Pure Temptation

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  Mac had spent the entire day worrying the subject of Tess’s virginity, and the hell of it was, he could see her point. Her small-town background might make her seem unsophisticated to native New Yorkers. And if the kids she was counseling found out she had no sexual experience, either, that might become a credibility issue. Then there was the other problem—the very good possibility that some city dude, some fast-talking greenhorn, would take her virginity. Mac really didn’t like thinking about that.

  “Hey, Big Mac, are you in or not?” called Rhino from across the poker table.

  Mac’s head came up with a snap. Then he realized the question had to do with the cards in his hand, not whether he would help Tess find a lover for the summer. She’d sure ruined him for poker night. One of the things he loved about these weekly games was the simplicity of them. But nothing was simple tonight. No question was innocent. Even the name of the game, five card stud, had overtones he’d never noticed before.

  He tossed his hand facedown on the table. “I’m out.”

  “Let’s see what you got, Rhino,” said Dozer, whose given name was Doug. Nobody called any of the brothers by their real names anymore. Doug and Hamilton, the two middle boys, had become Dozer and Hammer when they’d formed the heart of the offensive line for the Copperville High Miners.

  The brothers were Mac’s closest buddies, not counting Tess. Their mother and his were best friends, so the kids had naturally grown up spending a lot of time together. In high school the Blakely boys had literally covered his ass when he quarterbacked the Miners. But he saw them with new eyes tonight as he evaluated how each of them might react if they learned about the conversation he’d had with Tess this morning, and the fact that he hadn’t turned her down flat.

  “Read ’em and weep, Dozer,” Rhino said, laying out two queens and three sevens. At the tender age of thirty he was starting to lose his hair, and so he wore baseball caps a lot, even inside. Tonight’s was a black one from the Nugget Café.

  Rhino didn’t miss much, which made him a damn good poker player. He’d likely be the first one to figure out if Mac had lined up some guy to initiate Tess, and he’d probably organize the retaliation against Mac and the poor unfortunate guy Mac had brought into the picture.

  “Aw, hell,” muttered Dozer, a redhead with a temper to match. He acted first, thought about it later. He’d been known to deck a guy who so much as looked at Tess wrong. “You must be living right.”

  “Nah,” said Tiny Tim, pushing back his chair. “He’s ornery as ever. Just lucky. Who needs a beer?” Tim didn’t have a mean bone in his huge body, and couldn’t even go hunting because of his tender heart. He’d do anything for anybody and never took offense—except when it came to somebody bothering his sister. Then all his tenderness evaporated. Mac had seen it happen.

  “Hit me,” said Rhino with a tug on his cap. “And don’t be bringing out any of that light crap, either.”

  “Yeah, he wants something to put hair on his head,” said Dozer.

  “Funny,” said Rhino. “Real funny.”

  “Don’t blame me for the light beer,” said Tim as he headed for the kitchen. “Suzie bought it. Said I needed to watch my waistline.”

  “Yeah, Deena’s been giving me that old song and dance, too,” said Hammer, the third and smallest of the brothers, although at six-three he was no midget. He was Mac’s age and they’d been in many of the same classes in school. Logically he should have been Mac’s best friend in the family, but Hammer wasn’t a thinker, and Mac had always found more to talk about with Tess. Mac had often suspected Hammer was a little jealous of Mac’s special relationship with his sister. This new development could really set him off.

  Hammer glanced at Mac. “You don’t know how good you’ve got it, with no woman to nag you to death about your diet.”

  “That’s the truth,” added Dozer. “It’s getting so bad that if I haul out a bag of chips for Monday Night Football, Cindy tries to grab them away.”

  “And you let her?” Rhino asked. “You wouldn’t catch that happening in my house. I lay down the law with Joan.”

  Mac led the chorus of hooting laughter. “Are you kidding?” he said. “Joan’s got you wrapped around her little finger!”

  Rhino grinned sheepishly.

  “In fact,” Mac continued, “I’ve never seen guys crazier about marriage than you four. You could hardly wait to march down that aisle. Don’t give me this bull about nagging wives. You love every minute of it.” And he envied them, he realized. They’d all found happiness.

  Rhino took the beer Tim handed him and popped the tab. “So when are you gonna round out this ugly bunch and make it five for five?” He watched Mac over the rim of the can as he took a drink.

  Mac gave his standard answer. “When I find the right woman.”

  “Hell, you’ve had a passel of right women.” Dozer brushed back a lock of red hair from his forehead. “Jenny was great. I dated Jenny, and there was nothing wrong with her.”

  “So why did you end up with Cindy?” Mac asked.

  “Cindy knows how to handle my temper. But you don’t have much of a temper, Mac. Jenny would’ve been fine for you.”

  “Yeah, she would,” said Hammer. “Cute figure.”

  “Obviously I should have taken a poll before I broke up with her.” Mac picked up his beer.

  “And Babs,” Rhino said. “I liked Babs, too.”

  Mac swallowed his beer. “Me, too. Just not enough to last forever.”

  “Aw, you’re too picky, Mac,” said Tiny Tim. “That’s your problem. Nobody’s gonna be perfect.” He grinned. “Although Suzie’s close.” He ducked a shower of peanut shells.

  “The newlywed nerd might have a point, though,” Rhino said. “Maybe you are too damn picky. What kind of standards are you using, if you eliminated two nice girls like Jenny and Babs?”

  Mac shelled a peanut and tossed it in his mouth. Then he glanced around the table. “You know, I’m truly touched that you all are so worried about my marriage prospects. Maybe we should hold hands and pray about it. Maybe, if we concentrate real hard, I’ll see the light, and grab the next available female I run across.”

  Rhino’s bushy eyebrows lifted and he glanced at Tiny Tim. “Seems to me this apartment complex has a pool.”

  “Sure does.” Tim pushed back his chair, as did the other Blakely brothers.

  Mac saw the look in their eyes and pushed back his chair, too. “Now don’t get hasty, guys. I was just making a joke.”

  “So are we,” said Hammer. “Right, Dozer?”

  “Yeah.” Dozer grinned, revealing the tooth he’d chipped in the state championship football game eleven years earlier. “I love jokes.”

  As he was carried unceremoniously out to the pool and thrown in, Mac thought he probably deserved a dunking, but not for the reason the guys were doing it.

  3

  TESS HADN’T SPENT much of her life in dresses, but tonight’s dinner with Mac seemed to require one. She didn’t want to wear anything too fussy, not when the late-afternoon temperature had topped out at a hundred and five. She ended up choosing a sundress with daisies on it because she knew Mac liked daisies.

  As she stood in front of the mirror wondering if she needed jewelry, she remembered the single teardrop pearl on a gold chain that Mac had given her as a high school graduation present. She’d been touched that he’d bought something so delicate and feminine, considering the rough-and-tumble nature of their friendship. Because she saved the necklace for special occasions, she seldom took it out of the black velvet box it had come in. Tonight seemed like the perfect time to wear it.

  Once she was ready, apprehension hit her again. If Mac had willingly fallen in with her plan, she would have been calmer at this point. Her project was nerve-racking enough even if Mac agreed to help. If he continued to drag his heels, she’d need to gather her self-confidence to stay on track.

  Her rented bungalow wasn’t far from the center of town, so she decided to wa
lk the two blocks to the Nugget and work off some of her anxiety. She slipped on her sunglasses, hooked the strap of her purse over her shoulder and started out. A block into the walk, she knew she’d made a mistake. She’d arrive at the restaurant more cooked than the meat loaf.

  Mac pulled into a parking spot in front of the Nugget as she passed the drugstore two doors down from the café. As she walked, she watched him climb out of his white pickup. Although the truck was dusty from a day spent on ranch work, Mac wasn’t. He’d obviously changed into a clean shirt and jeans, and he was wearing a dove-gray Stetson she’d never seen on him before.

  He looked damn good, with his cowboy-slim legs encased in crisp denim and his broad shoulders emphasized by the cut of his gray plaid western shirt. Every so often in the years they’d known each other, she’d paused to notice that her best friend was a hunk, but she hadn’t done that lately. She was noticing it now.

  Maybe all her reading was affecting her. She suddenly wondered what sort of lover Mac would be. Then she quickly put the thought out of her mind. Mac was like a fifth brother to her. She shouldn’t be having such thoughts about him. He’d be horrified if he knew.

  As if sensing her eyes on him, he glanced in her direction before going into the Nugget. He paused. “Did your car break down?”

  “I decided to walk.”

  He scratched the back of his head as he stared at her. “But it’s June.”

  “So I discovered. I have to admit I’m a little warm.” Up close she could smell his aftershave and noticed there was no stubble on his square jaw. For some reason the fact that he’d showered and shaved for this dinner made her stomach fluttery.

  He looked her up and down from behind his sunglasses and then shook his head. “I thought I taught you better than this. Now after that hot walk you’ll hit that cold air-conditioning. It’s not good for your system.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake. You sound like my mother. Could you at least mention that my dress looks nice? I wore it because you like daisies.”

  “Your dress looks nice. And you’re going to catch your death of cold in that restaurant.”

  It wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. As her irritation grew, she realized she’d secretly hoped he’d be dazed and delighted by her appearance, the way guys in movies reacted when a tomboy type like her showed up in a dress. “Let me worry about that.”

  “Fine. Just don’t come crying to me when you catch a summer cold.”

  “I promise it won’t be your responsibility.”

  “I’m glad to know at least something’s not my responsibility.” He held the door open for her and the brass bells hanging from the handle jangled.

  She stayed where she was. “Look, if that’s going to be your attitude, maybe we should just forget the whole thing.”

  “And then what?”

  “In or out, you two!” called Janice, a waitress who’d been working at the Nugget ever since Tess could remember. “We don’t aim to air-condition the entire town of Copperville!”

  Mac let the door swoosh closed again and turned back to Tess, his expression impassive. “What’ll it be?”

  She didn’t really want to call the whole thing off. She needed Mac to help her, and besides, he’d shown up for dinner all shaved and showered. It would be a shame to waste that effort. “Let’s have some meat loaf,” she said.

  MAC HELD THE DOOR for Tess a second time and tried not to drool as she walked past him trailing her cologne like a billowing scarf. When he’d seen her coming down the street in that flirty, daisy-covered dress he’d almost swallowed his tongue. Then she’d gotten close enough that he could see the moisture gathering in her cleavage, right where the pearl nestled.

  He fought the crazy urge to lean down and lick the drop of moisture away before it disappeared into the valley between her breasts. He must be out of his mind. Fantasies like that didn’t apply to Tess, the girl who could ride her bike no-hands down Suicide Hill, a girl who could throw a baseball so hard that it stung when it hit his glove. But the girl is a woman now. He couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. He’d had glimpses of the fact over the years, like the first time he’d seen her in a bikini and she actually filled the thing out. And the prom had been another revelation, but he’d come to his senses before he’d done something stupid like kissing her. Sure they’d kissed when they were little kids, just to see what all the fuss was about, but it hadn’t meant anything.

  Funny, though, he still had a vivid memory of the spring day down by the river when they’d decided to try kissing. If he concentrated, he could still feel her soft little-girl’s mouth that had tasted like pink bubble gum. When he’d pulled back to get her reaction, she’d looked sort of dreamy and sweet. Then she’d grinned at him and blown a big bubble that popped all over her face, destroying the moment.

  He followed her through the restaurant to the back booth, the one they always took at the Nugget. Along the way he managed to return greetings from the others in the café, people he’d known all his life. But his attention was claimed by the sway of Tess’s hips under the flared skirt covered with daisies. The dress zipped in the back, and he figured she had nothing but panties on under it. The combination added up to what he and his buddies used to call a good makeout dress.

  Damn. He had to stop thinking like this. Late this afternoon he’d finally decided maybe he should try to fix her up with someone. He’d come up with a couple of possibilities and had told himself he’d rather have Mitch or Randy be the lucky guy than some sleaze in New York.

  Now he didn’t want Mitch or Randy anywhere near her.

  But if he didn’t help her, no telling what harebrained thing she’d do. He’d seen her get a bee in her bonnet enough times to know she wouldn’t give up her summer project easily. The year she’d decided to learn how to use in-line skates, she’d sprained her ankle and bloodied both knees, but she hadn’t given up. And she had learned.

  He slid into the booth across from her and tried to pretend this was like all the other times they’d shared a meal or a milk shake at the Nugget.

  “Hungry?” she asked.

  “You bet,” he lied. He wondered if he’d be able to force anything down. He’d never look at her the same way again, he realized in despair. No matter what happened, the friendship had been changed forever. He’d made the mental leap and begun to think of her as a desirable woman—more desirable than he ever would have imagined. He could hardly believe that all these years he’d managed to screen out her sexuality.

  “Have you been thinking about…what we discussed?”

  “Some.” He blew out a breath. “A lot.”

  “Any ideas?”

  Yeah, and all of them X-rated.

  Janice sauntered over to their table, notepad in hand. “Hey, you two.”

  Tess smiled at her. “Hey, Janice. How’s that grandkid?”

  Janice reached in the pocket of her skirt. “Take a look.” She tossed a snapshot of a baby down on the table.

  “Oh, Janice, she’s gorgeous.”

  “Isn’t she?”

  “Cute kid,” Mac said, although he was more interested in the look on Tess’s face than the picture of Janice’s grandchild. As Tess gazed at the photo, her expression grew soft and yearning. Only a fool would misinterpret that expression, and Mac wondered if Tess knew how much she wanted a baby of her own. Hell, that was another thing he’d never connected with Tess, but she’d make a great mother. Which meant she had to find somebody who’d be a great father. The whole idea depressed him.

  Janice scooped the picture up and slipped it back in her pocket. “So, are you guys having meat loaf or something else?”

  “Meat loaf for me,” Tess said.

  “Same here.” Mac hoped he’d feel more like eating when their order arrived.

  “The usual on the salad dressing?”

  “Yep,” they both said at once.

  “Iced tea?”

  “Yep,” they said again.

  Mac thought abou
t Tess going to New York, where the waiters wouldn’t automatically know she liked honey-mustard salad dressing, coffee in the winter and iced tea in the summer. He thought about her eating alone at a restaurant, or worse, eating with some guy. Some guy who would be having the same thoughts Mac was having right now.

  “I’ll be back with your tea and salads in a jiff.” Janice headed back toward the kitchen.

  Mac stared at Tess, not sure what to say for the first time in all the years he’d known her. They’d always been able to talk to each other. They’d been able to hang out without talking, too. She was the sort of girl you could take fishing, because she’d sit, her line in the water, and let the peacefulness of the day wash over her. But there was nothing peaceful in the silence between them tonight.

  “It was pretty hot today,” he said. Then he rolled his eyes. They’d been reduced to talking about the weather. “Forget I said that.”

  She smiled. “Okay.” She leaned forward, which made the pearl shift and dip beneath the neckline of her dress. “Remember the time we put pennies on the train tracks?”

  He gazed at the spot where the pearl had disappeared. Then he glanced up again, aware that he shouldn’t be looking there. They were in a public place. Anyone could walk in and catch him at it. One of the Blakely boys, for example. “Yeah, I remember.”

  “I never told anybody.”

  “Me, neither.”

  “That was twenty years ago, Mac. You and I have kept that silly secret for twenty years, because we both have the same sense of honor. That’s why I’m asking you for help. I know you won’t tell.”

  “I swear, you two look like you’re hatching a plot,” Janice said as she set down two iced teas, then plopped a salad plate in front of each of them and a basket of rolls in the center of the table. “Aren’t you a little old to be painting water towers and such?”

  “My folks’ anniversary is coming up,” Tess said. “Thirty-five years.”