by Sara Orwig
* * *
Aaron stirred and rolled over to look at Stella. She lay on her back, one arm flung out, her hair spread over the pillow. She was covered to her chin by the sheet. Even in her sleep she stayed all covered, which amused him.
She continued to fill in for the mayor. It amazed him how people turned to her for help, everyone from the city treasurer to ordinary citizens. He didn’t think Stella was even aware of the scope of what she was doing for the citizens of Royal. She was one of the key people in restoring the town and securing assistance for people. She was willing to accept his help and he could introduce her to so many people who would contribute to rebuilding Royal. He liked being with her. He liked making love with her. She excited him, and the more he got to know her, the more he enjoyed her. If she would agree to marriage, he thought, with time they would come to really love each other.
He thought of Paula and Blake, and the dull pain came as it always did.
Along with it came second thoughts. Maybe he was wrong about never being able to love someone else again. And maybe Stella was right—the only time to marry someone would be if he was as wildly in love as he had been with Paula. If he only married to give his baby a father, and wasn’t really in love, that wouldn’t be fair to Stella and might not ever be a happy arrangement.
He thought the fact that they got along well now and he liked being with her would be enough. The sex was fantastic. But there was more to life than that.
He sighed. He wanted to know this baby of his. He wanted to be a dad for his child, to watch him or her grow up. Aaron wanted to be a part of that.
If he didn’t marry her, she could marry someone else who would take her far away where Aaron wouldn’t get to see his son or daughter often. Maybe he needed to contact one of his lawyers and get some advice. The one thing he was certain about—he did not want to lose his second child.
He lifted a strand of Stella’s hair. She excited him and he liked being with her. She was levelheaded, practical. If he gave it a little more time and attention, maybe they could fall in love.
He had been a widower for seven years now. How likely was he to change?
If anyone could work a change, it would be Stella. She had already done some miracles in Royal. If Mayor Vance recovered, someone should tell him exactly how much Stella had stepped in and taken over.
Desire stirred. There might not be love, but there was a growing fiery attraction for both of them. He wanted to be with her and he was going to miss her when he returned to Dallas. Right now that wasn’t going to happen—without her being beside him—until after the holidays. He would worry about that when it came time for them to part.
He leaned down to brush a kiss on her temple as he pushed the sheet lower to bare her breasts so he could caress her. Then he shifted to reach her so he could trail light kisses over her full breasts. Beneath those buttoned-up blouses she wore, there were some luscious curves.
She stirred, opened her eyes and blinked. Then she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down so she could kiss him.
Forgetting his worries, Aaron wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close as he kissed her passionately.
* * *
It was Saturday, but still like a workday for her with all that needed to be done in Royal. She glanced at the clock and sat up, yanking the sheet beneath her arms. Alarmed, she glanced at Aaron. “Aaron, it’s nine in the morning,” she said, horrified how late they had slept. “Aaron.”
He opened his eyes and reached up to pull her down. She wriggled away. “Oh, no, you don’t. We’ve got to get out of this bed.”
Looking amused, he drew her to him. “No, we don’t. It’s Saturday. Come here and let me show you the best possible way to start our weekend.”
“Aaron, I work on Saturday. Royal needs all sorts of things. I have a list of things to do.”
“Any appointments with people?”
“I don’t think so, just things to do.”
“Like finding Dobbin and locking up Mr. Sherman’s house?”
“Maybe so, but I spend Saturdays doing those things. I don’t lollygag in bed.”
“Let me show you my way of lollygagging in bed.” He pulled her closer.
“Aaron, look—”
He kissed away her words, his hand lightly fondling her, caressing her breast while he kissed her thoroughly. He raised up to roll over so he was above her as he kissed her.
She was stiff in his arms for about ten seconds and then she melted against him, knowing she was lost.
It was two hours later when she grabbed the sheet and stepped out of bed. “Aaron, I’m going to shower alone,” she said emphatically. “There are things I think I should do today and if someone came looking for either one of us, I would be mortified.”
He grinned. “You shouldn’t be. First, it’s none of anyone else’s business. Second—and most important—you’re passing up a chance to spend a day in bed with me.”
She had to laugh. “You do tempt me beyond belief, but I know there are things I can get done and sooner or later someone will ask me to help in some manner. I’m going to shower.”
She heard him chuckle as she left the room. When she came out of the shower, he was nowhere around. As she looked through the suite, she realized he must have left.
She found a note and picked it up. In scrawling writing, she read, “Meet me in the dining room in twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes from when?” she said aloud to no one. She shook her head and went to get dressed to go to the dining room and eat with him.
She spent the day running the errands on her list, making calls, going by the hospital again. At dinner she ate with Aaron, and for a short time after he talked to her more about dealing with the press, until she was in his lap, his kisses ending the coaching session on how to deal with the press.
They had grown more intimate, spent more time together, yet he still shut himself and his past off from her.
She could ask someone else about Aaron, but she wanted him to get close enough to her to stop keeping part of himself shut away. Moments still came when she could sense him emotionally withdrawing and at those times, she thought they would never really be close or deeply in love with each other. Not in love enough to marry.
Why was true intimacy so difficult for Aaron when he was so open about other aspects of his life?
* * *
The days leading up to the Dallas trip flew by.
Sunday morning Aaron went to church with her. After the service he stood to one side waiting as people greeted her and stopped to talk briefly.
When she finally joined him to go eat Sunday dinner, he smiled at her.
“What are you smiling about?”
“You. How can you lack one degree of confidence about talking to crowds? You had as long a line of people waiting to speak to you as the preacher did.”
She laughed. “You’re exaggerating. They were just saying good morning.”
“Uh-huh. It looked like an earnest conversation three or four times.”
“Maybe one or two had problems.”
“Sure, Stella. Sometime today or tomorrow I’ll bet you do something about those problems.”
“Okay, you win. I still say helping people one-on-one is different from talking to a group of people I don’t know and trying to get them to donate to the relief effort in Royal.”
He grinned and squeezed her arm lightly. “Let’s go eat. We missed breakfast.”
By midafternoon she was in bed again with Aaron. She felt giddy, happy, and knew she was in love with him. She might have huge regrets later, but right now, she was having the time of her life with him.
Sunday night while she was in his arms in bed, she turned to look at him. “You should either go home now or plan to get up very early because Monday will be a busy day.”
“I’ll opt for the get-up-early choice,” he drawled, toying with locks of her hair. “The more time with you, the better life is.”
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“I hope you mean that,” she said, suddenly serious.
He shifted to hold her closer. “I mean it or I wouldn’t have said it.” He kissed her and their conversation ended.
Monday, after breakfast with Aaron, she got back on track with appointments and meetings. Later that afternoon, she had another brief meeting with Paige at the Cozy Inn café.
“Paige, we need to have a meeting with everyone who wants to be on this committee. I’ve talked to Megan Maguire, Gloria Holt, Keaton’s mom, Lark Taylor, Edith Simms—they all volunteered to help us. I told Lark that Keaton’s mom had volunteered and Lark said she still wanted to be a volunteer. I think it will all be harmonious.”
“Great. I have Beth, Amanda Battle and Julie Kingston. This is such a good idea, Stella. It would have been dreadful if we’d ignored these people at this time of year.”
“Someone would have thought of it if we hadn’t. But it’s especially nice to do this in conjunction with the TCC Christmas festival. Also, I intend to raise some money beyond what we’ll need for getting presents. It’ll be wonderful to have people bring presents for those who lost so much, but I also want them to get cash to spend as they want to. Everyone wants to give their children something they’ve selected. Donated presents are wonderful, but giving these families a chance to buy and wrap their own gifts is important, too.”
“Another good idea, Stella. You’re filled with them.”
“’Tis the season. I’ll be in Dallas tomorrow and gone for the rest of the week. Aaron has made appointments for me to meet people he thinks will be willing and able to help Royal.”
“That’s good. I’ll take care of the Christmas drive while you’re gone. You see if you can get some more donations.”
“Thanks for all your help,” Stella said, giving Paige’s hand a squeeze, always sorry for Paige’s losses.
After they parted, Stella went to the hospital. Mayor Vance was improving and now he could have visitors. She knocked lightly on the door and his wife called to come in.
The mayor was propped up in bed. His legs were in casts and he was connected to machines with tubes on both sides of the bed.
“He’s sitting up now and he’s on the mend,” his wife said.
“Mayor Vance, I am so happy to see you,” Stella said, walking closer. He had always been thin, but now he was far thinner and pale, his dark brown hair a bigger contrast with his pale complexion. His brown eyes were lively and she was glad he was improving.
“Stella, it’s good of you to come by. I’ve heard you’ve been a regular and I’ve heard so many good things about you. I could always count on you at the office.”
“Thank you. The whole town has pulled together. Support for Royal has poured in—it amazes me and the donations to the Royal storm recovery fund grow steadily.”
“That’s so good to hear. It doesn’t seem possible the tornado happened more than two months ago. It’s almost mid-December and here I am still in the hospital.”
“At least you’re getting better,” she said, smiling at him and his wife.
“I’ve talked with members of the town council. We need an acting mayor and I hope you’ll be willing to do it.”
“Mayor Vance, thank you for the vote of confidence, but I think there are more qualified people. I’m sure the town council has others in mind.”
“I’ve heard all the things you’ve been doing and what you did the first twenty-four hours after the storm hit. You’re the one, Stella. I’m pushing for you so don’t let me down. From the sound of it, you’re already doing the job.”
“Well, I’ll think about it,” she said politely, wanting to avoid arguing with him in her first visit with him since the storm. “We’ve had so much help from other places that it’s really wonderful.”
She sat and visited a few more minutes and then left. His wife followed her into the hall.
“Stella, thanks again for coming. You’ve been good to check on him through all this.”
“I’m glad to see he’s getting better steadily.”
“We’re grateful. Come again. Think about what he said about filling in for him. He can’t go back for a long time.”
“I will,” Stella said, maintaining a pleasant expression as she left and promptly dismissing the conversation.
* * *
Tuesday morning she flew to Dallas with Aaron. He picked up his car at an agency near the airport and they headed to his house in a gated suburb north of the city.
“We’ll leave our things at my house. I’ve got the limo for you, and Sid will drive you to Fort Worth for lunch with your mother and next, to your interview at the Fort Worth TV station. After that he’ll drive you back to Dallas to a dress shop while I go to the office. If you’re having a makeover, you should have some new clothes. Get four or five dresses and a couple of suits.”
“Seriously?” she asked, laughing. “Have you lost it, Aaron? I don’t need one new thing, much less a bunch.”
“Yes, you do for the people I’ll introduce you to.”
“When you tell me things like that, I get butterflies again.”
“Ignore them and they’ll vanish. Buy some new duds and shoes—the whole thing. This is an investment in Royal. Get something elegant, Stella.”
She laughed again. “Aaron, you’re talking to me, Stella. I don’t need to look elegant to climb over debris in Royal.”
“You need to look elegant to raise money so we can get rid of the debris in Royal.”
She studied his profile, wondering what he was getting her into and if she could do what he wanted. Would it really help Royal? She thought about the money she had raised in Lubbock and took a deep breath. She would give it a try. “You’re changing me,” she said, thinking about how that was true in every way possible.
He picked up her hand to brush a kiss across her knuckles while he kept his attention on the highway. “Maybe you’re changing me, too,” he said.
Startled, she focused more intently on him. How had she made even the tiniest change in his life?
He remained focused on his driving, but he had sounded serious when he spoke. Was she really causing any changes in his life? Continually, ordinary things popped up that reminded her how little she really knew about him, and his last remark was just another one of them.
“Aaron, you and I don’t really know each other. You don’t talk about yourself much,” she said, wondering how many times she had told him the same thing before.
“I think you should be grateful for that one. Also, I think we’re getting to know each other rather well. We can work on that when we’re home alone tonight.”
“I didn’t mean physically.”
“Whoa—that’s a letdown. You got me all excited there,” he teased.
“Stop. Your imagination is running away with you,” she said, and he grinned.
They finally arrived at his neighborhood and went through the security gate. Tall oaks lined the curving drive and she glimpsed an occasional mansion set back on landscaped lawns through the trees.
“This isn’t where I pictured you living.”
“I’m not sure I want to ask what you pictured.”
“Just not this big.” She looked at the immaculate lawns with multicolored flowerbeds. In many ways Aaron’s everyday life was far removed from her own. Even so, he was doing so much for her, including all he had set up for today.
“Aaron, thanks for doing all this for me. The appointments, the opportunities to help Royal, the salon visit. I appreciate everything.”
With a quick glance, he smiled at her. “I’m happy to help because you’ve been doing a great job.”
“The mayor seemed happy with reports he’s had of what’s been happening and I’m glad. It would be terrible if he felt pressured to get out of the hospital and back to work.”
“I’m sure he’s getting good reports. I think he’ll get more good reports from what you do today.”
“You’re an optimist, Aaron.”
“It’s easy where you’re concerned,” he said, and she smiled at him. “Earlier, I talked to Cecelia at the dress shop and she’ll help you. We’re friends and I’ve known her a long time. Pick several things so you have a choice. It’ll go on my bill. You don’t even have to take my credit card. If you don’t choose something, I will, and I promise you, you won’t like that.”
She shook her head. “Very well, I won’t argue with you, because you won’t give up. Don’t forget, I’m meeting my mom at half past eleven. You’re welcome to join us.”
“Thanks, but I have a lot of catching up to do at the office and you and your mom will enjoy being by yourselves. What I will do, if you want me to be there, is meet you at the television station for the interview.”
“You don’t need to drive to Fort Worth to hold my hand through an interview,” she said, smiling. “I can do this one alone. Now tonight, you better join me.”
“I’ll be with you tonight.”
“Buying more clothes and going to a salon will be a whole new experience,” she said. “Aaron, I think I can raise just as much money looking the way I already look.”
“Humor me. We’ll see. I think you can raise more and you’ll be more at ease on television for interviews.”
“I don’t think clothes will make a bit of difference.”
He grinned. “Clothes will make all kinds of difference. You go on television without any and you’ll get so much money—”
“Aaron, you know what I mean,” she interrupted, and they both laughed. She had fun with him and he was helpful to her. She gazed at him and wished she didn’t still feel some kind of barrier between them, because he was growing more important to her daily. And she was falling more in love with him daily while she didn’t think his feelings toward her had changed at all.
They passed through another set of iron gates after Aaron entered a code. When he drove up a winding drive to a sprawling three-story house, she was shocked at the size and obvious wealth it represented. “You have a magnificent home.”
“I’m in the construction business, remember?”
She rode in silence, looking at the mansion that was far too big for one person. It was just another reminder of how little she knew about Aaron and how closed off he was about himself.
