Glad for something to distract her, she did as he asked, aware of him in more than only her peripheral vision. He picked up his glass of wine on the way to the table and set them both down with a jostle. She didn't want to acknowledge Andy's wily grin.
"I have dishes for the spaghetti," Andy protested half-heartedly. "I can bring the food to the table."
Mason strode past the island in the spacious kitchen, ignoring him.
Utah dumped spaghetti onto her plate, and then almost ran into Mason on the way to the table. "Sorry." She sidled around him.
The time it took for both of them to join her gave her time to gather her wits. No matter how much Andy wanted Mason to move back to Timberline, she could not allow him to use her as leverage. She had a golf course to build. She'd started a new life here, and it didn't include a man. She didn't need a man, especially if he was the wrong man. Arthur had taught her that. She wouldn't dishonor him by forgetting the lesson. It had gone a long way to get her over the inadequacies induced by her parents' divorce and her father's subsequent neglect.
"How's that golf course of yours coming along?" Andy asked, breaking the long silence.
She could have thanked him for letting up on her and Mason.
"Great. Right on schedule. We're in the final design phase and getting ready to start the construction plan. With any luck I'll be breaking ground next spring at the latest."
"It suits you," Andy said. "Golf, I mean. You running a course here."
Mason leaned back in his chair, tension easing from his expression.
"You always liked that about her, didn't you, Mason?"
"I thought it was cute." He met Utah's eyes. "I never thought she'd make it her career, though."
"Cute?" He'd always loved teasing her about golf. Andy was clever for using that as a conversation piece.
"You'd make a great golf announcer."
"You find that amusing?"
"You'd be the only announcer ever to raise her voice when something important happened," Mason said only to her.
"Announcers raise their voices," she countered.
"To a loud whisper?"
"No. They hoot and holler when a good play is made."
"No they don't."
"How would you know? You never watch golf on TV. You couldn't sit still that long."
"I'd like to see a hockey announcer do a golf game some time," he said.
She laughed lightly.
"Well..." Andy lifted his plate and stood. "These aging bones of mine could use an early night. Mason, be sure and walk Utah to her car when she's ready to go."
Utah sat straighter in her chair. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to make an early night of it. I hope you don't mind." He walked with his plate to the kitchen counter.
He was leaving them alone? Dawning came with a punch that he must have predicted her and Mason's banter about golf. How easily they'd fallen into their chemistry. She watched with a dropping jaw as Andy poured his half empty glass of wine into the sink.
She turned to Mason. His eyes had that hard look in them again.
Andy finished putting the leftover spaghetti into a container. He'd barely eaten what was on his plate. He probably ate before she'd arrived.
He put the food in the refrigerator. "Good night." He left the kitchen.
Silence hovered.
Utah looked down at her half-eaten plate, no longer hungry.
Andy and his deliberate matchmaking.
"I should get going now." She sprang to her feet.
Mason was slower to follow. She rinsed her plate and then helped Mason when he began to load the dishwasher. Heavy tension lingered between them. Utah couldn't stop thinking about what had led up to that night in the woods. She and Mason had been so consumed with desire after Andy had intercepted them at his house. Utah had hummed like a livewire. Then their chance had finally come. A night alone. A drive to the woods.
Mason kissing her. Mason carrying her to the hood of his car. Putting her butt down on it. With her heels on the front bumper, she'd parted her knees to make room for him. He'd leaned forward between her legs. His patience. And then the way he'd moved inside her.
Mason's hand over hers jarred her from memory. She looked down and watched him push the faucet handle she held, turning the water off. His big hand dwarfed hers. Her heart pulsed with warming beats. He stood right behind her.
His hands glided up her arm, spreading fire. Then both hands slid around her waist as he brought his head next to hers.
"I shouldn't want this so much," he said just behind her ear. His teeth gently raked her earlobe.
She shouldn't want this so much, either. It was just like when they were young. Passion brimming to the surface, about to explode.
She lifted her face, putting her mouth just under his. He kissed her, soft and gentle, but the intensity burned through her.
Turning, she looped her arms over his shoulders and he kept his hands on her waist. The kiss deepened. Erupted into more. Their mouths mashed together, tongues reached. Utah couldn't get enough. This need in her couldn't be satisfied with only a kiss. His arms slid all the way around her and he leaned against her, pressing her to the counter. She could feel his hardness now.
Yes.
That's what she craved. Him inside her. His kisses weren't enough. His clothed body flush against her, not enough. Not nearly enough.
Their breathing filled the room. The sound tugged at her conscience.
This was getting out of control. Stop! She had to stop him.
She went still. Opened her eyes. Mason lifted his head, radiating hungry sexual energy. Sliding her fingers from his hair, only then realizing she'd dug them into the soft strands, she ran both hands down his shoulders to his chest and pushed.
He immediately stepped back, seeming equally at odds with what just happened. He smoothed his hair where she'd messed it. Cleared his throat.
"I'll walk you to your car," he said.
"No!" She hurried out of the kitchen. Grabbing her purse, she left through the front door and didn't stop until she reached her Cruiser.
She saw him standing in the open doorway. Her pulse played a drumbeat to more than residual passion. She was scared. History was repeating itself. Mason had to stay away from her. If he seduced her at all, she'd crumble.
No more. She could not endure another mistake. No more bad news. Mason was bad news waiting to happen.
CHAPTER TEN
Damn this small town. Mason cursed as he put a hammer aside and reached for another two-by-four. It was already the topic coming off everyone's tongues that Utah had dinner with the Briggs men. As if he needed more of a reminder. The moment he'd climbed out of his Mustang in front of his dad's office, he'd seen Utah walking down the street. Her ass looked great in white Capri pants and that blue top clung to her like a second skin. Then she'd looked over at him, her long hair draping over her shoulder and swaying as she moved. Dark sunglasses hid her eyes.
He didn't understand why he felt like he needed her so much. Was she some kind of crutch his subconscious craved? He didn't want to explore it. She deserved more than a summer fling and he couldn't give her that. More meant living in Timberline and that he just could not do.
The way she'd reacted to him the other night kept replaying in his mind. It rewound against his will. He could have taken her to his room, consequences be damned.
Mason grabbed the hammer and pounded a nail into the beam that would help support the new wall his dad asked him to build. The partial wall would separate two desks from the open area of the entry.
He missed the nail as he hammered, clubbing his thumb.
"Ah!" He shook his finger and winced. Dropping the hammer, he suppressed a stream of frustrated curses.
He headed for the door. A little fresh air would do him good. He walked down to Henry's and bought a cup of coffee. When he emerged outside, the first thing he saw was Utah coming out of Over Easy down the block and across the street,
smiling and waving at a man. Her golf course contractor. His dad told him she'd be in town today. He'd heard she'd taken up meeting the architect at Over Easy. Her brass amused him. She turned her back and headed up the street. The contractor paused before going his own way, watching her walk. Her ass, Mason realized with a rush of temper.
Great. Now he was getting possessive of her. He headed back toward the sheriff's office.
"Mason!"
He looked toward the woman's voice. Across the street in front of Nell's Deli was Roanne.
He lifted his head in greeting.
"I'm having a barbeque later."
"Yeah?" Would Utah be there?
"Why don't you join us for lunch?"
And drool instead of eat? "Thanks, but I've got some work to finish up for my dad."
"It doesn't start until four. Come over. I invited a bunch of people."
"We'll see."
"Just come over, Mason. Don't be such a wimp."
Ellie was probably the only resident of Timberline who wasn't trying to encourage him to take Utah to bed.
"Is Ellie going to be there?"
She hesitated as though wondering why he asked. "I think so."
"I'll be there." he asked.
She smiled much like his father had been smiling lately. "Bring a beverage."
He nodded and turned to go into the sheriff's office. His dad stood in the open doorway, smiling again.
"I'm not staying in Timberline," Mason said, stepping past him to finish framing the wall.
###
"I saw Mason just now."
Utah sat with her drink and sandwich at the window table Roanne had chosen. "Congratulations."
Roanne chuckled. "You can fool most in this town, honey, but you can't fool me." She wagged an elbow-propped finger. Lettuce dangled from the sub sandwich she held in the same hand.
"What?"
"You and Mason are getting it on."
Utah put her sandwich down. "We are not!"
"It's only a matter of time before you do, then."
"Stop it. That isn't funny, Ro."
Roanne's humor faded.
"I don't want to have sex with Mason."
"It's just sex."
Utah shook her head. "No it isn't. Not with him."
Roanne tilted her head to the side, studying her. "Wow, you really are falling for him."
"No, I'm not." Panic assaulted her. That would be so bad for her.
Her best friend didn't miss it. "Denial is the first clue that the truth hurts."
"I'm not denying falling for Mason would hurt. That's the problem. It would. He isn't going to stay, Ro."
"He might for you."
"Oh, and I'm supposed to put my heart on a chopping block to find out? No thanks."
"He seems really hot for you, honey."
"Hot is not love."
"Whoa...who said anything about love?"
Utah felt her face begin to flush. "I-I mean, I...I mean I...I..."
Roanne laughed lightly. "Oh, sweetie, you have it bad. You might as well give in and enjoy the rest of the summer."
"I don't love him, I just don't want to take the chance that I might fall in love with him."
"What's the point in projecting the future? Just live for the moment, Utah. Worry about tomorrow when it gets here."
"I tried that once. I ended up marrying a man I didn't know. I didn't even know his stupid name! How pathetic is that?"
Roanne put her sandwich down and covered Utah's hand with her own. "That wasn't your fault. I hope you aren't still beating yourself up over that."
Utah looked down at her untouched sandwich. "I just can't figure out how I never noticed anything strange about him. What about him appealed to me so much?"
"He reminded you of Mason."
"Not really."
"You told me he was good in bed. Like Mason."
Sex with him had reminded her of Mason. "Don't push it."
"You're the one who told me that."
"See? There's something wrong with me." What if she tried to replace him again after he left this time?
"There's nothing wrong with you. You loved Mason when you were sixteen. He left and you tried to find someone who made you feel the same way. Now you're both all grown up and it's starting all over again."
"You're not helping me. If I sleep with him, I'll never be able to put him behind me."
"Listen to you. Don't fight love. Mason won't be able to walk away if he loves you, and it's pretty obvious that he does."
No, no, no! "I don't love him. Not in an adult way." She couldn't. Her heart pounded anxiously.
"Don't worry so much."
Utah looked away. Easy for her to say...
"Roanne," a masculine voice said.
Charlie approached their table. A quick glance confirmed Roanne's mood had chilled.
He might as well be holding a cowboy hat in his hands and in front of his hips. "I was wondering if we could talk."
"Talk?" Roanne's temper boomed in her voice. "About what?"
"Us. I've been thinking. Maybe we're making a mistake, Ro. What if we belong together? We were so happy before we started planning the wedding. I don't understand what happened."
Utah started to get up.
"Don't you dare go anywhere," Roanne stopped her.
Utah sat back down.
Roanne looked back up at Charlie, curbing her temper. "You stopped loving me, that's what happened."
Real emotion radiated in his eyes. "See, that's just it. I don't think I did stop loving you, Ro."
Roanne searched his face, struggling with what this could mean. "But...you're not sure?"
He turned away for a few seconds. "I wondered. The closer the wedding date came, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. But now..."
Now he wasn't sure.
"I think we should give it another chance," he said.
The shade of Roanne's face paled a little. "Marriage?"
"I slept with Gwen. You slept with that soldier. There's no turning back for either of us. Things are different now."
Utah had never seen her friend taken aback. But now Roanne's head flinched and for once she had no sassy comeback.
"Look, Charlie, I don't think you really want me anymore, so let's just end this nicely and move on, okay?"
"That's just it. I can't. Seeing you with that guy..."
"I swear I wasn't trying to get even. I was just horny and you didn't want me anymore. Remember? You wanted Gwen."
"I didn't really want her. I was just confused. Getting married scares me. And then you threw the ring at me."
"I don't know, Charlie." Roanne was genuinely confused. Should she give Charlie another chance or end it? Utah was glad she didn't have to make that decision.
He moved a step closer to her. "I don't blame you for sleeping with him."
Roanne's uncertainty vanished. "Well, I blame you for sleeping with Gwen."
"I treated you badly the night of Andy's birthday party. I see that now. Give us another chance, Ro. Do you really want to end it?"
"Charlie..." Roanne sounded confused again.
Charlie held up his hand. "Don't say anything. Think about it. I love you, Ro. I just lost it for a while. But I'm clear now. If I haven't driven you away, I want to try and start over. I don't mean we should get married right away. We can. That's up to you. I don't want to lose you."
Roanne's mouth opened and she didn't say anything.
"Just think about it. Will you?"
Slowly Roanne nodded.
Charlie smiled and left Nell's.
"Did you hear that?" Roanne still watched the door where Charlie had vanished.
###
"What's he doing here?" Utah asked, watching Mason step out onto Roanne's backyard deck. Faded jeans cupped his crotch and the white golf shirt had to be just for her.
"I invited him." Roanne licked the spoon she'd just used to scoop seven-layer dip onto her small paper plate.
&n
bsp; "Why?"
She shrugged. "It's a small town. I felt like I had to."
Yeah, right. Utah turned and busied herself straightening the hamburger and hot dog buns and bags of potato chips on Roanne's round patio table. The pink umbrella shaded her from the late June sun. Birds chirped from the aspen trees clustered in one corner of the yard and country music twanged from a small player on the floor of the deck. Roanne's garden didn't compare to Ellie's but the shaped beds along the back fence were weed-free and overgrown with wildflowers.
She didn't even have to look at Mason. She felt him. His presence smothered her, and not in an unpleasant way. Shoving replays of that kiss at his dad's out of her mind had been a challenge. It stayed with her for days. Kept her up at night, tossing and turning, wishing he'd assuage the ache. Dreaming of it. Maybe it was time for another golf trip. She'd already gone twice since dinner with him.
Ellie joined Roanne under the umbrella and the two began talking about the Fourth of July celebration at Lost Miner's Lake next weekend. It had been years since Utah had gone. She stole a quick check toward the patio door. Mason wasn't there. She scanned the crowd sitting on three wooden picnic tables or standing on the lawn. She found him near the aspen trees, talking to Harvey. He looked right at her even though Harvey talked excitedly with his hands.
Just that look was enough to fan every nerve in her body. The tickle ended with a heaviness in her abdomen. He was suffering the same craving. She had to commend him for steering clear of her. He'd lasted a week. He must have known she'd be here. And he hadn't been able to stay away.
Forcing herself to turn away, she found Roanne and Ellie watching her, Roanne chewing a dip-laden chip with a sly glint to her eyes, Ellie worriedly peering at her from beneath her wide-brimmed floral hat, blue plastic cup in hand that no doubt held scotch.
"I'm surprised he didn't set the lawn on fire with that look," Roanne said.
"Things are worse than I thought," Ellie said right after.
Utah tucked her long hair behind her ear and didn't respond. She watched the nurse she'd hired for Roanne's grandmother hand the old woman a glass of iced tea. An older man stood beside them, seeming to look at her. At first she thought he was another believer of Over Easy gossip. Then she realized it was the nurse's father, and he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at Ellie.
This Time in Timberline Page 15
