by Fiona Lowe
Tony’s mouth opened and then closed. John’s face showed a battle of emotions, including grief for his dead nephew and pain that she was moving forward. Empathy filled her. “John, me dating doesn’t change the fact Max is a Lindquist and an Ackerman. Him having contact with that part of his family will always be important.”
Ella Norell stood up, her pink hair bright under the lights and her face solemn. “We only wanted to protect you from being hurt again, dear.”
She nodded. “I know and I let you do it but I’ve learned life is a series of bumps and getting hurt is part of it.”
She was no longer the naive twenty-year-old who’d married her high school sweetheart, and Tony had weathered his own relationship breakdown. Both of them were seasoned marriage veterans without any illusions, but with a great deal of hope.
She looked directly at him. His swarthy and handsome face was filled with one big question.
She licked her lips. “Tony Lascio?”
Fifty heads of all shapes and sizes turned as one toward the back of the room.
He stood up, his chair scraping loudly on the floor. “Yes?”
“Today I baked my very first lasagna.”
A slow smile spread across his cheeks and his curls danced wildly.
Ask him. “Will you share it with me?”
He strode down the center of the hall and bounded up onto the raised platform until he was standing so close to her she could feel the erratic beating of his heart. A beat that matched her own. Silently, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her swiftly but thoroughly.
As the bliss of the kiss wove through her, she lost her place in time and space and the next minute her feet left the floor. Now she was cradled in his arms with her cheek resting against his shirt and basking in the glow of heat and caring radiating from his eyes. “I’m thinking this means yes to the lasagna?”
He nodded. “And to everything that follows.”
Her entire body relaxed inside and out.
He moved sideways, clearing her of the lectern, and spoke into the microphone, his voice deep and authoritative. “I’m depending on you all not to set anything on fire tonight.”
“You got it, Chief,” yelled one of the junior firefighters.
As he carried her out of the hall, the noise of the crowd flowed over them—some murmurings of surprise, some of resigned support, along with genuine woots and cheers. She’d taken the first step in her new life and it felt like freedom.
* * *
Tony lay in his bed with Nicole’s legs tangled in his and her white-blond hair spread across his chest like a veil. Despite the reassuring press of her weight against him, he still couldn’t quite believe that his day had ended in this most amazing but unexpected way. She’d put herself out there for him, demanded her place with him, and his heart was fuller than it had ever been.
He pressed a kiss into her hair. “That was some speech you made.”
She raised her head, her brown eyes still slightly glazed from her orgasm, and gave him a wry smile. “You were right. I needed to take control and tell the town what I wanted.”
“And you did it in a way that protected their memory of your husband.”
“My ex-husband,” she said firmly, her emphasis on the ex. “I’m thinking some people might guess, though.”
He shrugged. “That doesn’t matter, let them wonder. You made it clear it wasn’t open for discussion.”
She propped up on one elbow and her fingers traced circles on his sternum. “I hope I made it clear to everyone that you and I are not open for discussion either.”
“Baby, given what happened at the end of the meeting, we’re all that they’re talking about right now. In the Udder Bar, at Sven’s and in kitchens all over town. Hell, I bet there’ll be a pop quiz at the coffee club in the morning.”
She laughed and kissed him. “I bet out of everyone, though, we’re having the most fun.”
Remembering how generous a lover she’d been, he felt his body stirring again, pressing hard against her thigh. Her eyes instantly darkened. God, she was beautiful and he wanted to make love to her forever.
Her hand started to move down his body but he wrapped his palm around her wrist, halting the progression. There were things that needed to be said first. Checks that they were both on the same page. “Nicole, I meant what I said the other day. I want a future with you. With you and Max.”
Her love and honesty circled him. “I know you do. That’s what today was all about. I want it too.”
“We should probably go slowly for all our sakes, right?”
Her eyebrows hit her hairline. “Tony, we just had sex. I think the trail of discarded clothes between here and the sitting room is evidence we overtook slow at your front door.”
He grinned at her. “I meant going slow for Max. I promise to respect his father’s memory but I want to be his stepdad. He’ll need some time to get used to the idea of us as a couple and all of us being a family so I was thinking, picnics and outings and stuff like that. He was telling me his soccer team needs a coach. I could do that.”
Nicole blinked rapidly, trying not to cry because every self-help book on the planet probably advised a woman not to become a blubbering mess in front of a new lover. Only Tony was so much more than a lover. He was her friend and her future partner. “Max will love it.”
“How would you feel—” he suddenly looked uncertain, “—at some point in the future, about a brother or sister for Max?”
Her tears of happiness breached and fell, hitting his shoulder. “I love it.”
“And I love you.”
He kissed her tears, flicking them off her cheeks with his tongue, and her body caught the wave of a different kind of happiness.
He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her under him. Her breasts ached for his touch and her nipples hardened, brushing his chest. She gasped as his hot mouth closed around the sensitive bud, and she bucked against him, sending delicious shocks of pleasure into her. But it wasn’t enough. Need had her wet, slick and ready, and her muscles twitched to feel him pressed hard and deep inside her.
Her legs wrapped around his waist and her hands tugged at his hips, pulling him forward and guiding her into him. A long, blissful sigh left her lips.
He gave a deep, throaty laugh and hooked her gaze. “Baby, this is only the beginning.”
As he moved inside her, she matched his rhythm and they drove each other upward, higher and higher until they flung themselves out into a shared future filled with optimism and trust.
* * *
Erin strode along Main Street waving to people she knew as she took a call from Connie. “You know, I’m not sure Mac is the sort of dog who needs a white bow on his collar,” she said, already able to see and hear Luke’s reaction to that suggestion. Before Connie could counter she added, “My Maggie-May, however, would be darling in bows if your flower girl wants to walk her down the red carpet aisle.”
“I wanted a farm dog, Erin,” Connie said tartly.
Erin stood a bit taller. “Maggie-May bailed up a raccoon last night, preventing it from getting into the barn with the cows, so she’s a farm dog now.” Even Luke had said Maggie-May had earned her stripes.
“I’ll think about it.” Connie didn’t sound convinced.
When the bride hung up, Erin pocketed her phone and kept walking. She had a list of errands a mile long, including talking to Al about driving the hay wagon for Connie. As she neared the market, she made a mental note to collect the ice cream she’d ordered on her way back. With John’s help, she’d been sourcing all sorts of different-flavored ice creams for Luke, who adored the cold, sweet stuff but was unusually fussy about what constituted good ice cream. It had become her mission to find a brand that totally wowed him. So far she was falling short but she was deter
mined to succeed.
A text came through and she hesitated to look. For the past three days her father had been texting around this time of day. She knew she should reply and tell him she didn’t want to see him but the tiny seed of hope she could never quite squash that he’d changed was holding her back from typing the words. Her phone beeped again and she pulled it out of her pocket.
Erin, Vern and I would love it if you came to supper tonight at the farmhouse. 7pm? Martha Anderson.
Her mouth dried. She could ignore a casual “you must come over sometime” like she had at the bonfire party but this was an invitation with a specific date and time. Did Luke know his mother was trying to push them together? She needed to check with him before she replied to Martha because in her book, casual and fun didn’t include a sit-down meal with the parents. She hit speed-dial but it went straight to voice mail.
As she listened to Luke’s deep voice and was composing a message in her head ready to deliver as soon as the beep sounded, she heard her name being called. She spun around and her phone slipped from her instantly numb fingers.
“Dad?” The word came out faint as she rescued her phone from the sidewalk. A jagged crack spread diagonally across the screen.
“I’m sorry, darling, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Her father’s brow creased in concern under an expensive haircut. “Of course I’ll pay for your phone to be repaired.”
She swallowed against a tight throat, remembering all the promises he’d ever made her and how less than half had come to fruition. “Wh...why are you in Whitetail?”
If he was taken aback by her direct question he didn’t show it. Instead his face creased in a smile and his apple-green tailored shirt made his eyes a keener and deeper color. “I’m here to find you. We’ve been estranged too long and I want to apologize and start over. It’s time, don’t you think?”
A throbbing pain pulsed in her temple. Was it ever time after that sort of betrayal?
Yes. No. Maybe. “To apologize for what, exactly?”
His head dropped for a moment and then he raised it, giving her a long look, regret clear in his gaze. “Sadly I lost the chance to make it up to your mother but if you allow me, I can make it up to you and your brother.”
He’s changed, Erin. Jesse’s words from a few weeks ago echoed in her head, begging to be believed. The stable part of her childhood called out to her, urging her to accept the olive branch but the memories of the bad times burned strong. “I don’t know, Dad, I—”
“I’ve stayed away because I thought that was what you wanted but you not being in my life’s left a huge hole in my heart. I want to try and fix us. Please let me try.” His hand hovered between them and the charming, charismatic man who’d always stormed through her life looked oddly out of his depth. She couldn’t ever remember a time he’d hadn’t been confident.
Something inside her softened slightly. “I guess I should let you try.”
“Thank you, Poppet,” he said, invoking his childhood name for her and then he unexpectedly pulled her into a bear hug.
She stiffened as his arms held her firmly. She didn’t know what to say or what to feel with so many unspoken issues lying between them.
He let her go. “You look lovely as ever. How’s the photography business?”
“It’s going well.”
“Have you bought yourself that studio you always said you wanted?”
“Not yet.” She thought about the injections of funds into her account from the Whitetail weddings. “I’m getting close to a lease though.”
He smiled. “That’s wonderful. Come have coffee with your dear old dad and fill me in on your life. Are you in love?”
“Erin!” Luke crossed the street, his smile wide for her but his face filled with questions. His gaze kept moving between herself and her father as if saying, Who’s this guy? He waited expectantly to be introduced.
She swallowed a groan. She wasn’t ready to introduce her father to Luke but unlucky timing gave her no choice. Plastering on a smile, she said, “Luke Anderson, I’d like you to meet my father, Tom Davis.”
Luke’s eyes widened a fraction but only someone who knew him well would have noticed. He extended his hand. “Welcome to Whitetail, Tom.”
Her father returned the steady handshake. “Thank you. It looks like a pretty place to spend some time.”
Erin really didn’t want the two men to be deepening their conversation beyond the basic pleasantries. “Sorry, Luke, but Dad and I have an appointment to fix my phone screen.”
If he was surprised at that, he didn’t show it. “No problem. I just wanted to check that you’re coming to the farmhouse for supper tonight.” He turned to Tom. “You’re most welcome to come too. My mother’s cooking is legendary in the county.”
Panic scuttled through her veins. Why couldn’t Luke be channeling the aberration of the horrible man she’d met on her first day in Whitetail instead of Mr. Exceptional Manners and Hospitality? The idea of sitting down at the Andersons’ table with Martha clearly match-making was bad enough without adding her father into the mix. “I don’t think—”
“I’d love to come,” Tom said smoothly. “What a lovely invitation, Erin. Aren’t we fortunate?”
Her mouth dried like water in a hot wind and her throat was so tight that no words could pass. She sent a pleading look to Luke but his attention was absolutely focused on Tom as he gave him directions to Lakeview Farm.
It was a done deal. Her summer fling had suddenly become mired by family, which was wrong on so many levels she couldn’t even begin to count.
* * *
Weather-wise it was a perfect evening. The blue of the lake shimmered against the lush, green of the corn and the now ripe and flowering sunflowers were turning their massive heads to the early evening sun. Luke smiled and took in a deep breath—the sweet and earthy scent of the farm filling his nostrils and mingling with the slightly tangy aroma of the citronella flares Phil had been instructed to light by Keri. She had a pathological hatred of mosquitoes, probably because for some reason they found her far tastier than anyone else in the family.
“It was a good idea to eat al fresco tonight, Mom.” He surveyed the empty plates on the long table that had been unearthed from the back of the farmhouse shed to do its duty again after a long absence.
“It’s a beautiful view, Luke, and it seems a shame not to enjoy it.”
“I do enjoy it.”
“Not that I’ve noticed,” she muttered as she returned inside.
He accepted the hit. He totally understood that his parents wanted their retirement back and as soon as he received the final set of figures from his accountant, he would call a meeting with everyone and discuss his ideas. He scanned the garden, looking for Erin. The kids, full of ice cream, were romping with Mac and Maggie-May. The fluffy, white dog was doing a fair job working with Mac to round them up and going by the shrieks of delight the kids were loving it as much as the dogs. Farther over, Erin was talking to Keri but everything about her was tense. Just as it had been all evening.
At one point during the meal, he’d swung his arm casually around her shoulders but it had been like resting on a rocky ridge. She’d quickly leaned forward, the action pushing his arm onto the back of the chair. He’d wanted to pull her onto his lap, tickle her and make her laugh like he did when they were alone but she’d dodged every one of his attempted displays of public affection. He was putting all of her unusual behavior down to the unexpected arrival of her father. Even now, as she listened to Keri, he could see her gaze shifting toward Tom, just as it had over supper.
Her father was chatting with Vern over by the post and rail fence. One booted foot rested casually on the bottom rail and along with his jeans and a button-down shirt, he could have almost passed for a farmer at a social gathering. The longn
eck in his hand completed the picture. From the moment he’d arrived, he’d taken a great deal of interest in the farm and he’d even put some milking cups onto cows’ udders during the evening milking. Given what Erin had told him about Tom, Luke was reserving judgment but from what he’d observed so far, the man did genuinely seem to want to reestablish his relationship with his daughter.
Luke could understand that. This summer had taught him that there was a hell of a lot more energy consumed by strained family bonds than by companionable ones.
The dogs interrupted his musings by belting up to him excitedly and demanding a scratch behind the ears. By the time he’d done that, Erin and Keri had vanished and Tom was walking over and offering him a beer.
He accepted it. “Thanks.”
The older man smiled. “It’s been a great evening. I can see why Erin’s so happy here.”
“Lakeview’s one of the prettiest farms in the county so it has a lot of photographic appeal.”
“I’m sure there’s more to it than just aesthetics of the countryside. A warm bed helps a lot too.” He winked and clinked his beer bottle against Luke’s.
An uncomfortable feeling slithered along his spine. Last time he’d checked, fathers didn’t make jokes about sex with the man their daughter was sleeping with, and he didn’t plan to let the conversation continue down that road. “She’s done an entire series of trees in the grove near the lake. You should get her to show you some of her photos.”
“I’ll do that.” He took a swig of his beer and extended his arm out toward the horizon. “I was just talking to your father about all of this. It’s a pretty big operation you’ve got going on. There’s a profit in milk, is there?” he asked casually.
“We’re doing okay. We’ve had some good years and my father was pretty financially savvy, which helps a lot, but it’s my job to build on that.”
