hand slid over her cheek and into her hair, cradling the back of her neck as he pulled their bodies tighter.
It had been forever since she’d been kissed with that kind of passion, that kind of gentleness. That kind of need.
Dana tangled her arms around his neck and jumped in with two feet. Accepting the worship he gave. Moaning as his tongue dipped between her lips, shivering as he pressed a hand against her lower back, and even through the layers, his arousal was clear. Every bit of him hard, a solid and unyielding man—
Who had taken time out of his day to make her cookies.
A man who even now was pulling back, breathing heavily, with fire in his eyes and yearning on his face as he put space between them.
Rocky Mountain Forever: Six Pack Ranch: Book 12 Page 15
