by Brenda Novak
It was a tough call, but he now had added incentive to try to make it all work...
Rod leaned up against the counter. “What made you choose LA?”
“What do you mean? It’s a huge market. We’ve talked about it being a good candidate before.”
Rod gave him a skeptical look. “Natasha has nothing to do with it?”
Mack shoved his hands in his pockets. “Maybe she does.”
“That’s what I thought,” his brother said with a laugh.
Suddenly defensive, Mack stiffened. “What?” He was getting tired of his brothers teasing him about Natasha. He’d put up with it for years.
“Now that she’s available again, you want to be closer to her?”
“If that’s the case, it’s my business. Do you have a problem with it?”
Rod sobered. “Whoa. Are you pissed off?”
“No, I’m just tired of everyone having something to say about Natasha.”
His brother studied him carefully.
“What are you doing?” Mack asked. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Something’s changed,” he replied. “What is it?”
Mack immediately thought of Lucas but grumbled, “Nothing’s changed.”
“Did you sleep with Natasha while you were there?”
“No!” he snapped, but he’d certainly wanted to. He couldn’t remember a time when that wasn’t a temptation.
“For years, I’ve watched you go out with one woman after the next, without any real interest in any of them. But you’ve always felt something for Natasha.”
Mack was tempted to continue to deny it. He didn’t want to hear Rod’s opinion or his advice. But he was pretty sure Lucas was his, and if that was the case, there’d be no more hiding the fact that he’d always had a romantic interest. “So what?” he said.
Rod blinked, probably surprised that he’d admit it. “Does she know how you feel?”
“She just lost her pediatric practice and her marriage—basically at the same time. She’s trying to recover. I don’t think she’s concerned with what I feel.”
“Oh, stop. She’s always been concerned with what you feel,” he said with a grin and crushed his can, shooting it like a basketball into the wastebasket behind the counter. “You can get her back if you really want her.” He grew more serious. “But make sure you really want her. It wouldn’t be fair to break her heart again.”
Mack felt his jaw sag, but Rod didn’t give him a chance to respond before he walked out.
His brother was right. He didn’t want to hurt her. That was the last thing he wanted. And yet he wasn’t sure he could let himself fall as hard as he knew he could fall with her.
He checked his phone. Ever since he’d mailed that DNA test, he’d been on pins and needles. He couldn’t help wondering if Natasha was also nervous, which brought her to mind for probably the millionth time since he’d left Silver Springs. Since he still didn’t have any customers in the lobby, he sent her a message.
How’s your first day at work?
So far, so good, she responded. I like the people. Aiyana, Eli, Gavin, Cora. Everyone’s been great, except for one teacher who showed up at my office after lunch.
What’d she want?
It was a he. He was aware of what happened with Maxine Green and wanted to chat about it.
Frustrated by how long it took to text, Mack called her. “What did this male teacher have to say about your demented former nurse?”
“He kept assuring me that Amelia’s death wasn’t my fault, but that almost made me more uncomfortable, because it suggests that there are people out there who think it was. I mean, I know she worked for me, which places some of the blame on me, too, but he doesn’t have to keep reminding me of it.”
She was talking softly. Mack guessed she didn’t want her voice to carry through the whole administration building. “What was his name?”
“Roger Burns.”
“How old is he?”
“Close to our age, I guess.”
He didn’t say anything about the nine-year spread. She always acted like it was nothing. “He married?”
She hesitated. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just curious.” Mack could see a customer parking in the lot and knew his short reprieve would soon be over. “How’d you get rid of him?”
“A girl came in with a migraine who needed to lie down. I got the impression he would’ve kept rambling on about it, even in front of the student. But I said I needed to focus on my work.”
“So he finally left?”
“After he asked for my number.”
“In front of the girl?”
“Yes! I was shocked.”
Mack wasn’t. Natasha was gorgeous. What man wouldn’t want her number, no matter who was around? “Did you give it to him?”
“No. I’m doing everything I can to save my career, and I have a son to raise. I’m not the least bit interested in dating.”
She’d made that clear. “I’m glad he’s gone,” Mack said.
“So am I. What’s the word on Kellan?”
“He’s back home and all is well.”
“That’s good. Did you ever find out why he left?”
“He got mad because he couldn’t hang out with a guy named Denny. It was stupid, but you know teenagers.” Mack hated lying to her, but he had to keep his word. “Have you heard from the day-care place? I know Lucas was worried about going there.”
“He’s okay. They sent me a picture of him playing, which was reassuring.”
“Can you forward it to me?”
She seemed startled. “Why?”
“Because I’d like to see it, too.”
“Don’t worry. Like I said, he’s fine.” She covered the phone while speaking to someone else. “I have a student here,” she said when she came back on the line. “He’s diabetic and needs to test his blood. I have to go.”
Mack said goodbye and hung up. He had to help the customer who’d come in to pick up a convertible BMW, anyway. Fortunately, it was finished.
Mack had him check the car to approve the work, pay and sign the papers.
The man was just walking out when Mack’s phone dinged. He pulled it from his pocket to find a picture of Lucas playing with a couple of other kids on a large rock.
“What’re you looking at?”
Mack had been so preoccupied he hadn’t realized that Rod had come back inside.
“Nothing.”
“It must be something. I’ve never seen such a dreamy smile on your face.”
Mack scowled. “What’re you talking about?”
“Let me see what it was.” Rod reached out, but Mack knocked his hand away.
“Fuck off,” he said, jokingly, but he shoved his phone back into his pocket at the same time. There was no way he wanted Rod to know he’d been looking at a picture of Lucas.
Fourteen
Despite knowing that Mack had mailed in the DNA test and they would soon have the results, the week passed quickly for Natasha. The stress of having a new job and dealing with the unfamiliar had kept her too preoccupied to be able to dwell on that. She had checked the link Mack had given her daily. But it was Friday and nothing had been posted so far. Maybe the lab was behind, or shipping had taken longer than expected...
She was about to check again—even though she’d already tried right before she left for work—when Aiyana rapped on her open door and stepped into her office. “Hey, how’s it going?”
Natasha didn’t currently have any students who were convalescing from a headache, having a wound cleansed or checking blood sugar, which had been the bulk of what she’d treated so far. Trying to grow more comfortable in her new office and situation, she’d been using the time to reorganize her supplies. “Good.”
>
“How was your first week?” Aiyana asked.
“It went well,” Natasha told her. “Rand Jenson’s knee seems to be healing without any infection, and he was my most serious case.”
“I’m glad to hear that. We’re lucky to have you. I hope you’re happy here.”
Natasha smiled. “Of course I am. You’re wonderful to work for. You should know that.”
“Oh, I have my detractors just like anybody else,” she said with a chuckle. “But I’m glad you’re not one of them. Any big plans for this weekend?”
Ace was supposed to pick up Lucas tonight, but she hadn’t heard from him. She’d tried calling him twice, so that she’d know whether to pack a bag—and what to tell Luke when she picked him up from day care—but Ace hadn’t responded. She hadn’t been able to reach his parents, either. She was afraid they’d written Luke off along with her. She could see them doing that. They were vengeful and would try to punish her, even if it hurt them—or Lucas. “That sort of depends on my ex,” she replied. “It’s his turn to take Luke, but I haven’t been able to get hold of him, so I’m not certain he’s coming.”
Aiyana glanced over her shoulder at where Betty May was working at her desk. “Did you get the results from that...um...test we spoke about?”
Her boss was so easy to talk to that Natasha had told her the whole situation last night, when they were the only two people left in the building before going home. She doubted Betty was listening to their conversation, but she appreciated Aiyana’s discretion, all the same. “Not yet. We’re still waiting.”
She lowered her voice. “Well, I hope your ex-husband won’t disappoint Luke, regardless. After all, he’s just a child.”
“The way Ace acts, you’d think he was just a child, too.” Natasha rolled her eyes. “I guess I sound bitter, huh? I told myself I would never be that kind of divorcée, but I’m definitely sliding in that direction.”
“Sounds like he might be giving you reason.” She smiled tolerantly. “When’s Mack coming back?”
Mack had kept in close touch. Natasha had been surprised by how often she’d heard from him. He’d texted her various things—pictures of his brothers acting goofy or a car they’d done a particularly good job of fixing. Since she’d once worked at Amos Auto Body herself and could appreciate the skill it required to be good at that type of thing, she liked seeing what they were doing. Besides the fairly frequent messages, he’d also called her almost every night. She hated how much she was starting to look forward to hearing his voice. “I don’t know. He hasn’t said. I think he’s waiting for the results before deciding what to do.”
“I see. Well, I’ll be thinking of you this weekend. And if you get lonely or want to talk, give me a call.”
“Thank you.”
Aiyana started to leave but turned back. “I’ve noticed that Roger Burns has been coming into the office quite often this week, and you seem to be the draw. Is that okay?”
Natasha didn’t know how to respond. Roger hadn’t been unfriendly. But she did prefer he leave her alone. “He knows about Maxine Green,” she said simply. “That’s usually what he wants to talk about.”
Aiyana peered more closely at her. “I can’t imagine you want to discuss that.”
“No...”
“I see. I’ll ask him to give you some space, so that you can get settled in.”
“I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position—”
“It won’t. I’ll be diplomatic,” she said with a wink, and Natasha let it go because she believed if anyone could say something like that nicely enough, it would be Aiyana.
“Thank you.”
Aiyana left and Natasha checked her phone before she finished reorganizing her supplies. She told herself she was hoping to hear from Ace. For Lucas’s sake, she was. But he hadn’t attempted to return her call. Neither had he responded to her messages.
She was, however, inordinately happy to find another text from Mack.
Any word from the asshole you divorced?
She’d told him last night that she hadn’t heard from Ace since the whole journal debacle. None. I think he means to stand me up. I’m not sure what to tell Luke.
Tell him that I’m coming tonight, and I’ve got the surprise I promised him. ;)
You’re coming back to Silver Springs? Does that mean the results are up?
Her stomach tightened. Had she missed them?
Not yet. The lab is back East, and it’s so late now I’m thinking they won’t post anything until Monday. But it’s okay if I come anyway, isn’t it?
“Say no,” she told herself. “Put him off somehow.” But she couldn’t do that, not after all he’d done for her—and how excited Luke would be to see him. If Ace was going to let her son down, a visit from Mack would certainly help take away the sting. Luke hadn’t stopped talking about Mack all week.
Of course, she wrote. But I thought you were working today. When would you leave?
As soon as I get off. It’s only a six-hour drive. If I leave at five, I’ll get there at eleven.
Won’t you be too tired?
I’ll be fine.
What was the rush? Why wasn’t he waiting until tomorrow? Did he have to be back on Monday? How long will you be staying?
A few days. I need to find a good location for an Amos Auto Body shop since I wasn’t able to do that before. Now that Kellan’s home and all is well here, I might as well start putting out some feelers.
He was still thinking of going through with that? She was afraid he was making decisions based on the assumption that Lucas was his.
But she was excited anyway; she couldn’t help it.
I’ll make up the couch.
Great. See you soon.
* * *
When Mack arrived, he found the porch light on. He hadn’t been able to get away from Whiskey Creek as soon as he’d planned—it’d taken longer than he thought to finish up a few items at work so that he wouldn’t have to rush back. That meant it was after one when he finally pulled into the drive.
When he’d texted Natasha to let her know that he was going to be late, she’d said she’d leave the door unlocked for him, but he hadn’t been willing to let her take that risk. He’d insisted she hide a key instead—a decision he regretted since he was having trouble finding it. By the time he discovered which rock she’d put it under, she must’ve heard him prowling around the place, because she let him in.
“Sorry to wake you,” he whispered as he hefted his duffel bag over his shoulder and slipped through the opening.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I hadn’t dropped off yet.”
“Not tired?”
“I was just...too caught up in my thoughts.”
“Any word from Ace?”
She sighed. “No. He didn’t come. Can you believe it? Poor Lucas.”
“What a jerk,” he muttered.
As she shut the door, she accidentally brushed against him, coming close enough that he could smell the womanly scent he’d always associated with her, and he felt his body react. That he was tired and had spent much of the drive dwelling on how exciting it had been to touch her in the bath undermined his resolve. It didn’t help that she’d answered the door in a tank top, without a bra, and in what he assumed were a pair of pajama shorts but could easily have been underwear. When he put down his duffel bag to embrace her, and she slipped into his arms to give him a customary welcome hug, his hands went around her waist to hold her against him instead of letting her go.
“All I’ve been able to think about is you in that damn bathtub,” he admitted, his mouth next to her ear. “And that night during Victorian Days in Whiskey Creek.”
She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t pull away, either.
He kissed her neck—once, twice, three times, working his way up. She still didn’t st
ep away, and he allowed himself to press his lips to her temple as he slid his hands under her shirt to touch the smooth, warm skin of her back.
“I—I have your bed ready,” she said, but the last thing he wanted to do was let go of her and sleep on the couch.
“Natasha?”
Her eyes seemed troubled, torn when she tilted her head back to meet his gaze. “What?”
He watched her face as he slowly brought his hand around to cup her breast, saw her lips part when he moved his thumb over her nipple. “I want to make love to you.”
She didn’t say anything.
“If you don’t want that, you need to tell me now, because—” he closed his eyes “—I can’t seem to stop on my own.” He’d been thinking about her too much, talking to her too much, missing her too badly this week—so badly that he’d come back as soon as he could.
“It’s just sex, right?” she whispered. “You sleep with plenty of other women. Besides, it’s nothing we haven’t done before.”
He was pretty sure she was trying to minimize what they were feeling, make it as casual as possible. But he was too caught up to focus on subtleties. “Is that a yes?” he asked, so hungry for the taste of her that he pressed his lips to hers before she could even answer. He figured if she was going to refuse, she wouldn’t allow him to kiss her, or she wouldn’t respond to his kiss. But she made no attempt to stop him, and she definitely participated.
