She knew her daughter had been going a little stir-crazy wondering what was going on in James’ head. She didn’t know what had happened to cause their discord, but she knew her daughter loved the man so much, that any disagreement was going to cause her physical pain.
James knew Jamie was right, but he was a little nervous about being alone with her. What if she kissed him again? Last time she had caught him off guard. This time, knowing what she felt like in his arms, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to let her go. Somebody might get the shock of a lifetime if they came looking for them. James knew for a fact, the grass in the backyard was really soft. There wasn’t anything to stop him from going at it right there if he got carried away. It didn’t change the fact that, no matter what, he was going to have to talk to her. He was just going to have to keep his hands to himself. That decided, he turned and followed her outside.
When he got out there, he found her standing against the porch rail. He decided he could sit on the porch swing. That was far enough away, if she stayed where she was, he’d be able to behave himself. At least he hoped he would.
The second he sat down, she walked over, and stood between his knees, and put her hands on his shoulders. Before she had kissed him, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Now, it was all he could do not to crush her to him, and kiss her until she begged for mercy.
“If you’re not angry with me, then what’s wrong?” She still sounded like her heart was broke, and it caused him to blurt out the first thing that popped into his head.
“Why did you kiss me?” It had come out before he was sure he was ready to know the answer.
“Because I wanted to,” she answered, biting her bottom lip. “I’m wanting to right now.”
That hadn’t been the answer he wanted, but it wasn’t the one he had feared. It also meant that what he wanted was still possible. He was back to thinking about tossing her down in the grass and having his way with her. He was starting to understand why Luke sounded so frustrated all the time lately.
He sat there for a few minutes, watching her chew on her bottom lip. “Okay, I’m going back in.” When he tried to stand up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She was feeling a little desperate, trying to find a way to show him how much she wanted and needed him. How much she truly loved him. She didn’t think she was ready to just tell him yet.
A growl rumbled from deep inside of his chest, and he brought his arms up, holding her tight against him. He ran one hand the length of her back and gripped her bottom, fighting the urge to pick her up and carry her out in the yard. That grass was looking more inviting by the second.
He brought his hand back up and brushed it across her cheek, then moved it back and wove his fingers through her hair, holding her head in place so he could nibble on her lips. He could feel her starting to tremble in his arms, and she was clutching at him like she was desperate to hang on. He was feeling a little desperate, too. When he licked her bottom lip where he had just been nibbling, she moaned, holding him tighter. He knew his control was close to breaking.
He was wanting to touch every part of her. He took his hand out of her hair, and ran it back down her back and over her hip, struggling to fight the urge to pick her up again. When he started to slide it back up, it came up under her shirt, causing her to moan again from the feel of his callouses dragging against her soft skin.
When he heard her moan, he jumped up and sat her away from him. “I’m going back in. Before I do something I really shouldn’t.”
She was too stunned to try and stop him this time. She stood there for a few minutes, letting the fire in her veins cool. That had been both amazing and scary. If she was guessing right, he had admitted, without using the exact words, he wanted to do more. Maybe even make love to her.
She was sure if she walked in there right now, everybody would be able to tell what she was thinking. She stood there for a few minutes, fanning herself with her hand. She was going to have to be careful, or they were going to get ‘the cart before the horse,’ as the old saying goes.
When she finally managed to walk back in, everyone was already seated, or getting seated. She noticed the chair they had left for her, was next to James. She couldn’t help herself. It made her grin. She was remembering the night Luke had used close proximity to make Mindi crazy. She wasn’t sure she had the guts to try that. Oh, if only she did.
*******
Everybody else had already gotten seated and were eating when Zane finally walked in. He had called his mom to tell her he would probably be late getting there. After Tracy’s shoot out at the garage, he knew he was going to be busy for a while.
Luke let him get sat down, and a plate of food in front of him before he asked if they had found her.
“No. So far we’ve got nothing. I went to talk to her parents again. To see if they could tell me anything. They said they hadn’t seen her since all of this started.”
“What are you two talking about?” Jamie asked with a note of concern.
“Tracy,” Zane answered her, giving her a confused look.
“I got that much. Did something else happen?”
“You haven’t told her?” Zane asked, glancing over at Luke and Mindi, who both now wore identical looks of guilt.
“From those looks, I take that as a no.”
“Told me what? Someone better start talking,” Jamie said, starting to sound irritated.
“Tracy went crazy, and started firing off rounds in the garage earlier today,” Zane said, raising an eyebrow at Luke and Mindi. “Luke threw Mindi down and dropped on top of her. I had to duck out of sight to keep from being hit. She was still firing off rounds as she ran across the road. Thankfully she’s a really horrible shot.”
“You two didn’t think I needed to know about this?”
“Honestly, it’s taken up the whole afternoon. It never occurred to me you and Carl might not have heard, and I just wanted to forget about it for a while. This is the one place I can suspend the reality that is Tracy,” Luke said, sounding contrite.
“Maybe you should stay here till they catch her.”
“No. That’s not a good idea,” he said, looking over at a red faced Mindi.
“I don’t know, Luke. The one risk might be worth avoiding the other one. There are ways I can help you avoid the other,” Jamie said, knowing exactly what Luke’s concern was. If she had, had any doubt, when Mindi got even redder, it would have put those doubts to rest.
“Jamie, I’ll be fine. I’m sure she’s going to go into hiding. At least for a while.”
“It sounds like I’m going to be doing a lot of praying for a while.”
“Did her parents have any idea where she might have gone to hide?” Luke asked, trying to redirect the conversation.
“No. It’s not like she ever had a lot of really close friends. She’s always been a little crazy, it’s just lately she’s taken a turn for the worse. We tried looking for the car she was in. No one’s seen it since she peeled off in it. We did discover it’s stolen though. Something else to add to her ever-growing list of transgressions.”
*******
A little while later, after dinner, while they were cleaning up, Mindi cornered Lisa. “What happened when you two went outside? James and you were both really quiet during dinner. You neither one said hardly two words the whole time.”
“Let’s just say, we didn’t resolve anything.” Lisa said, her voice drifting away as she started to stare off into space.
Mindi snapped her fingers in front of her face. “Hey, no time for day dreaming. If you didn’t resolve anything, what happened?”
Lisa snapped back to the present, and gave her sister a puzzled look. Just as she started to answer, Jenny walked over. “He asked me why I had kissed him.”
“Wow. You kissed James. Are you taking your cues from Mindi now?” Jenny stood there with a look of amazement on her face. Mindi showing aggression was one thing, but it was really out of character for Lisa. She was just by nature far qui
eter and passive.
Lisa just ignored Jenny, and kept going. “I told him it was because I wanted to.” She took a deep breath, and said, “Then I told him I was wanting to again.”
“Oh, yeah. You are definitely taking your cues from Mindi.” Jenny was having a hard time not laughing. This time Lisa gave her a dirty look.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help it. It’s so unlike you to be so aggressive. Of course, it might be the answer to your problems. I don’t think he’s ever going to take the first step. If you wait on him, you’ll always be friends and nothing more, no matter how much in love you two are,” Jenny said, still grinning.
“Just ignore her. She won’t shut up. I think something has finally cracked in her head.” Mindi gave Lisa a big grin. “I think it’s working so closely with Mark every day, and denying how much she wants him. All that turning him down. Despite how much in love the two of them are.” It was Jenny’s turn to wear a sour look.
Lisa grinned back at Mindi, and started again. “After I said what I did, he tried to get up and come back inside. I think I panicked. I’m not sure.” Lisa looked over at Jenny, and waited. Their oldest sister had become quiet and sulky. She was just standing there staring at the floor.
“What do you mean, you think you panicked?” Mindi asked, sounding confused. “Either you did, or you didn’t. I wouldn’t think it would be that hard to tell.”
“I flung my arms around him, and kissed him again.” Her face flushed, and she started to zone out again. “It might have just been my need to kiss him coming out.”
“Earth to Lisa.” Mindi was snapping her fingers again. When Lisa looked back at her, she asked, “What else?”
“I felt like he was trying to commit the feel of me to memory. His hands were all over me. Everywhere at once. When he slid his hand up the back of my shirt, though, he jumped up and moved away.”
“Is that when he came back in?” Mindi asked, trying hard not to grin too big.
“Yes. Why?”
“He looked a little dazed and guilty at the same time.”
“Before he came in, he said something that made me think he came in because he was afraid of going too far.” That far off look came back to her eyes again.
“What did he say?” Lisa stood there for a few minutes without answering. Mindi was getting ready to snap her fingers again just before she turned and answered.
“He said he was coming back in before he done something he really shouldn’t. What do you think that meant?” Lisa asked, sounding dazed, chewing on her bottom lip.
Mindi stared at her sister, wondering if she sounded this dazed when talking about Luke. “It sounds like he was two seconds away from going too far. You might need to seriously consider telling him how you feel, and talk about all this when there are other people around. Luke and I might have been a long time in coming, but you and James are worse. You should have been together a long time ago. You should be married with two or three kids already. All the time you’ve spent alone together, it’s a wonder you haven’t already slipped up.”
Lisa just stared off into space, still wearing a dazed look. Mindi thought about snapping her fingers again, but decided to let it go for the time being. She looked over at Jenny instead.
Jenny had remained strangely quiet for long enough, and now Mindi was starting to get concerned. “Hey Jenny, are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” Jenny sounded really small and fragile all the sudden. “Sometimes I think maybe I should give in. I’m just making myself miserable always turning him down. If that’s what protecting my heart feels like, I’m starting to think it’s not worth it.”
“We’ve told you that. What’s brought this on?”
“Maybe watching you get somewhere with Luke. I know you’re not engaged yet, but you will be. That man’s not going to let go of you. Ever!” Jenny looked like she was in physical pain. “Now Lisa’s kissing James. Maybe it’s worth the risk after all.”
“Are you going to finally say yes?” Mindi asked, not sure she was believing her ears. Mindi knew how terrified Jenny was of relationships and why.
“I don’t know.” When she looked back up at her sister, Mindi could see the tears in her eyes. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“Jenny, if you wait till you’re ready, you’re never going to do it. I know you.” Mindi turned and placed her hands on either side if Jenny’s face so she could look her in the eyes. “You’ll talk yourself out of it. Stop thinking so hard. Just do it.”
“I don’t know.” Mindi could see the fear in her eyes. But she could tell she really was thinking about it.
Chapter 3 – Tuesday, July 17
Lisa knocked on the door and waited for James to answer. She hadn’t seen him in five days now, and was going a little insane. She was used to seeing him almost every day. She was beginning to feel like she had driven him away. That wasn’t what she had wanted. She knew Mindi was right. They were going to have to talk about this. And she was probably right about them needing to talk with others around, but she didn’t figure she would ever get him to come to her mom and dad’s until they worked things out.
She had been trying to call him all day. She had tried every five minutes after she got home. She was wanting him to come over and have dinner with her at her apartment. He had obviously been ignoring her calls. It was now eight o’clock, and she wasn’t going to wait any longer. He was just going to have to face her. No matter what the consequences were.
When he finally answered the door, she didn’t wait for him to invite her in, or try to run her off, which she was half afraid he was going to try to do. She really didn’t want to wait to find out. She just pushed past him to walk to the kitchen.
He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping or eating well. It was obvious he was as miserable without her as she was without him. Which just made this mess all the more confusing. She thought the answer would have been fairly simple. But he couldn’t seem to help over think everything. Sometimes, he really was too smart for his own good.
She found a burnt grill cheese on the table when she entered the kitchen. It looked like he had been trying to eat it, but wasn’t having much success. “James, why didn’t you at least order out. That would have been better than trying to choke down burnt food. You know how helpless you are in the kitchen.”
She walked over to the counter and sat the grocery bags down. “Of course, the best thing would have been to just come over and eat with me, instead of ignoring my calls. Since you’re being stubborn, I decided to come to you.”
He’d walked in behind her and was now leaning against the wall. He was just staring at her, and seemed determined not to answer. His eyes were half closed, like he was trying to hide something from her, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. It made her a little nervous, but she was going to stick this out no matter what.
“Okay. Don’t talk to me. You know I can carry on the conversation all by myself. I’d much rather you join in, but I’ll do what I have to.”
He had to look down at the floor, because despite himself, he had started grinning. Boy, she can be a real corker sometimes, he thought, shaking his head.
She picked up the plate with the burnt grill cheese that looked more like a charcoal briquette, and dumped the contents in the trash. “I’m going to cook you a decent dinner. You might as well sit down, because if you go to the living room, I’m going to follow you. Then when you get in there and sit down, I’m going to drop myself in your lap again, and do what I did the last time I sat in your lap,” she said, looking him in the eyes. She heard his sharp intake of breath, and almost gave in and kissed him then.
Her plan was to not push too hard, so he’d start warming back up to her, but it was getting hard to stick to that plan. She was really wanting to kiss him.
She didn’t realize he didn’t need to get any more warmed up to her. If he got any warmer, he could probably sit the place on fire. If she’d had any idea what he was thinking right then, she mi
ght actually have tried to run.
It was taking all the strength in his being not to grab her and haul her off to bed. She was all he was hungry for. That was why he had been avoiding her. He was trying to keep some space between them, hoping the fantasies would cool off. They weren’t getting any cooler. If anything, they were getting wilder. It was like her kissing him had unlocked some dormant part of his brain. And now she was here.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, and stared at the table. It seemed, now he wasn’t going to look at her.
Well now, if he keeps that up, I might just have to kiss him anyway.
“You might as well look at me. I’m not going to go away.” She started pulling stuff out of the grocery bags she had brought in with her. She sat the chicken in the sink and went to turn the oven on to pre-heat. “I’m not going to lose my best friend.” While she had her back still to him, she took a deep breath and forged on, “But I’m not going to promise not to kiss you again.”
She had been so intent on what she was saying, she hadn’t heard him get up and walk across the room. He had turned her around before she even knew he was there. His touch was whisper soft as he ran his hands up her arms and cupped the back of her head. She was trapped in his eyes, and couldn’t look away. She heard him whisper, “This isn’t going to work,” just before he bent his head and kissed her.
Her mind was trying to grasp at what he had just said, but he was making it impossible for her to think. His lips were too hot, and they were doing things to her that felt unreal. She had to grab his waist and hold herself up. Her knees were getting weaker by the second.
It was one thing to kiss him. Another thing totally to be kissed by him. Her world was spinning out of control and she couldn’t catch her breath.
When he let go of her and stepped back, she had to grab the counter and hold herself up. “You probably should go. You’ve started something, and I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from finishing it.”
Oh, Baby! (The Townsends Book 2) Page 3
