style="font-size:15px;"> “Because she’s a woman.”
Meaning he wasn’t picky and liked them all. He couldn’t say she was wrong about that. “Yeah. Weird, huh?”
“I’d say so.” She rang up the cans of coffee and waited for money. “Good for you.”
He gave her some bills before asking, “Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s about darn time you grew up.”
“Bite your tongue, Vera.” He grinned. “You know that will never happen.”
“Never say never,” she warned. “Say hi to your folks for me.”
“I’ll do that at dinner on Sunday.” His mother insisted on it and none of her children had the nerve to say no to Mary Dalton. “You tell John and the kids hello from me.”
“Will do.”
He waved, then walked out to his truck and opened the passenger door to set the coffee on the seat. What had just happened? It was out of character for him to turn down a pretty lady, because he liked them all and kept things fun. As soon as that changed, he found a way to slide out of it without hurting anyone’s feelings. Everyone had a gift and that was his.
He never saw the point of taking it up a notch and never said no to a potential fling.
But that had changed tonight. Because he’d been thinking about Mallory Franklin? Maybe that was what happened when you got hit by lightning. Some people lived after getting zapped, but they were never the same. Since he liked himself just fine the way he was, he needed to watch out for storm activity and head for cover as soon as possible.
He was very good at that, too.
With Lily securely buckled up in the backseat, Mallory parked her compact car in front of the Dalton house. Her boss had invited them to dinner because his wife said Mallory had been in town over six months and that length of time without having her over crossed the line into unfriendly territory. It was five o’clock on Sunday and they were right on time.
“Here we are,” she announced and turned off the car.
The sound of a seat belt clicking apart came from the rear seat. “Mr. Dalton has a big house.”
Mallory agreed. It was located just over the bridge and next to the creek on Sawmill Street. The two-story structure was wood and glass with a manicured lawn, neatly trimmed bushes and brightly colored flowers lining the walkway to the front door.
She’d heard about the devastating flood the previous summer when the rain wouldn’t stop and the creek overflowed, wiping out a good portion of the town. The law office was still handling claims and property issues along with renovation contracts and insurance matters. Right here, right now, you’d never know anything bad had happened. Ben’s house was on high enough ground that it hadn’t sustained any damage and she was glad for him and Mary.
“Okay, kiddo, let’s go.” Mallory opened the driver’s door and exited the car while her niece did the same from the rear-passenger side.
Lily looked up and down the street. “There are a lot of cars.”
“I noticed.”
At the front door she knocked and waited for someone to answer. That someone turned out to be Caleb Dalton. He looked as surprised as she felt, but probably his heart was beating a normal, steady rhythm, while hers was pounding abnormally fast.
“Hi.” His curious tone filled in the question he was too polite to ask. What are you doing here?
“Caleb! Do you live here?” Lily was clearly happy to see him.
“No. Just visiting.” The smile he gave her was genuinely warm and welcoming. “It’s nice to see you again, Lily.”
Mallory wondered if he really meant that after what she’d said during their last encounter. “Your father invited us to dinner. I didn’t know—”
“That I’d be here?”
“Well, yes,” she admitted.
“It’s Sunday.”
“I’m aware of that. It’s when your father told me to be here.”
Ben had mentioned the family dinners a couple of times, but she didn’t really get that it was all of them every Sunday. She’d had it in her head that this was just her and Lily with Mary and Ben. No way had she expected to see Caleb.
There was an edgy expression in his eyes, but she got the feeling it wasn’t about her. “What I meant is on Sunday my mother insists that the whole family be here for dinner.”
“That’s nice.” She couldn’t imagine her mother doing anything like that.
Before he could respond to that, Mary Dalton walked up and stood beside her son. “Caleb, for goodness’ sake. You weren’t raised by wolves. I know because I’m your mother and had a hand in raising you. Invite our guests in.” The woman smiled. “Mallory, I’m so glad you could come. And this must be Lily.”
“Pleased to meet you,” the little girl said politely.
Lily had always been in school or day care when her boss’s wife had dropped into the office. Mary Dalton was a tall, very attractive blue-eyed brunette. Trim and fit, she was wearing jeans, a plaid cotton shirt and a friendly smile. Mallory liked her a lot.
The woman sighed looking at Lily. “What a cutie you are. It’s so nice to have children here. I so want a houseful of grandchildren.” The expectant look she gave her son made him squirm.
Mallory wasn’t sure what to say to that but figured she couldn’t go wrong being polite. “Thank you for inviting us, Mary.”
She stepped back and opened the door wider. “Come in.”
They did and Mallory was forced to walk very close to Caleb, which put her closer than the last time they were together at his father’s office. He was very tall, muscular and smelled really good, the scent a pleasant manly mixture of soap and aftershave.
They were standing in the two-story entryway with twin staircases on either side. A brass light fixture descended from the ceiling over a circular mahogany table with fresh flowers in the center.
Mallory felt like a clog dancer in a ballet. “Ben didn’t mention that this was a family dinner. I don’t want to intrude.”
“Nonsense. He’s told me how hard you work and it’s much appreciated. He’d be lost without you and that means you’re like family.”
“Speaking of that,” Caleb said, “what about Sutter and Paige? With Mallory and Lily there aren’t enough places set at the table. I can put out more.”
“He means the oldest of my three girls and her husband, but you probably know that.” Mary looked
