Page 7 of Rainwater

“Well, you’re not Mary Lou, and for heaven’s sake, don’t say that to him.

And stop peeking at him as if he was some kind of freak, Ellie.

” Jennifer crossed the room and grabbed the curtains out of Ellie’s hands, closing them with a snap.

She turned to Ellie, and in the middle of smoothing her daughter’s hair back, she noted how much she’d changed.

When had it happened? She wasn’t a baby anymore, and she was certainly old enough to know about attraction between a man and a woman.

God, she would do her best to steer Ellie away from the mistakes she’d made at her age.

“Don’t embarrass me,” Jennifer said in a firm voice, then softened her words by tugging on one of Ellie’s auburn braids.

Ellie followed her mother over to the counter and picked up the glasses, then bumped her mother’s hip. “Okay, but I want a raise in my allowance.”

Before Jennifer could respond, a knock sounded at the door. With a waggle of her eyebrows, Ellie disappeared into the dining room.

“Scoot, Two Tone,” Jennifer used her foot to usher the black-and-white pig from the door with affection. He grunted and ran across the floor.

Jennifer pulled open the door and a wave of heat rose from deep inside her, swamping her with sensations. She remembered how soft his hair had been on the nape of his neck, how his mouth had felt moving over hers and the way he filled out his jeans.

He still wore the hat and now was wearing the mackintosh, but it had been brushed clean of all the dust. He’d changed his boots for a pair of soft moccasins that reached his knees and were beautifully beaded.

He reached up and removed his hat. “Having second thoughts about dinner, or do I need to wipe my feet?” His tone was filled with teasing amusement and curled around her.

Heat rose in her face and she moved backward, both because of her wicked, unladylike thoughts and because he’d caught her staring.

“No, no second thoughts,” she murmured. “Come in.”

Ellie entered from the dining room and gave her mother that mischievous grin that Jennifer knew so well. “So, Mom, how about that raise?”

Jennifer looked up to the ceiling for guidance.

So, this is my parents’ revenge, getting a daughter as impish as I was , she said to herself.

She faced Ellie and pierced her with that don’t-mess-with-me-I’m-the-mother look.

“It’s going to be pretty hard to spend ill-gotten gains when you’re grounded.

We’ll talk about it after dinner,” Jennifer said with a warning in her voice for added measure.

She gestured to Corey and said, “Ellie, this is Corey Rainwater.”

Jennifer watched her daughter size up Corey. “Rainwater,” Ellie mused aloud. “You an Indian or something?”

As is she realized she’d been rude, Ellie’s vibrant eyes widened and she averted her gaze from the stranger’s amused expression.

“Ellie, mind your manners,” Jennifer scolded.

“That’s okay.” Corey smiled and charmed them both. “I’m part Apache.”

“Wow! Those are great boots! Did you make them?” Ellie moved closer into the room, her eyes on the beautiful moccasins.

“No, my grandmother was good at working leather, and my little…sister beaded them,” he responded, his voice subdued.

“So what kind of motorcycle do you have? I could hear it coming up the driveway but I couldn’t’ see it.” Ellie went to the window again and looked out.

“A Harley.”

“Wow, cool!” Wait until I tell Mary Lou! Could you give me a—”

“Ellie, let the man get his coat off, will you?” Jennifer interrupted with a laugh. “She’s not used to strangers coming to dinner,” she explained to Corey.

Jennifer knew that Ellie’s innate curiosity had led her from one question to another, and she hadn’t noticed the painful catch in his voice when he’d mentioned his little sister.

But Jennifer had. His distance was back and she could almost believe that the passionate kiss they had shared had never happened, if it wasn’t for the way he looked at her.

Get a grip, Jennifer. It’s for the best. Tomorrow he will be gone.

She didn’t want to think about how the loneliness would swell around her again.

She’d enjoy his company tonight and in the morning get back to her routine of running her ranch and finding a foreman.

She’d have to go down to the paper and get them to run that ad again.

“Here, let me take your hat and coat,” she said. He handed his hat to her. The band was still warm from his skin. The coat followed. “Can I get you something to drink? I have beer or iced tea.”

“A beer will be fine,” he replied, his eyes traveling slowly over her face.

That sadness was still with him, she noted, and it seemed to intensify every time he looked at Ellie. Jennifer went to the refrigerator and got him a beer from the six-pack she had bought today with the other groceries. She set it down in front of him and popped the lid and took a drink.

“So,” Ellie began, glancing at her mother anxiously, “can I have a ride on your bike sometime?”

“I don’t think so, Ellie. I’ll be leaving tomorrow.” The disappointment he saw in the child’s eyes, eyes so like her mother’s, piercing green and filled with a burning intelligence and the innate straightforward curiosity of the young, bothered him.

“Then I suppose you’ll have to give me one tonight,” Ellie stated firmly. Then she gave him the cutest, most mischievous smile that had him responding with a slow smile of his own. A kindred spirit in a small child? He would have never guessed.

Hell, it would be too easy to let himself slip into this little family, into that woman who chuckled and turned away. But he couldn’t because of the dark fear that lurked in his subconscious.

He smiled a very wicked grin and watched the amusement filter out of Jennifer’s eyes at his next words.

“Only if your mom agrees to a ride, too.” The amusement in Jennifer’s eyes was replaced with a longing, a deep hunger that lasted for a split second.

It was enough to twist his insides, nevertheless.

“Will you, Mom?” Ellie asked with a soft, wheedling tone.

Corey could easily see what a monumental task Jennifer had in bringing up this child alone.

Once again, he thought about Ellie’s father and wondered at his absence.

Hell, it was none of his damn business. She wore no ring on her finger, but these days that meant absolutely nothing.

“Yeah, come on, Mom,” he said, using the same soft wheedling inflection.

Jennifer took a deep breath and looked at him. “As long as it’s after dinner.”

“What’s your favorite subject?” he asked Ellie, her eyes so intent on him it was almost unnerving.

“Lunch. What’s yours?” she quipped.

“I’m not in school anymore.”

“What? Does it actually end?” Her voice rose in mock surprise.

He looked at Jennifer with upraised eyebrows. “Precocious was putting it mildly.”

Ellie leaned forward and cocked her head. “You do look a little bit dangerous. I think it’s the five o’clock shadow.”

The spoon Jennifer had been stirring the chicken and dumplings with dropped from her hand. The loud clattering broke the sudden pregnant silence. She whirled, her hands flying to her hips. “Ellie!” An embarrassed flush swept over Jennifer’s face, and she blushed to the roots of her hair.

Ellie had the intelligence to look abashed and kept her mouth closed.

Smart girl , Corey thought.

Though he would like to thank Ellie for riling her mother up.

Jennifer looked beautiful angry. Her eyes flashed and her blush was sweet, unassuming.

He liked that. He was beginning to like her and her daughter a lot.

He could see the apology on her lips, but he beat her to the punch. “Dangerous good or dangerous bad?”

The husky way he said it had Jennifer’s face flaming. “Ellie, please take Two Tone outside and feed him and then finish setting the table.”

“Yes, Mother,” she said with a world-weary sigh, and rolled her eyes.

“Does ‘grounded for the rest of your life’ mean anything to you, miss?” Jennifer asked in her best mother’s voice.

Ellie escaped like a scampering fox being chased by a hound. But before she disappeared into the dining room she winked at Corey, and he couldn’t suppress a chuckle. He might as well admit it to himself. He was thoroughly charmed.

Jennifer let her hands fall in exasperation. She walked over to the table and sat down in the chair that Ellie had just vacated. “You see what I’m up against?”

“Don’t try to weasel out of an answer by changing the subject, Jennifer.”

“Caught that, huh?” He was enjoying himself , she thought suddenly and looked away. “You look like an outlaw.”

“So is that good or bad?” he persisted, his dark eyebrows rising.

“Like Ellie said, I think it’s the five o’clock shadow.” He rubbed his fingers over the stubble on his face. “You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s very sexy,” she said as reassurance, then clamped her hand over her mouth. Corey smiled, then leaned back in the chair.

“I guess that means dangerous good. It’s okay, darlin’. I think you’re sexy, too.” He leaned forward.

Jennifer had to stop this conversation right now. With a flash of acknowledgment in her eyes for his teasing, she said abruptly, “It’s time to eat.”

“Coward.”

That was okay. She’d be a coward, because he not only looked dangerously desperate but he was dangerous, and she hadn’t realized just how desperate she’d become in a few short hours. Desperation for a man who couldn’t stay.

He exuded a raw sexuality that she would notice even in a crowded, smoky, noisy bar. His flirting would be so easy to reciprocate. “No,” she finally replied. “Just smart.” She couldn’t encourage him. “You’re the one leaving, after all.” She smiled to lessen the sting of her words.

The barb struck home and Corey sobered. “Yeah, right. Smart is the watchword.”