“Malcolm was a horrible bully, wasn’t he? I think the only reason he listened to me was because I loaned him school supplies.”
It surprised Cal that she had helped Malcolm. He hadn’t thought she’d noticed people who lived at Lucky Lane Trailer Park.
“That was nice of you,” he said. “The Taylors were pretty bad off. Mr. Taylor was a drunk and Mrs. Taylor was hooked on prescription drugs. It was no wonder that Malcolm acted the way he did. Or that he ended up in jail for cooking meth.”
Jolene nodded. “Parents play such a major role in how we turn out.” Her eyes held compassion. “You taught Cheyenne well, Cal. You need totrust her.”
“I do trust Cheyenne. It’s boys I don’t trust.” He watched and made sure Cheyenne was safely in the hardware store before he turned his full attention to Jolene.
She looked different today. Her eyes looked bigger and bluer. And her lips pinker and fuller. The color reminded him of cotton candy. It took sheer willpower not to lean over the table and see if they tasted sweet and sugary.
He hadn’t lied when he told Jolene that he wanted her. He wanted her badly. And kissing her in her library had intensified his need. He’d expected her to be shy and hesitant. Instead, she’d turned out to be assertive and passionate. Beneath the prim and proper façade was a fiery woman. He wanted to see more of that woman. Much more. But he wasn’t sure how to bring up the topic. So he made small talk.
“How’s your tire holding up?”
“Fine. Thank you again for fixing it.”
“No problem. It’s a nice car.”
“Thank you.”
He drummed his fingers on the table as he searched for another conversation starter. He had never been much of a talker and it was even harder when he only had one thing on his mind. But he couldn’t just jump into a conversation about sex. Especially not with a woman like Jolene. He was about to bring up the weather when she spoke.
“Yes.”
He looked at her in confusion. “Yes?”
She rolled the pearls on her necklace throughher fingers and cleared her throat. “Yes, I’ll have a secret affair with you.”
The blunt words took him by surprise. They also made him laugh.
She blushed. “I guess I was too direct.”
“There’s no such thing as too direct. I much prefer people who get to the point to people who take the long way around.” He released his breath and sank back against the seat. “All I can say is thank God. I was worried you’d change your mind.”
“Change my mind? I didn’t exactly agree to an affair.”
“Not in words.”
Her eyes widened, and he thought she would blush again. Instead she smiled. It was a pure confident woman smile. It made him want to kiss her even more. But before there was any more physical contact, he wanted to make sure they were on the same page.
He rested his arms on the table and leaned closer. “Before we take this any further, I think we need to talk about expectations. I don’t want you to expect something I can’t give.”
“Like marriage?”
He nodded. “I don’t want to get married again. I don’t even want a girlfriend. I just want . . .” He struggled to find the right words and was completely surprised when Jolene supplied them.
“Sexual gratification?”
Maybe there was such a thing as being too direct. He felt like he couldn’t answer the question without appearing to be a sex-crazed caveman.Fortunately, she didn’t wait for an answer.
“You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Daily. I’m not interested in marriage either.”
He squinted. “Are you sure? I saw how happy you were when you caught the bouquet at Boone and Emma’s wedding.”
She shrugged. “I got a little caught up in the excitement of competition. But believe me when I tell you that I’m not interested in you for anything other than sex.”
That should’ve made him happy. Instead, he couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed. Of course, an Applegate would never be interested in marrying a poor Daily. He didn’t know why he’d even worried about that. Or why he was so mad. This was the perfect set up. There was no way she would ever fall for him. He was too far beneath her.
