by Cindy Kirk
“Lauren.” Seth’s voice carried up the stairs. “Are you about ready?”
The fact he called to her rather than making the trek to the second floor to ask confirmed her suspicions that he wasn’t quite at full speed yet.
Lauren opened the bedroom door. “I’ll be right down.”
It was her fault they were running late. Several months ago she’d started taking a few shifts a week on a teen crisis line. The calls were forwarded to her cell phone. Her shift was supposed to end at six today, but the last call had come in right before her time was up.
The young girl had recently broken up with an abusive boyfriend and needed reassurance that she’d made the right decision. It had been almost six-thirty before the call had ended.
Lauren smiled, remembering how much stronger the girl had sounded when she’d hung up. Though Lauren loved research and her time in the classroom, nothing matched the joy of helping someone through a crisis.
“Lauren?”
With a twinge of chagrin, she realized that during the time she’d been patting herself on the back, Seth had been patiently waiting.
“Coming.” Lauren headed for the stairs, a bounce in her step.
This had been a wonderful year and in many ways she hated to see it end. But when she reached the bottom step and saw Seth’s smile, she realized that the best might be yet to come.
Seth wheeled the truck onto the highway leading to town and cast a sideways glance at Lauren. When she’d glided down the stairs dressed for the evening’s festivities in a skirt and sweater, he’d been shocked by his body’s response.
Though she couldn’t have been more covered up— with boots to her knees, a skirt that fell to her calves and a sweater that only hinted at the curves beneath— the casual, simple look was totally sexy. He liked that she’d let her hair hang loose. Not because he preferred it that way, but because he wanted those at the party to see what had been right in front of them all these months. Everyone was always talking about how pretty Anna and Stacie were, when Lauren was more beautiful than either of them.
“We should be there in plenty of time,” Seth said in the comfortable silence that had filled the cab of the truck. “Of course, since it’s a buffet, it doesn’t really matter.”
Normally there was only snack food at the annual New Year’s Eve dance. The buffet had been a last- minute addition, a fund-raiser to help Miranda and her boys replace their personal belongings lost in the fire. Henry Millstead had donated the beef while local business owners had chipped in for the side dishes.
Stacie, Anna and other women in the community had helped with the preparation.
“If we’re late, it’s my fault.” A tiny smile hovered at the corners of Lauren’s lips, her tone holding no apology. “But I don’t regret taking that last call.”
Though she’d gone into the other room for the conversation, Seth had still heard bits and pieces.
“You have such a calming manner. I’m sure you’re an excellent counselor.”
Unlike his sister, who could be hyper at times, or Stacie, who was as flighty as they came, Lauren’s quiet confidence had the power to defuse even the most stressful situation. Like after the fire. She’d stepped up and done what needed to be done.
“I love helping people,” Lauren admitted. “It isn’t a one-way street. Each person teaches me something, too.”
“Well, the crisis line is lucky to have you.” Seth kept his eyes firmly fixed on the road, finding the emotions rising up inside him disturbing. Lust, he could understand. But these tender feelings had come out of nowhere, blindsiding him.
“One-to-one counseling is my passion...or as Stacie would say, my bliss.” Thankfully oblivious to the storm raging inside him, Lauren continued telling him how much the opportunity to help those going through difficult times meant to her. Her eyes sparkled and a smile seemed to have taken up permanent residence on her lips.
Seth found it difficult to keep his eyes on the road. When they reached the street heading to the community center, he wished he could keep driving. He didn’t need to talk to anyone else, laugh with anyone else. Everything he wanted was right in the cab of this truck. Everything he wanted?
No, being with Lauren was relaxing, that was all. As they approached the community center, Lauren leaned forward. “Look at all the cars.”
Seth had been thinking the same thing, although with much less enthusiasm. “I’m not going to be able to park close. How ’bout I drop you off at the door and we reconnect inside?”
It was the gentlemanly thing to do, but Seth found himself hoping she’d refuse. It wouldn’t be that far to walk. She wore boots, not spiky heels. Though there was a chill in the air, it wasn’t cold. He pictured taking her arm, just in case she’d slip....
“Super idea.” Her enthusiasm shattered the image in his mind. “It’ll give me a chance to see if Anna or Stacie needs help.”
“That’s what I thought.” Seth kept his voice even and stopped the truck. “Hold steady. I’ll get your do—”
“I’ve got it covered.” Lauren unclasped her seat belt and pushed the door open herself. “I’ll just buy my ticket on the way in.”
The dinner and dance had a suggested twenty- dollar donation. Seth had planned to pay for her admission as a token of thanks for the extra work she’d put in the past few days. Now her words had blown that all to hell. Was nothing going to go his way this evening? “Save me a seat?”
“You got it.” Lauren winked and stepped from the truck. “See you inside.”
The driver behind him honked. Lauren slammed the door shut and Seth shifted the truck into gear and headed up the street, his heart a little heavier than it had been only a few minutes before.
Still, it made sense Lauren would go in by herself. And pay for her own ticket. By doing so, she would be making a statement. Ensuring no one would get the wrong impression and think they were on a date. It was a smart move. In a town the size of Sweet River you couldn’t be too careful.
What he couldn’t figure out was why he was so bummed. It must simply be that he’d gotten used to having her by his side. That’s why he felt strange parking the truck and walking into the party alone— something he’d done for the last three years without a second thought.
That had to be why his heart stopped beating when he saw Lauren talking with Adam Nordstrom. Not because she was his date, or because he felt closer to her than he had to any woman other than his wife, but simply because he’d gotten accustomed to having her with him.
After arriving, Lauren had been assured by her friends that they had everything under control, so she’d saved two seats at a large round table then gone in search of something to drink. That’s when she ran into Adam.
Unlike the majority of men in the room, Adam had eschewed jeans for a pair of charcoal dress slacks and a button-down shirt, sport coat and tie. He looked very stylish and would have fit in perfectly at any of the parties she used to attend in Denver. Here, he stuck out like a sore thumb.
“I bet you can’t wait to get back to civilization.” Adam handed her a plastic cup filled with beer and kept one for himself.
“I guess.” That’s when Lauren noticed Seth, and she wondered if it’d be too bold to wave to him. Only one thought held her back. Just because he’d told her to save him a seat didn’t mean he wanted to spend the entire evening with her hanging on to his coattails.
And what coattails they were. Although he was wearing jeans—along with ninety-nine percent of the men in the room—his dark brown corduroy jacket dressed up the outfit just enough.
Not only did he look yummy, she knew he smelled heavenly. In fact, several times on the drive into town, she’d started to compliment him on his cologne. Thankfully she’d stopped herself just in time. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was coming on to him. Or that she considered tonight’s function to be a date.
“Looks like Anderssen has arrived.” Adam’s expression was as unreadable as his eyes. “I
assume you’re sitting with him for dinner.”
“He asked me to save him a seat.” Lauren’s stomach tightened into a knot as Seth stopped to talk to a pretty brunette. Shoving aside her irritation, she pulled her attention from the handsome rancher and refocused on the man at her side. “There are plenty of extra seats at the table. Why don’t you join us?”
The prime rib was top quality and expertly prepared but Seth’s appetite had vanished the moment Adam had sat down next to Lauren.
Since Adam had come alone, Seth couldn’t fault Lauren for inviting him to sit with them. It had been the hospitable thing to do. It was that same spirit that had sparked his own invitation. When he’d seen Kimberly Sizemore looking for a place to sit, he’d invited her to join them.
He’d known Kim casually for almost a year, ever since she’d first moved to Sweet River to handle the payroll and accounting for Henry Millstead’s dude ranch. Their paths had crossed at several parties, and during those conversations he’d learned she was having difficulty adjusting to small-town life. Friends were in short supply. Boyfriends nonexistent.
When Lauren had first started her compatibility surveys, Seth had hoped Kim would get matched. On more than one occasion she’d hinted that one of the reasons she’d moved to Montana was to find someone special.
“Was it hard for you to leave Kansas City and move to Sweet River?” Adam asked Kim.
It was the opportunity Seth had been waiting for. All through dinner, Adam had had Lauren’s undivided attention. Of course, much of that had to do with Adam. Whenever Seth would even open his mouth to say something to Lauren, Adam would hit her with another question. Over the past ten minutes it had become increasingly apparent—at least to Seth—that Lauren was tiring of the game. He’d noticed she’d begun answering Adam’s questions with one-syllable responses and her gaze kept wandering.
Adam had finally gotten the message, though when the professor turned his attention to Kim, it seemed to be more in an attempt to make Lauren jealous than out of real interest in the shy accountant.
Seth wasn’t about to wait around and see if it worked. This was his window of opportunity and he was seizing it. He pushed back the metal folding chair, stood and extended his hand to Lauren. “Dance with me?”
She leaned close and he caught a whiff of her perfume—the same sultry scent that had driven him crazy on the car ride over.
“Are you sure you feel up to it?” Lauren whispered against his ear.
Her words would have been disheartening except for the fact that she’d already risen to her feet and put her hand in his.
“It’s a slow one.” Gazing into her emerald eyes, his heart skipped a beat. Though they’d been here for over an hour, it felt as if the party was finally getting started. “You can hold me up.”
Lauren chuckled and tightened her grip on his hand.
His spirits soared. When they reached the dance floor and he pulled her close, his body hummed with excitement. They swayed in silence for a minute before Lauren leaned back in his arms.
“How well do you know Kim?” she asked.
Seth lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. “We’ve talked at a couple parties. I think she’s pretty lonely. Moving here has been quite an adjustment for her.”
“Why do you think that is?” Lauren asked, sounding truly interested.
Seth thought for a moment. “She’s a nice person, but not very outgoing. That makes it hard for her to meet new people and make friends.”
“I hope I get the chance to visit with her,” Lauren said with a rueful smile. “I tried to at the table, but Adam was into playing twenty questions.”
If she was fishing for his opinion of the professor’s behavior, Seth wasn’t biting.
“I think you’d like Kim,” he said instead.
Lauren bit her lip and gazed up at him through lowered lashes. “Think she’s interested in you?”
For a second Seth was struck dumb. He hadn’t expected that question from Lauren. Josh had once teased that Kim had the hots for him, but that was just Josh being a guy.
“She may have been interested at one time,” he said slowly. “I didn’t give her any encouragement and it never went further.”
“She didn’t make a fool of herself and proposition you.” Though the words were light and teasing, the hitch in Lauren’s voice told him the incident between the two of them still weighed on her mind.
“That’s because I didn’t lead her on,” Seth said. “My actions led you to draw the wrong conclusion. I was feeling that electricity, too, and I let it affect me.”
“I’m feeling the sizzle now,” Lauren admitted with a rueful smile.
“Me, too,” Seth concurred. “Look how well we’re handling it.”
He expected her to laugh or say something smart.
Instead her eyes narrowed and her hand curved around his arm. “I don’t like the looks of that.”
Seth turned and followed the direction of her gaze. Adam was helping Kim put on her coat and they were both laughing. “It’s good to see her having fun for a change. What’s the problem?”
“I’m just not sure what he’s up to.” Lauren tilted her head and her expression turned pensive. “I don’t know Adam well, but I don’t think he’s interested in her.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because he asked me out.”
Chapter Twelve
Seth stumbled on the dance floor but quickly brought his footwork and his emotions under control. “When?”
“Pardon me?”
For a second Seth considered dropping the subject. What Lauren did on her own time was none of his business. On the other hand, she was living under his roof, if only temporarily. That meant he had an obligation, no, a duty to protect her from men like Nordstrom. “When did he ask you out?”
“Shortly before you walked in.” Lauren pulled her gaze from the couple who were now walking out the door. “Jacob Weitzelman, a well-known psychologist, will be speaking in Bozeman next weekend. Adam thought I might like to see him.”
“What did you tell him?”
The band shifted into another romantic ballad, but Seth didn’t mind, especially when Lauren rested her cheek against his chest.
“I told him I needed to check with you first.”
Seth chuckled. “I bet he loved that.”
“Not so much.” Lauren chuckled.
He tightened his fingers around hers, and they swayed as one on the dance floor. “Did you tell him that to get out of going or because you really did want to check?”
She lifted her head. “If I hadn’t wanted to go, I’d have said no.”
Seth’s heart plummeted to the tips of his cowboy boots, but when he spoke his tone was measured and businesslike. “It’s your decision, Lauren. If you decide to go, let me know the date and time. I’ll make sure I’m home.”
“Are you sure? I know you’re getting better every day but—”
“I’m positive.” Seth was positive, all right. Positive he didn’t want her going out with Adam. Yet equally positive he had no right to stand in her way.
It was barely past ten when Lauren asked Seth if he was ready to head home. Lines of fatigue edged his eyes and his skin had taken on a dusky pallor. She was relieved when he said yes. After saying his goodbyes— and being razzed for heading home with the seniors— Seth left to get the truck.
Lauren lingered behind, wishing friends and acquaintances—and even people she didn’t know—a happy New Year before heading outside. She must have stayed longer than she realized because Seth’s truck was waiting at the curb when she walked out.
Her heart did a two-step. Being so close to him all evening had been unbelievably weird. Though she’d felt a definite pull, Seth had seemed totally unaffected. He hadn’t even appeared upset about her “date” with Adam.
With a resigned sigh she reached for the passenger’s side door handle only to have Seth appear and open it with a flourish.
Strang
ely touched by the chivalrous gesture, she impulsively brushed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, kind sir.”
“There’s a time and a place for that,” a voice called out from the shadows. “A public venue isn’t the time or the place.”
When she’d left the center, Lauren hadn’t noticed anyone on the sidewalk. If she had, she wouldn’t have given Seth the friendly peck. In a town like Sweet River, even an innocent gesture could be misconstrued, especially by some of the town gossips.
Her heart dropped as Loretta Barbee stepped from the shadows into the golden glow of the streetlight. Lauren had heard an earful from both Stacie and Anna about the pastor’s wife. But she hadn’t been on the receiving end of the woman’s meddling nature until recently.
“Evening, Mrs. Barbee.” Seth rocked back on his bootheels, looking remarkably relaxed. “Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year, Seth.” The woman’s icy disapproval thawed under the rancher’s boyish charm. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. I hope to see you and Ivy in church on Sunday.”
Seth grinned. “Barring any more unforeseen calamities, we should be there.”
“What about you, Lauren?” The woman pinned her with a beady-eyed gaze. “Will you be there?”
Taking her cue from Seth, Lauren smiled warmly at the woman. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Unfortunately, the effect was ruined when the words came out in a squeak. She cleared her throat to try again. But Loretta Barbee had already spun on her heel and gone back inside.
“Happy New Year,” Lauren called to the now-shut door.
“I’m afraid she can’t hear you.” Seth grinned. “On the plus side, that means she can’t hear us. For that we should be very, very glad.”
His ghoulish whisper brought a smile back to her lips as she climbed into the truck. Even though she was positive—well, almost positive—Loretta was gone, Lauren waited until Seth was back in the driver’s seat before speaking. “Had you noticed her standing in the shadows?”
