“Nah. To tell you the truth, I’ve always had a thing for older women.”
“Really? This is an interesting tidbit. How old are we talking?”
“Not Mrs. Robinson old. It’s more specific than that. Maybe ten or eleven months older at the very most.”
I bit my lip but the smile was determined to expand. My body had never known such a shimmering glow of feelings. “Is she a good ping pong player?”
“Not as good as me, but tolerable.”
I pushed his shoulder lightly. He countered by grabbing my hand and holding it on his leg under the table. Hostage.
We finished our cereal one-handed and on safer subjects. More general. We were walking toward the door about to go check on the displaced calves and Jack when he suddenly pulled me to him. His arms banded around me and he pressed a kiss on my lips. Now an experienced woman, I didn’t hesitate, and immediately raised my arms around his neck.
He pulled away and held my face in his hands. “I want to date you.”
I blinked. “Okay.” Playing it cool seemed to be an art form for me.
He smiled and kissed me again, apparently finding me plenty agreeable. But how? The details were fuzzy on the arrangements. I broke away from his lips.
“How’s long-distance dating going to work?”
“First of all, Cody isn’t that far from Billings. And second—I don’t expect it to be for too long.”
“What do you mean?”
“It just has to be long enough to convince you to fall in love with me.”
Without warning, a smile burst across my face like a beam of sunshine. I covered my mouth with my hand before he pulled it down.
“No…I worked hard for that. I want to see it.”
“I guess I’ll have to work at convincing you too.”
He peered into my eyes, amused…gentle. The calm to my frazzle. The steady to my shake. He pulled me in for a hug and his lips grazed my ear, causing a hitch in my breath and my skin to come alive with sensation.
“Oh, I think I’m well on my way.”
12
The power came back on later that morning.
One minute the four of us were playing Rummy by natural light, our teasing and laughter the only sound; the next minute the lights and TV had turned on full blast, turning our cozy little haven into a bright, stark hospital, with how much dread it all brought me.
The mid morning local news update was on at that exact moment. “Highway 90 roads have been cleared and are now open. There are still plenty of plows out, so drive safe, but the worst of the storm appears to be over.”
My grandpa and Dusty immediately began a discussion, taking place over and around the news report. Words like leaving and hauling cattle and doctor’s appointments became unwelcome intrusions into my thoughts. How strange that something I had feared so heavily two days earlier was now the thing I dreaded letting go of. Our time spent tucked away from the pressing matters of the world would be ending soon. Today, in fact, if Dusty’s words rang true. I rubbed my hands briskly over my arms in an attempt to warm myself with the same glow of the room before reality descended upon us in the form of the bells and whistles of modern technology. A sudden chill pierced the once cozy air, which was ironic because the heater had also kicked on, blasting at the cold in corners and places the fire had been unable to heat. My grandparents stood up from the table while my grandma flipped through the phone book.
“If Dr. Johnson doesn’t take you today Bob, I’m going to just bring you down to the instant care. At least you can start taking the medicine.”
“Drugs, you mean.” He sighed warily, before ending in a coughing match loud and long enough to prove my grandma’s point. “Oh fine. Let’s go after lunch.”
Dusty turned toward me, his perceptible gaze lingering on my eyes before he smiled. Perhaps this would be all there was to our little fling. Maybe it would just be the sweet memories of this place that would carry me through until I found a man, less from my dreams and more based in reality. I swallowed, my gaze traveling over Dusty’s broad shoulders and chest as he sat next to me at the table. The feel of his lips so possessive on mine only a few hours earlier was never far from my thoughts.
He nudged my leg under the table with his and I forced myself to meet his gaze. With my grandparents’ relieved chatter and Dusty’s mollified expression, why did it seem I was the only one who would miss this?
“It’s a good thing you already made good on your bet.”
A small smile found its way to my lips, although I didn’t want it to. It didn’t feel right to smile with the emotions churning inside of me.
