Magnolia Summer

by Jaci Burton

  “She ran, Katie. Not only did she ignore me most of my life, but she ran away from home and never came back. And she ran after a man.” She didn’t even know if her mother was still alive. Not that it mattered anymore. Susie Lake Weston had ceased being Jordan’s mother a long time ago.

  “It’s ancient history, Jordan. I know it still hurts…always will. But you can’t let it dictate your life. Tell me how this affects you and Sam.”

  “I’ve never been seriously involved in a relationship, Katie. The men I’ve been with haven’t attracted me in the least. They were…”

  “Safe?”

  Jordan smiled. “Yeah. Safe. They couldn’t hurt me unless I cared about them. So I purposely dated men I had no emotional attachment to.”

  “Because of your mother.”

  “Right. I didn’t want to be like her, and I’m afraid I will be. I can tell with Sam. He makes me crazy, Katie. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, all I can think about is him. I want him so badly it hurts. And frankly, that scares the living hell out of me.”

  Katie took her hands and squeezed them. “You’re not your mother. Nothing like her, in fact. I know what she did, everyone in town does. She was just a lost soul searching for some ideal that didn’t exist. I’ve seen it happen before. And Sam is most definitely not like any of those guys your mom ran after. She chased losers. He’s anything but a loser.”

  Jordan stood and walked over to the window, watching the late afternoon sun drift lazily over the town’s Main Street. She crossed her arms and leaned against the window frame. Then she turned to Katie, unable to keep the pain from her voice.

  “Logically, I know that. But in my heart I can’t help but feel the same thing will happen to me that happened to my mother. Not one single man committed to her in the way she wanted. None of them loved her like she wanted to be loved. I think she set up unattainable expectations. I’d rather not get involved at all than risk becoming like her. I don’t want to have those needs, those desires. If I don’t have them, they can’t hurt me.”

  Katie rose and walked over to Jordan, her sympathetic smile comforting.

  “Don’t you know that anyone worth loving is worth risking your heart for? Let me tell you something. I’ve known Sam Tanner my whole life. I’ve seen both his good side as well as his bad. And I saw what being married to Penny did to him. She was worthless, and couldn’t appreciate a man like Sam if her life depended on it.”

  “Why didn’t their marriage work?”

  “It wasn’t for lack of trying on Sam’s part. He stuck with her as long as he could, much longer than any of us thought he should. And he was faithful as the day is long, Jordan. This is a small town, believe me if he wasn’t we’d all know about it.”

  Jordan couldn’t help but smile. She knew all about small-town grapevines. Once one person found out about something, everybody in town knew in less than twenty-four hours.

  “He didn’t want to hurt her, even though she was hurting him. A man like Sam makes a commitment and sticks with it. He’s nothing like the men your mother ran after. Give him a chance.”

  Again, Sam surprised her. She couldn’t picture him as a devoted husband, and definitely couldn’t see him putting up with the kind of woman his ex-wife was. But that didn’t mean he was right for her. And what difference did it make anyway? She wasn’t staying in Magnolia. At best a relationship with Sam would be nothing more than a summer fling.

  “I don’t know if I can.” She looked down at the floor, ashamed to admit her cowardice to Katie.

  Katie took her by the shoulders, forcing her look up. “Look, spend some time with him. Get to know him instead of judging him by who you think he is. He comes off like a big sexist bully sometimes, but that’s simply his way of hiding his pain. He’s a true gentleman if you get past his bravado, Jordan. And if nothing else, just get out and have some fun while you’re here. There’s no harm in doing that, and no commitment is required.”

  In her heart she knew Katie was right. Sam was nothing like the men her mother chased. But they also had two completely different lifestyles. She didn’t want to change hers, and Sam was happy where he was.

  Still, what was the harm in spending a little time with Sam while she was here? Once they stopped biting each other’s heads off, they actually enjoyed each other’s company. And they definitely had chemistry. Explosive chemistry. If she could just concentrate on the physical, she might actually have some fun.

  Finally she relaxed her shoulders, the tension easing. “I’ll think about what you said.”

  Katie gathered her things, and Jordan opened the front door for her.

  “Thanks, Katie,” Jordan said as she leaned against the door. “I haven’t had a friend in a long time. I’ve missed you.”

  Katie reached out and hugged her. “I’ve missed you too. And as far as Sam, maybe I just see something that you can’t see.” Laying her hand on Jordan’s arm, she added, “Open your eyes, honey. What you need is right in front of you.”

  * * * * *

  Sam’s truck was right in front as Jordan pulled up to the house. He was loading it up with his tools, apparently finished with his work for the day.

  She thought about everything Katie said during the drive home from the theater, and decided her friend was at least partially right. She may not want to have a permanent relationship with Sam, but she could certainly no longer deny her attraction to him. What was wrong with having a little fun?

  People had sex without commitment all the time. She’d certainly done it before, and commitment had been the farthest thing from her mind. This was her chance to have mind-blowing sex with a man who truly rang all her bells. Why not experience some heated passion while she was here?

  Now was as good a time to start as any. Besides, she still felt guilty about the way she’d treated him the day before, and figured it was time she made it up to him.

  “Finished for the day?” She put on her brightest smile as she walked from her car towards his truck.

  “Yeah.” Turning to watch her approach, he asked, “How did it go today?”

  “Great.” Okay, so far so good. He didn’t seem angry with her any longer. Maybe they could have dinner together tonight, or go to a movie. That would be fairly safe and harmless, and she was anxious to show him she was no longer afraid. She’d even be the one to ask him out this time. Wouldn’t he be surprised at that?

  One step at a time. Dinner, maybe a movie, and then they’d see where it went after that. She took a deep breath and said, “I was wondering if you were busy to—”

  “Well, I’m beat,” Sam interrupted and proceeded to yawn long and loud. “Think I’ll head home and crash. See you tomorrow.” He climbed into the truck and shut the door, then waved at her as he drove off.

  Jordan closed her gaping mouth. Damn. Here she was, all prepared to boldly invite Sam out on a date, and he barely said ten words to her before he left. Well he sure picked a fine time to decide to ignore her!

  That figured. When she wanted him to go away he was practically breathing down her neck at every turn. And now that she wanted him around, he became scarce. No wonder she didn’t date much. She didn’t understand the male mind at all.

  She turned and started up the stairs, pausing to look up at the old house. And suddenly felt very lonely as she contemplated the long evening ahead.

  * * * * *

  It had gone even better than he’d planned.

  Sam knew Jordan had wanted him to stay and talk when she came home yesterday, but that wasn’t part of his plan. A bit of absence would make her heart grow fonder for him, and he got out of there as fast as he could.

  Before he did something stupid, like ask her out tonight. Before he did what he really wanted to do when he first saw her get out of her car, those long tanned legs peeking out the driver’s door, and the sensuous way she walked that she wasn’t even aware of.

  Yeah, he might have done something really idiotic then. Like take her in his arms, kiss her with
all the wild abandon he felt whenever she was near, and carry her upstairs to her bed.

  Then maybe something really dumb. Like remove her clothes bit by agonizing bit until she was naked. Then another dumb thing might have happened. He could have kissed every inch of her softly scented skin, ravishing her from head to toe with his tongue until she begged him to take her. Oh and then the final moronic act would be to sink his throbbing cock into her moist heat until she was wrapped hot and tight around him and make wild wicked love with her all night long.

  Yeah, that sure would have been dumb. He groaned at the tightness in his shorts.

  Idiot.

  But if he was suffering sexual fantasies about the two of them, maybe Jordan was, too. Let her think about him for a while, make her want him a bit. Then let her make the first move.

  He hoped he was patient enough to wait, and that Jordan wasn’t patient at all. He was lonely and he wanted her. In his arms and in his bed. And if his guess was right, Jordan wanted him, too. But the next step was up to her.

  Chapter Nine

  There was nothing like summer rain in Magnolia. Jordan sipped her coffee at the kitchen table and looked out the window, watching it come down hard, pouring streams of water from the rooftop. Maybe it would cool things off and squelch some of the unbearable humidity of the past few days.

  She rose and walked out the door onto the back porch. The smell of rain was intoxicating, bringing with it the sweet scent of the wisteria that hung tightly to the side of the house near the porch. Ancient gnarled branches covered with fragrant purple flowers bent and swayed in the onslaught of the rainstorm, but refused to give up their hold on the worn-out trellis.

  Spying the cushioned wicker chairs on the screen porch, she plopped down on one and watched as the downpour steadily increased, pummeling the grounds of Belle Coeur until large puddles appeared on the luscious green grass. A cool breeze wafted through the thick screening of the porch, whipping her hair around her face.

  The drop in temperature was a blessed relief. She was tired of being hot and sticky. The threat of rain had been in the air for days, but nothing had come of it until dawn, when she woke to the sound of the first light drops against her bedroom window. Now it was coming down hard, the blistering heat finally washed away by the storm.

  Thank God. She welcomed it gladly.

  Like the impending weather, she had been waiting for something for days, only to be disappointed time and time again when what she thought would happen didn’t.

  She glanced at her watch. Nine o’clock in the morning and she hadn’t seen Sam yet. He hadn’t come over the past few days. He’d called her a few days ago and told her he had TNT business to deal with out of town and he would be away for awhile. It was doubtful he would be here today, considering the rain.

  She missed him. Damn it all, she didn’t want to, but she did. They hadn’t said more than a couple polite sentences to each other since that night on Maggie’s Bluff. There was never an opportunity to invite him to dinner, a movie, or anything. And then he was gone. It almost seemed as if he was deliberately trying to avoid her.

  Well what did she expect? She’d slammed him hard that night. Bruised his ego, telling him that what had happened meant nothing to her. What a lie that was! He made her hotter than the awful humidity that had been hanging around. Hotter than Magnolia’s summer.

  The truth was, since that night, she realized she wanted more. She didn’t want to think beyond that wanting, didn’t want to imagine the things she was imagining. Like a future, a home, even a couple of kids. That wasn’t her dream; it was someone else’s.

  Her dream hadn’t changed since high school. And it never would. Every day she kept reminding herself that.

  All she really needed was sex. Hot, sweaty, wild, no-strings fucking. Just a little time with Sam to burn up the mattresses before she went back to New York.

  That’s all she needed. Nothing more.

  “Morning.”

  She jumped up and whirled around at the sound of Sam’s deep voice. With the rain coming down so hard she hadn’t heard him come in the front door.

  God he looked good. He wore dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt, soaked from head to foot, dripping water all over her kitchen floor and grinning at her with a devilish smile.

  Her body thrummed to life with renewed passion. He looked edible and sexy as hell.

  For the first time in days, she smiled. “Morning to you too. Need a towel?”

  “Yeah. Sorry about the floor,” he said as he tried not to move. “Didn’t realize I was so wet.”

  She grabbed a towel from the laundry area off the kitchen and he dried his hair and arms. Then he took off his shirt to dry his chest and back. The sight of his bare chest made her heart thump heavily and her mouth went dry.

  Dark curls spread from the bottom of his neck all the way to the waistband of his pants. And lower. She wanted nothing more at the moment than to slowly trail her fingers through the hair on his chest. And lower. Much lower.

  Then follow the same trail with her tongue until she reached his shaft.

  “See something you want?”

  Her face warmed as her gaze flew up from his crotch to his face. He had caught her ogling his chest and belly. And lower.

  “Uhh…” Speak you dolt. Say something, anything to change the subject. “Want some coffee?”

  He laughed and went to grab a cup from the cupboard. “Sure. I can help myself.”

  Idiot. She was mortified at having been caught peeking like a teenager. As if she’d never seen a man’s naked chest before. Actually, she’d never seen a chest quite like Sam’s before.

  “Did you get your business taken care of?” She tried to keep her mind, and her eyes, off his chest.

  “Yeah, sure did. I’m ready to go back to work on the house now.”

  Taking a quick glance outside at the continuing downpour, she asked, “How are you going to manage that today?”

  He looked up at the ceiling, obviously checking for roof leaks. “Thought I’d start work inside.”

  “Oh.” Inside. Where she was going to be all day, since there were no rehearsals. She intended to work on the script and production notes. Now she had to contend with Sam being underfoot all day. Around her, near her, all day long. Hopefully with a shirt on, or she’d certainly get nothing done.

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Uhh, no that’ll be fine. I was intending to work at home today, too. Will I be in your way?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. Not in the least. It’s a big house. I’m sure we can stay out of each other’s way.”

  Out of each other’s way her foot. Every time she turned around, Sam was right there. Not watching her, not like she was watching him. His gaze focused only on his work, instead of on her.

  At least he had the decency to put another shirt on. A dry shirt. A dry, gray, tight across his chest, sleeveless T-shirt. He’d also changed from his tight jeans into very loose shorts. Shorts with holes. Those kinds of shorts a woman would throw away when her man wasn’t looking. The kind that hid very little.

  And for God’s sake, did the man have to work on a ladder, so close to where she was sitting? How could she possibly hope to focus on her work when she was forced to spend all her time gazing at Sam’s magnificent ass?

  “What do you think of it?” he asked, his voice startling her.

  “Huh?” What did she think of what—his ass?

  “Come here. I’ll show you.”

  Jordan placed her notes aside and stepped to the ladder. He was inspecting something on the wall.

  “Do you think it matches?”

  She had no idea what he was talking about. “Do I think what matches?”

  “The paint. I thought the original color was eggshell, but now it doesn’t seem the same.”

  “I can’t tell from down here.”

  “Well, come up here and look.” He climbed down from the ladder, and held it steady for her.

  Had
she noticed before the flecks of green in his turquoise eyes? She stared into them, hoping for some reaction. But Sam was obviously preoccupied with house repairs and didn’t have his mind on her. Which was annoying because she sure as hell was distracted.

  “Get up there and look closer, then tell me what you think.”

  Tentatively, she climbed the first few steps of the ladder. Heights were not her favorite thing, and she was never comfortable on ladders. They always seemed so unstable. But not wanting to appear like a citified sissy, she climbed up anyway.

  The ladder shook, and she held on for dear life.

  “It’s okay, sugar, I’ve got you,” he said as he steadied the ladder with his foot, and then climbed on the bottom rung and held on to her hips. “How’s that?”

  Nice. Very nice. Strong, warm hands gripping her hips, gently but firmly. Very, very nice. If she turned around, his face would be level with her—

  “Jordan.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you listening to me? I said, what do you think?”

  What she thought was how nice it would be to spend the afternoon having Sam kiss her, touch her and make love to her.

  “That would be nice,” she responded.

  “What would be nice?”

  “What?”

  “Jordan, are you okay? You haven’t heard a word I’ve said in the past two minutes.”

  Oh damn. He had been talking? She was daydreaming. About sex. Hot, sweaty, passionate, do-it-right-here-right-now sex.

  “Sorry,” she said, shaking the visuals from her mind. “I was thinking about production notes.” Big, fat, liar.

  “Let’s try this again. Look at the paint I just applied. Now look at the portion of the wall that hasn’t been painted yet. Does it match close enough? And if it doesn’t, do you like the original color, or the new?”

  Concentrate, girl. You can do this. She inspected the two colors, and noticed no discernible difference whatsoever. But then she wasn’t the expert.

  “Sam, it looks so close I can’t tell the difference. Either way, paint it with the new color. It looks fine.”