All For You: Halfway ThereBuckhorn Ever AfterThe One You WantOne Perfect Night

by Susan Mallery

  She shrugged. “She’s the only parent I have left.”

  “You forgive her?”

  “Every day, in every way.”

  “You forgive too easily, honey.”

  “You told me that already. But honestly, it’s not easy. It’s just something I have to do. For me. I don’t want to spend my days mad or bitter, and I refuse to let her opinion color mine. Besides, you should be grateful. You’ve had to apologize to me twice, practically begging for that easy forgiveness.”

  “Brat,” he muttered.

  Grinning, she said, “I was headed to the bathroom to wash my hands. At the risk of everyone assuming I lied and that I’m actually suffering from terrible digestive problems, would you like to walk through the gardens?”

  Time alone with her? “I’d like that very much,” he said, and offered his hand.

  She hesitated only a moment before wrapping her fingers around his. Suddenly they were skin to skin. The heat of her thrilled him. The softness of her teased him. He wanted...

  More.

  Cursing himself, he led her through the house, avoiding the dining room. Once they were outside in the coolness of the evening and under the stars, she released him. But the memory of her touch continued to haunt him. He craved her softness and heat, fought the urge to grab her hand and hold on for dear life.

  Came here with Courtney. Kenna came with West. She did the right thing.

  But even still, the desire for contact never lessened.

  They slowly moved through the maze of roses, gardenias and clinging vines, the moon high and golden. A lover’s moon. Just bright enough to light the way, and just dark enough to hide his yearning to steal a kiss.

  The tension in him intensified—and pooled in one place.

  “Courtney seems nice,” she said.

  “I don’t want to talk about her.”

  “The other girl—”

  “Her either.”

  “How many girlfriends do you have?” she asked.

  “None.”

  “None? Wow,” she said.

  “Wow?”

  She laughed, the sound of it as magical as her smile, enchanting him. “Are you my official echo? Yes, wow. You seem to have an unending supply of nondates. But how about I do you a solid and focus on something besides your revolving bedroom door? Like West. He is—”

  A flash of jealousy caused him to speak over her. “I don’t want to discuss him either.”

  “O-kay. You are severely limiting my options for conversation topics,” she said.

  “I’ll give it a try, then. How’d you spend your day?” Thinking about me? The way I thought about you?

  “I don’t want to say,” she hedged.

  Curiosity crashed through him like a lightning bolt. “Now you have to tell me.”

  “Or?”

  “Oh, honey. I’m a man without mercy. I’m willing to tickle you until you pee your pants, letting everyone think it isn’t just your digestive system acting up.”

  She snorted, and even that was charming. “Good luck with that. I’m not ticklish.”

  “Sure you are.”

  “I’m not. Really.”

  “You are, you just don’t know it. Trust me. No one has found the right spot on your body, that’s all. But I could. It’s a gift.”

  Silence.

  Such wicked silence.

  The huskiness of his tone and the suggestiveness of his words echoed in his mind. He was flirting. He never flirted. Nor was he ever playful. Nor had he ever tickled a woman, or even wanted to.

  Until now. Until her. The woman he couldn’t have and shouldn’t want. Kenna wasn’t one of his in-and-out relationships, even if she would be agreeable to such an arrangement.

  Would she?

  “I was planning a sort-of bucket list,” she said, easing back into the conversation.

  “Sort-of bucket list?”

  “A...fun list. Things my friend and I want to do before we dry up like old prunes.”

  Dry up? Oh, sweetheart. I’ll make you so wet you’ll—

  Nothing.

  He fought the curl of desire low in his belly. “A...sexual list?” he asked, treading carefully.

  “No!” she shouted, horrified. “No. We’re going to get tattoos and throw a drink in someone’s face. And TP someone’s house. And jump into a pool with our clothes on.” She ticked off several other to-dos, each more entertaining than the last. Tame, but endearing.

  Her excitement was a heady thing, dusting her lovely freckled skin with a pink that rivaled the roses around them; he realized he was smiling. This woman might have a daughter, but she was as innocent and pure as newly fallen snow.

  “I want to help,” he said. “I have to drive to Dallas tomorrow for a series of meetings, but I’ll be back on Friday. Wait for me, and I’ll help you check off a few items.”

  In fact, he didn’t like the thought of her doing a single one without him. Wanted to witness them all.

  “Wait. I’m not sure I understood you correctly. You want to...help me?” she asked.

  “Why is my aid so surprising? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

  “I guess.” She eyed him curiously. “But what if a perfect opportunity presents itself while you’re out of town?”

  He thought for a minute, decided. “Change of plans. I’ll skip Dallas and return to Strawberry Valley tomorrow.” He was the boss. His word was law. He could delegate and do what he wanted, when he wanted. “We’ll start on your list. Together.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  KENNA BUZZED WITH anticipation all day, watching the clock—tick, tock—while writing a paper for school, watching Norrie and even while working at Two Farms. Dane had promised to pick her up after her shift, despite the lateness of the hour.

  His one and only text played through her mind.

  You decide what U want 2 do & I will make it happen.

  As awesome as that was, one thing was even awesomer.

  Awesomer? I’m worse than a junior high girl with a secret crush. But the fact that thrilled her? She now had his phone number, and it was totally okay, because he didn’t have a girlfriend.

  Why didn’t he have a girlfriend?

  She would have done an internet search, but didn’t want to learn about him that way. What was on paper—or online, whatever—wasn’t always accurate. After all, if anyone had ever cared enough about her life to post the details online, well, most of the “facts” would have been false.

  Was Dane allergic to commitment? Or had he just not found the right person? Was he a serial bang-and-bailer?

  “Hello. Earth to Kenna.”

  Kenna blinked, realized she’d been standing in front of Bart Chumley’s table for several minutes, silent. “I’m sorry.” He’d asked to be placed in her section, and she prayed he didn’t pressure her for a date again. “Have you decided what you’d like to order?”

  He ignored the question, saying, “You know I have three daughters, yes? They’re fourteen, twelve and nine, and I know they would love to hang out with your Norrie. We should schedule a get-together.”

  “When I was fourteen, twelve and nine, I wanted nothing to do with anyone younger, so I doubt your daughters will want anything to do with mine,” she said, softening the rejection with a smile. “Now, what can I get you to eat?”

  The next few hours of her shift passed slower than the others—surely—but somehow she survived. Barely. Bart actually stuck around, even when everyone else took off. Brook Lynn would have stayed to help Kenna clean up, but Jessie Kay was off no-one-knew-where again, and Brook Lynn was determined to find her. Plus, Brook Lynn would be picking Norrie up from the sitter.

  “I don’t know if you heard,” Bart said, watching Kenna mop, “but
my divorce is now official.”

  “That’s...good?” Will I be blamed?

  “Chumley,” a hard voice suddenly boomed. “A word.”

  Dane! Her gaze cut through the dim haze of the restaurant to find him in the doorway, wearing another suit, this one navy pin-striped and pure business chic. His dark hair stuck out in spikes, as if he’d plowed his fingers through the strands one too many times.

  Kenna’s heart kicked into warp speed.

  “My pleasure, Mr. Michaelson.” Grinning excitedly, Bart joined Dane.

  Dane led him outside. Why was he so angry about the potential conversation? Because he was jealous?

  But...no. Impossible. Kenna looked nothing like his ladyloves. Once underdeveloped, childbirth had left her overdeveloped and in no way slender. And maybe the cookies she loved had something to do with it. But she wasn’t elegant, either. Wasn’t even close.

  Besides, she and Dane were friends, nothing more. That’s what he’d wanted. And he was a good friend. At dinner her mother had taken the bowl of rolls away from her, saying, “Don’t you want to watch your carbs, darling?”

  Dane had grabbed the rolls, buttered half for himself and half for Kenna. They’d eaten them, too. Every single one. It had been a wonderful moment of camaraderie. The support she’d never before had from a male.

  A girl could become addicted to that.

  Dane returned—alone. He removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and began stacking chairs on tabletops. What was he doing? And were those handful of dark spots on both his arms tattoos?

  Don’t stare! Don’t react!

  Too late. The blood in her veins heated, and her belly quivered. He was just so freaking sexy.

  “What did you say to him?” she asked.

  “That I had a collection of jars filled with human hearts and he was about to make an unwilling donation.”

  Her jaw dropped open. “You did not.”

  “Oh, honey. I sure did.”

  She giggled, saying, “But why?”

  His gaze traveled over her, heating, and her amusement died. “I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out.”

  O-kay, how was she supposed to respond to that?

  This man was such a mystery to her.

  She thought back to what she did know about him. He’d had a younger brother, Daniel, and the two had done everything together. Until Daniel drowned. It happened the winter before the Michaelson/Starr affair.

  At the funeral, she’d watched Dane stand stoic and pale at the graveside, not giving way to the flood of tears that had surely been building up. The left side of his face had been bandaged. Though she’d been only six years old, his obvious pain had affected her and she’d wanted so badly to hug him.

  “Are you forced to clean up on your own every night?” he asked.

  “Not every. The employees rotate.”

  “And then you walk to your car?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alone?”

  “Again, yes.”

  He stopped stacking chairs and pinned her with a lethal glance. “Tell me you have a weapon, at least.”

  Hello! She was no dummy. “Of course I do.” She snatched her purse from behind the bar and showed him the retractable sword she carried, preferring it over the ax. The center was oak, and with the press of a button, blades would shoot out from both sides.

  He blinked at the weapon...at her. “A dual sword?”

  “Well, zombies only die for real if you cut through their brain.” She twirled the blades, made a slashing motion, basically showing off the mad skills she’d picked up while watching TV.

  “Zombies?” he gasped out. “You’re worried about zombies? Not rapists or murderers?”

  Duh! “The zombie apocalypse is totally going to happen!”

  He closed the distance, claimed the sword and set it on the counter with a hard thump. Then he placed one hand at her left and one at her right, effectively caging her in.

  Instant. Awareness.

  Gulping, she peered up at him. The air smelled like testosterone and manflesh again. (That was a thing, right?) The heat of him enveloped her, stroking her skin, a tangible caress.

  “What’s going on? What’s happening right now?” she babbled.

  “What’s happening is a very stern lecture. You do not walk to your car at night, alone, ever again. It’s dangerous, and I won’t allow you to put yourself in harm’s way. If I find out you have, the lecture will become a spanking.”

  She couldn’t help it. She smiled. “Is that what you’re into?”

  “Kenna.”

  “No judgment, really.”

  He rolled his eyes, straightened, but soon decided to cage her again. “Your safety is important to me.” His gaze drifted to her lips, lingering. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Very important.”

  Look away! Look away!

  But why? a sultry voice inside her head asked.

  Common sense replied. Because he’s been with two different women in a matter of days. Because you will never ever have a one-night stand. Because no good could come from doing anything with him.

  Also, she could totally be misreading his intentions.

  No more humiliation for me. Dealt with my fair share already.

  In an act of self-preservation, she finally managed to turn her head away from him. Now, walk away and—oh! His tattoos! They were scattered here and there over both of his arms. She clasped his wrist and pulled it closer. The colors and details etched into his flesh were exquisite. Wild strawberries, green leaves, white flowers with yellow centers. One, two, three...four. Each connected by a vine.

  “You love the town that much?” she asked, daring another peek at him.

  “Not the town,” he gritted. Faint lines of tension etched the corners of his eyes. “What it represents.”

  “Your brother,” she said with a burst of intuition.

  He nodded stiffly. “He would eat wild strawberries until he made himself sick.”

  “Norrie, my daughter, does the same.”

  In a snap, he straightened away from her. A blank mask fell over his features. Without his heat, she felt chilled...alone though he was nearby.

  “What did you decide to check off your list?” he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

  What did I do wrong?

  “TP,” she said quietly.

  “And who will be the lucky recipient?”

  Here was where things were gonna get tough. “I was thinking...your dad and my mom.” They were living together now.

  She expected Dane to balk, but his grin of delight was swift and bright, thrilling her. “I like the way your mind works, Freckles, I really do. But now I’m wishing I had stuffed the trunk of my car with more than one hundred rolls of paper.”

  “You have that many? Seriously?”

  “Honey, I came prepared to do everything on your list. Your wish, my command.”

  * * *

  DANE HELD UP an infrared camera phone, recording Kenna’s every move as she threw rolls of toilet paper into the infinite span of trees on his father’s lawn. She flittered in every direction, smiling so brightly, clearly struggling not to laugh out loud and gain unwanted attention. His chest did that aching thing again.

  He was starting to hate it—because he was starting to love it.

  “You missed a spot on the right,” he called.

  “Shh! Be quiet! You’ll get us caught.”

  “Get you caught, honey. I’m just an innocent bystander recording all the evidence to help the cops make their case, like the good citizen I am.”

  She gave him a double-birded salute, and he barked out a rusty laugh. I’m laughing. Me. When was the last time that had happened? He couldn’t remember. But she kep
t doing things to amuse him. Shock him, even. Like pulling out a sword and expressing a very real fear about zombies. Zombies.

  “Are you having fun?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “So much!” Looking straight at the camera, she said, “Look at me, Brook Lynn. I should get an award for best TP’er ever.”

  Was Roanne this uninhibited, this captivating? She must be, despite the horrid way she treated her daughter, because why else would his father have been so fascinated with her? A pretty face enthralled for only so long. But Thomas had been unable to let her go for sixteen long years, never selling the home his wife wouldn’t even allow him to visit. At last willing to give up everything to be with her, signing his company over to Dane, then divorcing Christine once Roanne’s husband passed and she felt free to be with him openly, without scandal. Returning to the town where his youngest son had died. Putting down roots again. All for Roanne.

  Despite the chill in the air, sweat trickled down Dane’s back. He was just as bad, wasn’t he? He’d almost kissed Kenna. Would have killed for the chance to kiss her. Savagely, nothing held back. Her soft body had been pressed against his, and Dane would have sold the soul he’d claimed not to have for a single taste of her lips and tongue, to hear the sounds she made when her pleasure hit—pleasure he had caused.

  If she hadn’t brought up her daughter, reminding him that he wasn’t interested in mothers, he would have done it. He still wondered how she would have reacted. Would she have welcomed him? Or rebuked him?

  Better not to know. Because, if he learned she would welcome him, he would be on her, and there would be no stopping him.

  One of the motion-sensitive lights switched on, chasing away the shadows in the front yard. Kenna yelped and dropped her roll of toilet paper.

  “Abort mission! Abort mission!” She sprinted toward the car.

  He grabbed her hand as she tried to bypass him and jerked her behind a wall of bushes. She tripped over a rock and ended up sprawled on the ground.

  “Sorry, honey,” he said as she rolled over. “You okay?”

  “Shh!”

  The light flooded over her, illuminating her smile.

  Ache!

  His father’s voice boomed out. “What the hell!” and Dane flattened himself beside Kenna, so that he couldn’t be spotted over the line of the bushes.