by Debra Kayn
“What?” He moved, withdrawing from her body, rolling off her, and removing the condom.
“I … ” She swallowed and sat up, changing her mind. “Nothing.”
“No, you said something. Repeat it.” He braced his hands on the bed, moved his body, and leaned against the headboard.
“I love you, but — ”
“Stop.” He hooked his hands under her armpits and pulled her up onto his lap. “Say it again, babe. Look at me this time.”
She turned her head, leaning in his arms. “I love you.”
“Truth?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I think.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know.” Her confession hurt and embarrassed her. “I know what love is supposed to be like, and I’ve seen other people love each other” — she ducked her chin and glanced away — “but I loved my parents, and what I feel for you is nothing like the love I had for them.”
He sighed deeply and held her tighter. “It’s different, babe. You have a right to love your parents, but it’s different.”
“Then what is this I’m feeling?” She stared down at the tattoo on his arm. “How do I know if it’s real, or if it’s because everything is new and exciting?”
She thought he wasn’t going to answer. Her heartbeat filled her ears, and she tucked her head into the curve of his shoulder.
“Love is like air, babe. It’s there all the time, and you don’t even think about it, or you take it for granted. Then all of a sudden, you need it, or you can’t breathe. You inhale, and for the first time, you’re aware it’s keeping you alive. You feel it brush your skin all the time. Sometimes it’s warm and other times it’s cool, but it’s there surrounding you, feeding you, holding you. When you finally realize it’s love, you become vulnerable. With that new fear of not having air, you subconsciously allow someone special to breathe life for you.”
She blinked. A tear rolled down her cheek. “This is love,” she whispered.
“Yeah, baby, this is love,” he whispered back.
They sat together, holding one another, taking in the moment. Her eyelids drifted shut, and opened when he shifted her off him. She scooted off the bed and stood.
“You good?” He pulled the blanket over his lower body.
“Yeah. Just going to use the bathroom.”
Chilled, she hurried and cleaned up, washed her hands, and returned to the bed. Rain held the covers open for her, and she slid alongside him. He pulled her against his chest, circling her waist with his arm. She sighed in contentment. All the changes in her life were too much to think about tonight and come to a firm conclusion.
“Sleep. Tomorrow morning’s coming early,” said Rain.
She snuggled down. “One more day, and I’ll have two days off from having to go in early to open the shack.”
“You don’t need to work.” He yawned. “I’ll take care of you.”
She jolted, and pushed up on her elbow to turn toward him. “I forgot. I might have a new job. I can’t believe I didn’t mention it already.”
“What are you talking about?”
“A woman, her name’s Pauline, asked me to write a love advice column in the Pitnam Daily newspaper. Can you believe that?” She laughed. “Me? Everyone thinks I’m an expert, and I only found love for the first time tonight.”
His mouth hardened and he rolled onto his back, letting go of her. She sat up. That wasn’t the reaction she’d hoped for.
“You work at the coffee shack. We go to work together, come home together,” he said.
She frowned. “You don’t want me to take the job?”
He raised his head. “No.”
“Are you kidding?” She scoffed. “It’s wonderful. I can earn more money, and Pauline says people will send me letters and emails. It’s only once a week. I doubt if I even have to go to the newspaper office … wherever that is.”
He cussed under his breath. “It’s hard enough keeping an eye on you when you’re serving coffee. I don’t need you running everywhere, talking to people who are looking for someone to answer all their problems, and having to deal with more stress. Babe, you already have enough admirers, and with the Lagsturns here, it’s better to lay low.”
“I’m taking the job.” Before now, she wasn’t sure if she would take up Pauline’s offer, but if Rain was going to hold her back, he’d learn no one told her what to do. “You can’t stop me.”
“I’m not trying to stop you. I just want you to stay safe. Look at all that’s happened to you since arriving in Pitnam. Sanchez wants you. We’re not talking about he’ll approach you, ask you out, and you’ll tell him you’re my woman and he’ll go away. It doesn’t work that way with him. And when it happens, it’ll be too late if he gets his hands on you.” His jaw hardened.
“You won’t let that happen … ”
He clamped his mouth shut, and pulled her down. “The job will be there when this is over. End of talking.”
She held herself stiff against him, not liking how stubborn he could be. Did he not even understand how she’d confessed to loving him?
“Stop over thinking the situation,” he mumbled.
“You’re being bossy, and I don’t like it.”
“Right.” He flattened his hand on her stomach, and sighed. “Go to sleep and be quiet. If you still have your heart set on working for the newspaper, after you have a good rest, we’ll talk about it again in the morning. If you keep pushing me now, I’m going to get pissed.”
She clamped her mouth shut. If he believed she’d change her mind, he didn’t know her very well. She wanted the job. If he couldn’t see that, then he obviously didn’t love her. People who loved each other didn’t fight over the stupidest, littlest things.
“I do,” he whispered.
“What?” She held her breath.
“You’re lying there thinking up something that isn’t real.” He inhaled deeply. “Just because we disagreed and had words doesn’t mean I don’t love you, goof.”
“Oh.” She relaxed. How did he always know what she was thinking?
Chapter Twenty-Six
The air outside the Pitnam Daily blasted Tori in the face. Too excited to worry about the sweltering heat, she clutched her purse in her hands and looked to the curb for Rain. He’d reluctantly seen her side of the argument over breakfast, and after covering him in kisses and having a quickie before opening the Coffee Shack, he’d wished her good luck rather reluctantly.
Peering down each side of the street, she couldn’t spot him or his motorcycle anywhere. Unable to wait to tell him the good news, she walked toward Shift’s Garage. He must’ve grown bored and decided to wait for her in an air-conditioned area.
She couldn’t blame him. She flipped her hair behind her shoulders. The east wind even dried the sweat on her skin, making the heat more miserable.
By the time she’d walked three blocks and entered Shift’s Garage, finding Rain was the last thing on her mind. She sat down in one of the empty chairs and let her head fall back against the wall. Goosebumps broke out over the surface of her skin as the breeze from the air vent washed over her. The coolness of the room trumped sharing good news at the moment.
“Tori?” Pete walked through the archway into the waiting room. “Where’s Rain?”
“Hey, I figured he came over here to get out of the heat while I went on an errand. He mentioned earlier that he wanted to drop off some paperwork for you.” She leaned forward.
“He ain’t here.” Pete unzipped his coveralls and reached inside his jeans pocket. “I’ll give him a call.”
Pete put the phone to his ear, frowned, and disconnected the call. “Voicemail’s on. You stay in the building until I can find out what’s going on.”
He walked away. Tori stood and followed him. “Is something wrong?”<
br />
Pete glanced over his shoulder. “You’re not supposed to be alone, and that’s a huge problem if Rain finds out.”
“Well, I’ll take the blame so you don’t get in trouble. I wasn’t going to wait out there in the heat. Rain probably ran into someone he knows or decided to run his own errand while I was with Pauline. I was supposed to have lunch with her, but news broke out at the fairgrounds and she left to cover the story. He wasn’t expecting me to be done early.” Tori stopped in the doorway to an office. “I’ll go wait out in the waiting area, but let me know when you find — ”
“Tori,” Rain barked.
She whirled around, spotted Rain, and relief flooded her. “There you are. Pete called your cell, but I told him you were probably here.”
“I wasn’t.” He hooked her neck and pulled her forward. “Damn me, but you scared the shit out of me, babe. I told you to stay at the Daily with Pauline.”
“She got a call about some big story, and we cut lunch short.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“You don’t ever, I mean ever, walk down the street by yourself. You know that.” He shook his head and turned to Pete. “I didn’t notice my phone buzzing on the bike until I stopped. Thanks for calling.”
“Everything’s good. No harm.” Pete clapped him on the shoulder and left the room.
She ran her hand over his T-shirt. He’d left off his leather today when they’d heard the forecast for temperatures in the high nineties. Instead, he wore a cotton shirt and a pair of old Levi’s that were faded and shaped to his body.
“I’m starving, and have work to do at Cactus Cove. Do you want to come with or do you want me to take you home?” He dropped his hand and clasped hers, then moved them both down the hallway.
“You have to work, and I’ll only distract you.” She grinned. “Do you think I can drive my truck to the store by myself? I’d like to get groceries, and there’s no reason for you to tag along inside the store or while I’m in a vehicle.”
“You’re unbelievable.” He pushed through the door. “I don’t like you to be alone in town. I’m already regretting letting you get that job with Pauline if you’re going to have me running all over trying to find you.”
“But I won’t be,” she said. “Pauline said I can work from home or anywhere. I’m doing the column and sending it to her by email.”
“Speaking of Pauline, where the hell is she? She knew better than to let you walk out.” His mouth hardened. “She’s a Bantorus and knew the plan.”
“She received a call on a big news story and needed to check it out, so we cut our meeting short.”
He pulled out his cell. “I’ll talk to Orca. It only takes one mistake … ”
“Wait.” She inhaled deeply before going on. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I told Pauline you were outside, so she thought I was safe. Don’t call her husband.”
“This shit ends now, babe.” He scowled. “I knew this was a bad idea. I can’t take care of you and keep you safe when you’re running around or the others fall down on their job.”
“I won’t have to go to the Daily very often, Rain. I’ll work online at your office after my shifts over at the Coffee Shack.” She fanned her face. “It’s hot, and I don’t want to argue with you. We’ll figure this all out, and now I know not to even walk three blocks by myself.”
He studied her, and finally blew out his breath. “I’m serious about staying with someone all the time if you’re not at the house or the bar.”
“I know.” She stepped closer and smoothed the front of his shirt. “Let’s go so you can eat, and then you’ll be in a better mood.”
He kissed her. “Don’t want food, babe. I need to have you safe.” He led her through the door. “Let’s ride.”
She hurried to keep up with him. “Cool, then when we’re done, you’ll let me take my truck to go shopping, right? We need food. I can’t eat at the bar every night, or I’ll be too fat to sit on the back of your bike.”
He glanced over at her. “I’ll buy a bigger bike.”
“Ah, there you are being cute.” She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Rain. I’ll drive right there, shop, and then go to your place. I’ll be fast, and pay attention to what’s going on around me.”
“Our place,” he said, handing her a helmet off the bike.
“Our place.” She smiled, liking the sound of claiming Rain’s house as home. “Does that mean I can?”
“Keep your cell phone on. Call me when you get to the store and when you leave to go home. Just so you know, the first riders will be riding the streets, and if one of them doesn’t spot your truck, they will call me. I don’t think you want to find out how much trouble you’ll be in when you get home.” He started the motorcycle.
She leaned forward for a kiss and bonked him in the forehead with her helmet. He shook his head, but couldn’t fight the grin that came over his face. She wrinkled her nose and mouthed “Sorry,” then climbed up behind him.
An hour later, she walked into Shop-a-Rama with a huge smile on her face after giving Rain her check-in call and waving to Torque as he rode away. She held on to the cart to keep from jumping in the air. Now that she had a new job lined up, she decided to splurge and stock the cupboards at home.
Our home.
Her gypsy lifestyle was over. Her determination to keep on the move ended when she fell in love with Rain. She no longer had to ignore her desire to settle down and plant roots.
The contentment that came from living and making a life with Rain felt better than she’d imagined. She perused the meat department. Even though he never spoke of forever or making their relationship permanent, they loved each other.
He’d confessed. So, okay, it was a “me too” sort of thing. His declaration counted, though. She detoured down another aisle and tossed a bag of pasta in the cart. From her experience talking with others, men rarely talked about their feelings. Being that Rain usually conversed with others in one-word sentences, she still felt the after-effects of his explanation of love.
In fact, she was going to use that in her introduction column set to come out next Wednesday in the Pitnam Daily. She turned down the dairy aisle. The new job, the new relationship, the new town, motivated her. Things were changing for the better.
A woman with short hair wearing a pink baseball cap stopped her cart in front of her. “You’re Tori, right?”
She looked around, and since she was the only one in the aisle, she said, “Yes.”
“I’m Pete’s wife. Naomi.” She smoothed her hair. “I heard he talked to you about our problems.”
Pete? She tapped her hand against the handle of the car, trying to remember all the customers she’d given advice to since arriving in Pitnam. “Oh … Pete. Yes, I remember him.”
“I wanted to tell you thank you. I’ve been trying to work up enough nerve to buy a coffee from you, but I didn’t know what to say.” She bit her lip. “Then I saw you by the canned goods aisle … ”
“Thank you? But I thought you’d left Pete?” She stepped around her cart.
“I did. I mean, we’re divorced now.” She laughed rather self-consciously. “Honestly, he drives me nuts. I’d moved on with my life. I had a boyfriend and thought I was going to be happy. Then Pete wouldn’t stop bothering me and my boy — ex-boyfriend broke up with me because I was too busy trying to get rid of Pete. I didn’t know how to get him to stop and move on with his life. Then you talked to him.”
“Since you’re thanking me, I’m guessing my advice worked?” She held her breath. Geez, if she’d made this woman’s life worse, she had no business working for the Pitnam Daily.
“Yes,” Naomi said. “We’re back together. Testing the waters, I guess. He hangs around the house, even if he’s not officially moved in. We’re going slow.”
<
br /> “Wait. You and Pete?” She rubbed her forehead. “I told him to leave you alone, and to worry about never making the same mistake again. He cheated on you, right?”
“Yeah, I know, and he did stop calling and showing up wherever I went.” Naomi blushed. “When that happened, I found out I missed him and his attention. Then the other night I was at Cactus Cove with my friend, and Pete was there. He didn’t even come by our table to say hi. The thing is … he wasn’t with another woman or even talking to the bar bunnies who hang out there. He was just playing pool with his buds. The next day, I went to Shift’s Garage and gave him a couple of cinnamon rolls. I didn’t even think about why I was doing it — I just know how much he likes them.”
“That’s it?”
Naomi nodded. “Yeah. We actually met later for dinner and talked. It was good. He’s changed, and he owes it all to you. So do I.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.” She laughed. “Thank you.”
“I better let you finish your shopping.” Naomi smiled.
“Good luck with everything.” She turned her cart around.
At the end of the aisle, her phone rang. She fished it out of her purse. Rain’s name came up. “Hey, honey.”
“Where are you?”
“Still shopping. I’m headed to the checkout now.” She used her foot to get the cart rolling again while she pushed with one hand. “The coolest thing just happened. Do you know Naomi? Pete’s Naomi?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, never mind.” She laughed. “I want to tell you tonight when I can tell you the whole story. We’ll celebrate. I’m so pumped. I think I can pull off the advice column gig.”
“Babe. Finish shopping and go home. Call me when you get to the house. Do you remember the code for the alarm system?”
“Yeah.” She stopped and stepped around the cart to put the items on the conveyor belt. “I promise I’ll call.”
“Be careful.”
“I will. I’m going to hang up. I need to unload the cart.” She paused. “See you later, ’kay?”
“Yeah. Call.”
