“New Year’s Eve.”
“Yes, ma’am. But I still wouldn’t let myself remember that dream. Not until yesterday.”
“Did you tell anybody back then?”
“Are you kidding? I was ashamed of myself. You’re the first person I’ve told. Claudette figured out I’d remembered something and wanted to know what it was, but I brushed her off.”
She reached over and squeezed his arm. “I don’t know if it’ll help, but I have a water hole story, too.”
“Oh, really?”
“It’s not as dramatic as yours and it wasn’t a dream. It was reality.”
“Please don’t tell me I groped you when we were both underwater.”
“Nothing like that. You were always a perfect gentleman. You did nothing but take off your shirt.”
“That’s it?”
She nodded. “One day that same summer you pulled off your T-shirt just like you always did, reaching over your head to yank it up from the back, and your biceps bulged. I’d never noticed that before, or realized how muscular your chest was or how tan you were. You became this bronzed god.”
“At sixteen? I was still skinny.”
“Not to me. My tummy felt like I’d been on the Tilt-a-Whirl. And I knew I shouldn’t feel like that. Not about the boy who was like a brother to me.”
“And now we’ve broken the taboo.”
“We have.” She held his gaze. “Do you think that’ll help?”
“I honestly have no idea. Like you said, we’re too close to it. I only know I can’t wait until one o’clock tomorrow.”
“Same here.”
“In fact, I don’t want to say goodbye right now.”
“But we need to.” She put down her mug and stood. “I’ll start.”
“All right.” He got up, too.
“Goodbye, my beloved Adam.”
“See you soon, my beloved Tracy.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers.
She touched his cheek. Then she hurried out of the kitchen.
Rustling near the door told him she was putting on her coat. He stayed where he was as she opened the door and closed it behind her. He wanted to walk her down to her truck and make sure she got it started okay. Couldn’t do that.
The soft rumble of Bluebell’s engine carried all the way up the hill, letting him know she was leaving. And damn it all, she was taking his heart with her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Other than moving her lunch date with Mila to eleven-thirty and texting Adam the times she’d be able to see him during the week, Tracy couldn’t say what she did with her Sunday. She blamed lack of sleep for those unproductive hours, but she was kidding herself. She couldn’t concentrate because a certain cowboy kept intruding on her thoughts.
The next morning she was up at dawn putting her prettiest sheets on her queen bed, and her fluffiest towels in her bathroom. She cleaned a little, too. Her cozy place didn’t need much, but he’d put effort into creating a romantic atmosphere Saturday night and the least she could do was tidy up.
Her mom called while she was eating breakfast. Monday morning calls were somewhat unusual. Was her mother instinctively picking up on something? “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“Hi, sweetie. Sorry we missed you this weekend. Dutch said you were here.”
