by Barbara Gee
“I was coming to see if you needed any help,” he said. “Clearly you have everything under control.”
Maddy stopped the chair when she reached him, wondering how a man could be so impossibly good looking. He was wearing a steel blue button down shirt and dark jeans that fit him to a tee. And, as usual, he took her breath completely away.
“You look great, Madison,” he said, looking down at her. “Stand up for me.”
He held out a hand and Maddy took it, letting him pull her up out of her chair.
“Why do you want me to stand?” she asked, cocking her head at him.
“Because I like knowing you’re getting better. I like seeing you out of that chair.” He stepped close to her and ever so slowly slid his arms around her waist. “And because I like how you feel against me.”
Eyes wide, Maddy let him draw her into his long, warm body, just as he had that morning when he’d seen her standing for the first time. She slid her hands up his hard chest, out along his shoulders, and down his muscled arms.
“I like how you feel, too, Tucker,” she told him, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest. “Are you really coming back next weekend?”
“Do you want me to?”
She nodded. “Of course I do.”
“Then I’ll do my best to make it happen.” He raised a hand and wrapped it around the side of her neck, tipping her chin up with his thumb. “And I plan to monopolize your time, if that’s okay with you.”
Her smile was wide and happy. “I have no problem with that,” she said. “I just hope you don’t get sick of me.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that.” He planted a quick, hard kiss on her mouth, then pulled away. “One more thing, Maddy. Don’t let Libby talk you into Euchre after dinner. I have plans for you, and they don’t include cards, or Libby.”
Maddy lowered herself back into the wheelchair and looked up at him. “Are you included?”
“Yeah, but that’s it. Just you and me.”
“Well that’s a no brainer. I’d take you over Euchre any day.”
Tuck wheeled her into the elevator and smiled. “Thatta girl.”
As promised, Kay had prepared a delicious dinner. Virgil had helped by grilling fall-off-the-bone ribs slathered in Kay’s special and highly secret sauce. Side dishes included sweet potatoes, grilled asparagus, coleslaw, and light as air dinner rolls fresh from the oven. Peanut butter pie for dessert had them all stuffed to the gills. Jolene declared that she was going to have to roll herself back to her cabin, and Libby said clean up was going to have to wait until she had the energy and strength to stand up again.
Tuck pushed his chair back and stood, thanking Kay for the incredible meal before excusing himself and Maddy. “Sorry to leave you with the cleanup, Lib, but Maddy and I are going to head into town for a while. I’ll make it up to you sometime. I promise.”
Libby was in too much of a food coma to protest very much. “I’ll hold you to it. And I have witnesses, so don’t try to squirm out of it.”
Tuck pushed the wheelchair over to the table but Maddy shook her head.
“I don’t want that thing. I’m sure I can walk if you let me hang onto you.” She stood up and he put his arm around her waist.
“You kids have fun. We’ll see you in the morning,” Kay said, grinning happily at them. “Take good care of her, Tucker.”
“Always. Good night.”
He drew Maddy against his side and she reached up behind him and hooked her hand around his shoulder as they made their way slowly to the front door. It felt so good to walk again, even though the knee brace made her gait awkward and uneven.
When they got outside to the porch, Tuck swept her up in his arms and carried her down the stairs.
“Too slow for you?” Maddy asked.
“Nah,” he drawled, his teeth flashing white as he smiled. “I just want to carry you. Makes me feel big and strong.”
“You are big and strong. And I don’t mind you carrying me, but I’m pretty tired of being a weakling.”
“You won’t be for long.” He stopped beside his rented pickup truck and set her carefully on her feet while he opened the door.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He looked down at her, his eyes glittering in the moonlight. “Do you want to know, or do you want it to be a surprise?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I like surprises, under certain conditions.”
He lifted his arm and leaned it against the top of the door frame. “And what are those conditions?”
“It has to be a good surprise, obviously. And I have to be dressed appropriately for it.”
“Well, I hope it’s good, but since we’re still in the ‘getting to know you’ stage, I guess I can’t guarantee you’ll like it. Do you want me to tell you so you can yea or nay it?”
She considered it for a moment, then shook her head. “I think I’ll risk it. I’m pretty easy to please.”
“Good to know.” Tuck swung her up into the truck and waited for her to fasten her seatbelt before closing her door and circling around to the driver’s side. He drove down the long lane of the Full Heart, then took a right.
“So I guess you were telling the truth when you said we’re going into town,” Maddy said. “I’ve been there twice. It’s probably the cutest town I’ve ever been in.”
“They should put that on signs along Main Street,” Tucker teased. “‘Come to Barlow--The Cutest Town in North Dakota.’”
“It is cute. It’s exactly how a mid-west town should look. A mom and pop grocery store across from a mom and pop hardware store, beside a western wear and tack store, beside a diner that serves chicken fried steak and homemade pie and is run by a little white haired lady. And that’s just the first block.”
“There are only three blocks in the whole town,” Tuck pointed out.
“Three perfect blocks. But there are other businesses on the outskirts of town. That big huge feed store for one. And that outdoor theater where you drive up in your car and watch a movie. I’ve never seen one of those before. Libby said the movies they play are usually kinda old, but—” Maddy stopped talking and looked over at Tucker, a smile lighting up her face. “Aha! That’s where we’re going, isn’t it?”
Tuck shrugged. “Is it?”
“It has to be. There wouldn’t be anything else open this time of night other than the diner, and we just ate a huge dinner.”
“Maybe we’re not going to stay in town. Maybe we’re just passing through.”
Maddy looked over at him, admiring his strong profile. He was relaxed behind the wheel, as confident driving as he was doing everything else. Even before she’d met him, with only a few photos to go by, Maddy had known that Tucker was tough and strong and a force to be reckoned with, and she found those qualities to be just as attractive as his handsome face and his lean, powerful body. Finding herself with him now was an almost surreal experience.
He turned his head to look at her, one eyebrow arching up. Their gazes locked for a moment before he returned his eyes to the road. “What are you thinking over there?” he asked.
Maddy grinned. “I’m thinking about how lucky I am right now, and how I can’t believe I’m here in North Dakota, with you of all people.”
“Why is that so unbelievable?”
Maddy considered how much to tell him. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“Tell me,” he coaxed.
“Well, if you must know,” she said a little self-consciously, “I’ve kind of had a thing for you ever since I saw all the photos of you at Libby’s place. I thought you were the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen, and when I got up the nerve to ask Libby about you she went on and on about how amazing you are.”
“You should know better than to listen to Libby.”
“Yeah, but in this case she was right, and I never thought I’d be lucky enough to be going to a movie with the man from those pictures.”
He chuckled. “You stil
l think that’s where we’re going?”
“I hope it is.”
“Even though it was your love of movies that got you into this whole mess?”
“Yeah, my love for movies remains as strong as ever.”
“I’m glad.” Tucker reached over and took her hand, lacing their fingers together. “And you’re right about where we’re going. I thought a movie would be a good first date.”
Maddy’s pulse fluttered and she squeezed his hand a little tighter. He’d called it a date—she was on a date with Tucker! A few minutes later they were driving through town, and then Tuck pulled through the gates of the drive-in theater.
Maddy’s eager smile faded when she realized the place was dark, and there wasn’t another vehicle in sight. She looked over at Tuck, trying not to show how disappointed she was.
“I guess they don’t have a late showing tonight,” she said.
He put the truck in park and arched a brow in her direction. “Don’t doubt me, Madison,” he said smoothly. A smile curved his sexy mouth as he shrugged off his seatbelt. “I’ll be right back.”
He got out of the truck and walked toward a small building at the back of the parking area. Maddy realized there was a light on inside, indicating they weren’t all alone after all. She watched as Tuck approached the building, admiring his athletic, loose-limbed stride as he quickly covered the ground.
The truck was warm, but she shivered as she watched him, her awareness of the man stronger than she knew what to do with. Being alone with him was heaven, but it definitely took her into uncharted territory. Before Tuck, she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling so much for a person. He touched a part of her heart that had always been firmly closed off, not because she wanted it to be, but because no one had ever made her want to go to the trouble of exploring what it would take to open it.
Since meeting Tucker, however, the door had cracked open, and she knew it would be pretty darn easy for Tucker to push it open the rest of the way and walk right on in. If he wanted to, that is. And if he did, then what?
Maddy knew a happy ever after with Tuck wasn’t a given. They’d already established that there were obstacles, and it wouldn’t be an easy road. She didn’t doubt her own perseverance—but if he was any less committed, she could foresee a huge broken heart in her future.
Sighing, she decided to put away her worries about the future and concentrate on the awesome fact that she was on an actual date with the man of her fantasies. After making it through the madness that was Jimmy Callahan, it was nice to be able to do something as mundane as going to a movie together. At least she didn’t have to wonder whether she should let him kiss her on the first date. That bridge had already been crossed and Maddy was more than ready to repeat the experience.
Tuck walked back to the truck with a slip of paper. He opened her door and handed it to her. “These are your movie choices,” he said. “There are only three. Any of them look good?”
Maddy read the list and couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, this one is a Disney movie about cartoon arctic animals, and this one is a really gruesome horror movie, which I’ve already seen and can do without watching again. I’ve never heard of the other one, but I say let’s go with it and hope for the best.”
“What if it’s really bad?” Tuck asked, frowning.
“Bad movies play an important role in the life of a movie addict,” Maddy said sternly. “It’s essential that we see a bad one every once in a while, because they help us appreciate the good ones more.”
His eyes glittered in the dim light and he ran the backs of his fingers lightly down her bare arm. “Always looking on the bright side, aren’t you, Maddy?” he said softly.
She swallowed, his touch making it hard to take a normal breath. “I try to,” she finally managed to say.
“You make me want to try harder to do that,” he murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Maddy cleared her throat, fighting the desire to lean into his arms. “Did you really get them to open this place just for us?” she asked
“I was going to take you out for dinner somewhere, but Kay wanted to have a special dinner at the ranch with everyone, so I had to come up with plan B. I made a couple of calls and fortunately this worked out. I just hope the movie doesn’t suck. Hang on, I’ll go tell the kid what we want to see, and then we’ll fight the crowd to find a good parking spot.”
A few minutes later he was backing the truck into a spot in the middle of the parking area.
“Some drive-ins have switched to having the sound broadcast over an FM frequency so people can listen through their car radios, but this place is completely old school,” he explained. “See the little poles sticking up in rows? Those are the speakers. So you have to either sit with the windows open, or sit outside.”
“It’s getting a little chilly out, so I vote for opening the windows,” Maddy said.
He looked at her with a feigned expression of pain. “Doubting me again, Madison?” he chided. He got out, opened the back door of the truck, and started taking things from the back seat. Maddy saw blankets and pillows, and she couldn’t stop her grin. It looked like they were going to have a true drive-in movie experience, outside, in the back of Tucker’s rented pickup truck.
After three trips between the cab and the bed of the truck, Tucker came around and opened her door.
“Best seats in the house,” he said, leaning in to lift her out. Instead of carrying her around to the tailgate, he easily lifted her up over the side of the truck and into a soft pile of comforters, which he must have pilfered from the ranch house. He stepped up onto the lowered tailgate and bent to pick up another stack of blankets before joining her. Both of them were soon leaning comfortably against the cab of the truck, cushioned by the pillows he had brought.
“Let me know if you get thirsty,” he said, tapping a small cooler sitting at the edge of the the truck bed. “I’ve got some water in here.”
As he spread warm blankets over them, warding off the chill of the clear, dark night, the movie started up. It was jumpy and grainy, and the sound coming from the ancient speaker had more than a little static included.
Maddy turned to look up at him, her eyes shining. “It’s perfect,” she declared.
She watched for several minutes, then gave him a rueful look. “I think this might be a chick flick.”
His eyes were dark in the moonlight as he looked at her, his gaze roaming over her face. “Don’t worry about it. The movie is for you. If you like it, I like it.”
“What kind of movies do you like, though, if you’re given a choice?”
“I’m afraid I’m not much of a movie fan. I haven’t been to a theater in over ten years, and when I watch TV it’s usually sports. But I should probably warn you,” he said, smiling wickedly, “back in the day, I was pretty good at putting the moves on girls during movies.” His voice was low and smooth, giving Maddy goose bumps in spite of the warm blankets.
“You’re not anymore?” she asked.
“I might be a little rusty,” he told her.
“That would be a shame.”
“Oh yeah?” He flashed the wicked smile again. “Do you like a little action with your chick flicks, Madison?”
She tried to act nonchalant. ‘Well, not normally, because I usually watch them with girlfriends, or by myself. But in this case, with a really hot FBI agent beside me in a truck bed, I might make an exception.”
He reached across her lap and put his hand on her hip, pulling her up tight to his side. He slid his other arm around her back and settled her against his chest. Maddy drew her knees up and curled into him, her head resting in the curve of his arm and shoulder. She gave a sigh of pure contentment and felt the vibration of his chest when he chuckled.
“Enjoy your movie, baby. I’m happy just sitting here holding you.”
Maddy caught her breath. Hearing Tucker call her ‘baby’ in that smooth baritone voice of his was hands down the sexiest thing she�
��d ever heard. It was a good fifteen minutes before she got past that and had any idea what was happening in the movie.
It took less time than that to realize that it wasn’t a good movie. Actually, it was pretty terrible. Tucker was a good sport about it until it was almost over, when he nuzzled his cold nose into her warm neck and begged her to let him take her home.
“A couple more minutes,” she said. “I have to see how it ends, even if it’s not very good.”
He waited patiently, giving an exaggerated sigh of relief when the closing credits began to roll. Maddy laughed and sat up, slowly stretching out her injured knee.
“You okay?” he asked.
“More than okay.” She turned to him, her smile warm and happy. “I can honestly say that was one of the worst movies ever, but the company and the setting were the best.”
“Yeah?” He gave her one of those slow smiles she loved so much but made no move to get up. He stayed leaning back against the pillows, his arms relaxed at his sides.
“Yeah. Thank you, Tucker.”
Their gazes locked and Maddy leaned over and pressed her lips lightly to his, her hair falling in a curtain around his face. He stayed still, letting her set the pace. She drew out the soft kiss, loving the feel of his mouth against hers. Lifting her head, she thoughtfully ran her fingers over his face, across his sharp cheekbones and down along the light scruff on his jaw.
“You have a perfect face,” she said softly. His eyes were silver in the moonlight and, unable to resist, she kissed him again.
He was soon done letting her take the lead. With a low groan he shoved her hair away from her face, twisting it around his fist and angling her face so he could claim her mouth in a kiss that made her stomach bottom out. Maddy had never, ever been kissed the way Tuck was kissing her now, and it was thrilling. She felt his hunger and passion and she returned it, undaunted and eager. It was amazing to her how completely she responded to this man. Only to him.
The kiss went on and on. Maddy welcomed it and wanted more. She desperately wanted to feel his hands on her, but she also knew how dangerous that would be, and even in the fog of her own desire she knew she should be grateful for his restraint. Finally she forced herself to pull away, her breathing ragged.
