“More likely fear for their own eardrums.”
“Hey.” He tugged her closer, but what was meant to be teasing changed in an instant. Their gazes locked, and Nathan’s body warmed, tingling at every point where he touched her. He splayed his hand on her lower back, loving the curves he felt there.
She tried to pull away, what he’d come to realize was a natural instinct for her, but he held fast. Not forcing, just letting her know that he didn’t want her to go. It surprised him as much as it likely did her. Going so quickly from wanting to punish her to simply wanting her threatened to give him whiplash and cause him to question his sanity.
“Nathan.”
He lowered his head so that he could speak into her ear. “Stop worrying. We’re just dancing.”
She didn’t relax, but she didn’t flee, either. Instead, she allowed him to guide her around the dance floor, even offering him small smiles when their gazes connected. He had no idea what was going on between them, what the next day held, not even the rest of the night. But for the moment, holding her in his arms was enough.
GRACE CONCENTRATED on keeping her heartbeat to a normal rhythm. She couldn’t let Nathan know how she wanted to run and jump and scream from the rooftops how good it felt to be held in the strong circle of his arms. She had to remember that no matter who he was now, this was the man who’d hurt her, who could easily do so again. Only now there was much more at stake than her fragile feelings.
She lost track of how many songs they danced together. It was difficult to concentrate on anything other than Nathan’s warm body so very close to hers, the feel of his strong hand wrapped around hers, the hardness of the muscle of his upper arm beneath the softness of his dressy black cowboy shirt.
When Ryan motioned for him to head back to the stage, Nathan hesitated. He looked down at her, and for a long moment their gazes connected and she felt as if there were words being spoken that she couldn’t hear. What was he thinking? Could there be more than an ulterior motive at play here?
“Guess it’s time to go entertain the masses again.” He gave her a crooked grin that had her wanting to run her fingertips along his lips—lips that had once captured hers, ones she had to admit she wanted to kiss again.
She forced a casualness she didn’t feel into her voice. “Can’t keep your fans waiting.”
He snorted out a laugh. For a moment, he looked as if he might say something more, but he just squeezed her hand and headed back toward the stage.
She’d barely taken a breath before Barrett was next to her again, ready to claim the next dance. Before he could clasp her hand, she took a step away. “I think I need a break. My feet aren’t used to this.”
“Shall we get a drink?”
Barrett was a nice man, really he was, but she was still caught in the afterglow of being in Nathan’s arms again after so many years. It wasn’t smart, she knew that, but she didn’t want to ruin that feeling just yet.
“Not right now, but thank you. I need to check on Evan.”
Before he could offer to accompany her, she made her way across the crowded dance floor toward her son. As she got close, however, she saw Cheyenne tug a very unwilling-looking Evan toward the dance floor. She couldn’t help but laugh as she approached Laney.
“I think your daughter is either going to run a Fortune 500 company or be president one day.”
Laney nodded. “She does go after what she wants.”
Grace lifted an eyebrow. “And that’s my son? Thanks, but I’d like to keep him to myself a bit longer.”
“Hey, he’s a catch in the pre-double-digit set.” Laney caught Grace’s eye and nodded toward the stage. “Speaking of catches.”
“It’s nothing, Laney. Just a few dances.” She couldn’t meet her friend’s eyes because she knew she couldn’t hide the truth.
“You sure about that?”
In all honesty, she wasn’t. When she was near Nathan, it felt as though no time had passed between the night she’d given herself to him and where they now stood. Her heart still raced, her nerves fluttered like hummingbird wings, and she wanted to believe in the impossible. Laney’s words from earlier echoed in Grace’s mind, tempting her to wonder if maybe it wasn’t impossible anymore. After all, he’d apologized and seemed to enjoy dancing with her.
Which could all be part of his plan to change her mind about Evan.
But did that explain why he kept glancing her way from the stage?
After a few songs, Barrett made his way toward her again. Pretending not to see him, she headed toward the restroom as Laney talked with Meaghan’s mother.
The music reverberated within the walls of the restroom, but it was blessedly empty. Grace stared at her reflection in the mirror and took several slow breaths. Being out of sight of Nathan helped her regain some of her sanity. She wasn’t the same awestruck girl she’d been in high school, so what she was feeling were just echoes. She wasn’t falling into that Nathan Teague trap again.
Footsteps at the entrance to the restroom proved to belong to Laney.
“You okay?” she asked as she approached the sinks and opened her purse.
“Yeah, just tired.”
“Yes, I’m sure it must be exhausting dodging all that male attention.”
Grace shook her head and unnecessarily washed her hands. “I think in a previous life you were a pit bull.”
Laney laughed. “I did consider law school—for about three seconds. Landed in the exciting world of pharmaceutical sales instead.”
“No doubt that’s where Cheyenne’s go-get-’em attitude comes from.”
“Honey, she came out that way.” Laney leaned toward the mirror and reapplied her lipstick. “So, are you glad you came tonight?”
“I’m not sure.”
Laney capped the coral lipstick and dropped it into her purse, then turned to face Grace. “Old feelings coming back?”
Grace thought about lying but didn’t see any reason. Laney would see right through it. “Yeah, but that’s all they are—old feelings.”
“Tell me, did Nathan look at you like that before?”
“How’s that?”
“Like there wasn’t another woman around for a hundred miles.”
“I can’t be sure it’s me he wants.”
“Oh, trust me, it’s you. Even Barrett Farnsley saw it. That’s why he’s determined to dance with you again. I swear it’s a game of testosterone tug-of-war.”
Grace glanced toward the doorway. “Is he still out there?”
“Hanging around like a little lovesick puppy.”
Grace sighed. “This is so not what I came here for.”
“Life has a wicked habit of derailing our best-laid plans.”
Grace nodded. “I just came back to make sure Evan would have a home if anything ever happened to me. I knew it’d be hard, but I didn’t anticipate all the complications.”
“Such as still feeling something for Evan’s father.”
Two women decked out in crisp new Western attire—tourists, no doubt—came into the restroom, laughing loudly. Grace glanced at Laney, trying to tell her without words that she didn’t want to talk about Nathan and Evan with ears around to overhear. Laney nodded. “Want me to run interference with Mr. Puppy Eyes?”
“Would you? I really am tired.”
Familiar concern creased Laney’s face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, stop worrying. Perfectly healthy people get tired, too, you know. I think we’ll head back to the ranch and get a good night’s rest.”
“Okay. Consider the running of interference done.”
“Thanks. I owe you.”
Laney leaned close. “You can repay me by giving me all the juicy details when you finally
give in to your attraction.” With a mischievous smile, Laney turned and headed out the door.
Grace waited another minute before leaving the restroom. She spotted Merline and headed her direction, figuring Evan would be within sight of his grandmother. Halfway there, she noticed that Evan was once again sitting on one of the tall stools. But now he had a huge scoop of strawberry ice cream in front of him and a long spoon in his hand.
“Hey, Mom,” he said when he spotted her. “Look what Miss Merline got me.”
“I see. Did you thank her?”
“He did,” Merline said. “He has very good manners.”
Evan stuffed another bite of ice cream into his strawberry-rimmed mouth.
“I appreciate you watching him, Merline.” A wave of guilt hit her that she was doing all the taking and giving nothing in return. She was asking this kind woman to pretend she didn’t know Evan was her grandson.
“Oh, it was fun.”
Grace couldn’t quite meet the older woman’s eyes. Part of her felt selfish and cruel for keeping Evan from Merline. She’d told herself she could keep this trip emotion-free, but she should have known better. She wondered what would happen if she just revealed everything, but then those old fears of having Evan ripped out of her arms came roaring back, shooting a pain so intense through her that it put the cancer to shame.
“Did you like dancing, Mom?”
Grace stiffened at the unexpected question. “Yes, it was nice. Did you?”
Evan scrunched up his face. “The guys were laughing at me.”
“You don’t pay them any mind,” Merline said. “You and Cheyenne were adorable.”
Evan looked aghast at the idea, though he did shoot a glance in Cheyenne’s direction.
“Did you dance with my daddy like that?” Evan asked.
Grace’s heart banged hard against her chest. The kid was killing her.
“Okay, last bite,” she said. “We need to get going.”
“Already?” Merline asked.
Grace hazarded a glance at Nathan’s mother, saw the look of longing in her eyes as she watched Evan take a huge bite of ice cream.
Family means more than anything to my mom.
Those words echoed in Grace’s memory, shaming her. Before she could start hating herself any more than she already did in that moment, she grasped Evan’s hand.
“Do we have to go?” he asked.
“Yes, you’ll thank me tomorrow. Goodbye, Merline. Thanks again.”
She walked slowly enough that Evan could keep up, so it felt like forever before she reached the music hall’s exit. Afraid that someone—Merline, Barrett, worst of all, Nathan—would catch her, she resisted the need to pick up Evan and run with him to the car. Her emotions were overloading, like an electric outlet with too many plugs shoved into it. All she needed was some quiet, time to think and sort everything out.
Grace breathed marginally better once they were in the car. Evan had gone quiet in the few short minutes since they’d left Merline, a sure sign he was more tired than he’d ever admit and would likely be asleep well before they reached the ranch.
She turned the keys in the ignition—and nothing happened. The engine didn’t even make a feeble attempt to turn over. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What’s wrong?” Evan asked in his sleepy voice.
“Nothing, sweetie. The car is just being cranky.”
Grace bit her lip and tried again. Maybe if she held her mouth just right. Still nothing. Not even a hint of the dashboard lights illuminating. She caught Evan’s eye in the rearview mirror. “Stay here. I need to check something outside.”
He nodded slowly.
She popped the hood and slipped out of the car. When she lifted the hood, the blinking neon arrow she’d wished for identifying the problem area wasn’t there. The myriad parts that made her car go—normally—sat there silent, mocking her ignorance. A few choice words slipped out.
“Trying to give sailors a run for their money?”
Grace yelped before she realized it wasn’t an ax murderer speaking to her. Just the man who’d so upset her equilibrium.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Nathan said. “I thought you heard me.”
She placed her hands on her hips and stared at the useless hunk of metal that was her car engine. “I guess I was too busy scorching the air.”
She half expected him to laugh, but he didn’t. “Nothing like a car that won’t start to make a person want to cuss. Hang on and I’ll give you a jump.”
Grace watched him walk away, worried by the distance she now sensed between them. What had happened? Had he decided his wooing tactic wasn’t working? Even if he wasn’t interested in her, she couldn’t let him view her as an adversary. She had to convince him that she truly had Evan’s best interests as her utmost priority.
In less than a minute, he pulled his truck next to her car and attached a set of jumper cables to both vehicles.
“Were you all done playing?” she asked.
“Yeah. You cut out early.”
She nodded toward the car. “Evan was tired.” That’s right, she was blaming her hasty departure on her kid. She wasn’t about to admit the real reason, that Nathan made her question everything she’d worked out in her mind just by dancing with her, offering her a smile.
“Did he have fun tonight?”
“Yeah. Your mom bought him ice cream. He’s had it twice today. I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night with a stomachache.”
“He’ll be fine. I remember sneaking ice cream or cake in the middle of the night, and it never did me any harm.”
A pang of unwanted memory surprised her. “I can’t imagine that.”
“I had a stomach of steel.”
“No, I mean sneaking desserts in the middle of the night. Even having dessert to sneak.”
He paused in his movements for a moment before checking the cable connections. “Your mom didn’t make desserts?”
“Not often, mainly at Christmas, and then each of us was only allowed one serving.” She shrugged. “Of course, when you’re feeding that many people, it doesn’t last long.”
“What about birthdays?”
The image of standing in the grocery store staring at a fancy cake decorated with princesses drifted up from some forgotten recess of her mind. She’d wanted that cake more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.
“No. They said splurging like that was wasteful.”
This time, Nathan cursed. “The more you tell me, the more I want to strangle your parents.”
She wasn’t a proponent of violence, but something about his words and the way he said them sent warmth flowing through her. In that moment, she wanted to hug him and be hugged by him, but she stood her ground and forced herself to stare at the spot where the jumper cables were affixed to the car’s battery. She had to remember that Nathan might be angry at her parents only because their actions led to her keeping Evan from him. No, even if everything he was doing now was to be a part of Evan’s life, she didn’t believe he was that cold.
After what Nathan decided was the proper amount of time, he told her to try starting the car. She slipped into the driver’s seat, noticing that Evan was totally out. When she turned the ignition, nothing happened.
“I’m afraid your battery is shot,” he said. “I’ll give you a ride back to the ranch, and I’ll call Greg over at the garage in the morning to take a look at your car.”
The instinct to refuse welled up, but then common sense trumped it. They were going to the same place. Evan was already asleep, and she herself was flagging. Since her illness, she tired more easily and had to get more sleep than she used to. So she nodded. “I’ll get Evan.�
�
Nathan disconnected the cables and took care closing the hood as quietly as he could. “I’ll get him.”
It made sense to let Nathan retrieve Evan. He might have to take over Evan’s care someday, and it was possible it’d be during the years when Nathan might have to secure their son with a seat belt while Evan slept. The thought of dying before Evan grew up broke her heart.
By the time she shook off that morbid thought, Nathan was already leaning into the back of the car. When he emerged with Evan in his arms, her breath caught in her chest. Evan looked so small next to his father, so unaware of who was holding him. But it was the look on Nathan’s face that shook her to the deepest part of her soul. He looked at his son as if he were the most precious thing in the world.
Chapter Eight
When they arrived at the ranch, Nathan lifted his son in his arms and carried him toward the cabin. He waited silently as Grace unlocked the door and turned on a lamp.
“That’s his room,” she said as she pointed toward one of the two bedrooms. They were the first words either of them had spoken since they left town. Nathan wondered if Grace was trying to convince herself it was so they wouldn’t wake Evan, the way Nathan was.
The truth? The moment he’d pulled Evan out of Grace’s car, his heart swelled with such a surge of love and protectiveness. He couldn’t let them leave, not without assurances from Grace that they’d visit again, that he could visit them. That Evan would know who his father was.
Grace pulled back the cover, and Nathan placed Evan gently in the bed. Grace covered him and soothed him with caresses atop his head when Evan looked as though he might wake up.
“Thank you,” she whispered. There was no mistaking her words as anything other than a dismissal.
Nathan managed to clamp a lid down on his anger. Did the woman not think about how it might affect him when he saw her tuck their son into bed the way she’d done hundreds of times? Something he’d never had the opportunity to do because of her decision.
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