“With my father when I was young. I didn’t even know they still had them.”
“You’re in for a treat!” And I’m in for a little torture. “We can go over to the next county, to the Dirty Dixie.” He bobbed his eyebrows. “They play fairly raunchy movies—which will probably be another first for you, right?”
Looking dazed, she nodded.
“Perfect. How about this Friday? That’s two days away, plenty of time for you to get used to the idea.” And plenty of time for him to get a better grip on himself.
She hesitated once again and Gabe held his breath. Then she nodded. “All right. Where should I meet you?”
“Ah, no,” he told her gently, knowing she wanted to keep him at a distance and knowing, too, that he wouldn’t allow it. “You’ll give me your address and phone number. I pick up the women I take on dates, Lizzy, I don’t meet them.”
She seemed to consider that, then shrugged in feigned indifference. Taking up her pencil, she jotted her address and phone number. Gabe accepted the scrap of paper, then slipped off the edge of the dock and waded to the boat to put it in his cooler for safekeeping.
Lizzy, watching him in the water, said, “I’m renting the upstairs from this nice single mother. She has two young children and needed the extra money.”
Gabe knew she was prattling out of nervousness. He hated to see an end to the day, but he checked his waterproof watch and saw it was time to go. “We’d better head back. I have some work to do.”
“I thought you didn’t have a job.”
Looking at her from the other side of the boat, he gave her a wide grin. “Angling for another question? All right, I can be generous.” He propped his forearms over the metal gunwale and explained, “I don’t have a regular job, but I have more work than I can handle. I’m sort of a handyman and this time of year everyone needs something built, repaired or revamped. And that’s all I’m telling you, so get that look out of your eyes.”
“Spoilsport.”
Gabe maneuvered the boat close to the dock. “Since I now know you’re afraid of the water—something you should have told me right off—I’ll be gallant and hold the boat steady for you to climb in.”
“You won’t expect me to get in the water again?”
He shook his head at her hopeful expression. “Oh, I imagine we’ll get you used to it little by little. After all, what’s the use of taking a vacation near a lake if you don’t want to get wet? But for today you’ve had enough.”
She couldn’t quite hide her relief. “Thanks.”
Using exaggerated caution, she scooted off the dock and into the boat. Gabe watched the way her long legs bent, how her breasts filled the snug suit, how her bottom settled neatly on the metal seat, heated by the sun.
Damn, he was in deep. And he couldn’t even say why. In the normal course of things, a woman like Ms. Elizabeth Parks shouldn’t have appealed to him at all. She was uptight, pushy, inexperienced…but she was also funny and curious and she had about the sweetest body he’d ever seen.
With a muttered curse against his fickle libido, Gabe hauled himself over the side of the boat, which made her squeal and grab the seat with a death grip. “You can thank me Friday night,” he told her, and wondered if he’d be able to keep his hands off her even then. Two days didn’t seem like near enough time to get himself together.
But it did seem like an eternity when already he wanted her so bad his hands were shaking.
GABE FELT THE SUN on his shoulders, smelled the newly mown grass and breathed a deep sigh of contentment. Or at least, he’d be content if he could get a redheaded wonder out of his head. He steered the tractor mower toward the last strip of high grass by rote. He and his brothers had so much property, they only kept up the acres surrounding the house. Beyond that, the land was filled with wild shrubs and colorful flowers and mature trees of every variety. It was gorgeous in the fall, when the leaves changed color, but Gabe liked summer best.
His mother used to accuse him of being part lizard, because the heat seldom bothered him, and he was always drawn to the sunshine.
Life had been different since his two oldest brothers had married. Different in a very nice way. He enjoyed having Honey around. She made the house feel homier in some small indefinable ways, like the smell of her scented candles in the bathroom after she’d been indulging in a long soak, or the way she always hugged him when he left the house, cautioning him to be careful—as if he ran around risking his neck whenever he went out the door.
Gabe grinned. He could still recall how Honey had cried when Morgan had moved to his own house. Never mind that it was just up the hill; she liked having all the brothers as near as possible. It was a huge bonus that Morgan had married her sister, Misty. The two women were very close and managed to get together every day, especially since Misty had given birth to an adorable little girl seven months ago. Amber Marie Hudson was about the most precious thing he’d ever seen. And watching his brother fuss over the baby was an endless source of entertainment.
Females flat-out fascinated Gabe, whether they were seven months, twenty-seven or seventy. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of learning more about them.
He was pondering what he might learn from a certain redhead when he saw a car pull into their long drive. Gabe stopped the tractor and watched, a feeling of foreboding creeping up his sweaty back. The car, a small purple Escort, looked suspiciously like the one he’d seen Lizzy park at the docks. He’d noticed because the purple clashed so loudly with her hair.
And sure enough, even from this distance, when she stepped out of the car, there was no mistaking the fiery glint of the sun off her bright head.
Scowling, he put the tractor in gear and headed toward the house. He was aware of a strange pounding in his chest, hoping to intercept her before any of his brothers saw her. Or worse, before Honey or Misty saw her.
But his hopes were in vain. Just as he neared the drive the front door opened and there stood Honey, her long blond hair moving gently in the breeze, her killer smile in place.
Oh, hell.
He watched in horror as Lizzy was evidently invited in, as she accepted and as the door closed behind her. The tractor was too damn slow so he stopped it, turned it off and ran the rest of the way.
His chest was heaving and he was dripping sweat by the time he bolted through the front door. No one was in sight. He hurried down the hallway to the family room, finding it empty. He stopped, trying to listen. A feminine laugh caught his attention, and he raced for the kitchen. He had to stop her before she said too much, before she started in with her questions—before anyone found out he’d been kissing her....
He skidded to a halt on the tile floor. The kitchen was crowded, what with Honey and her sister and Amber and Sawyer… Gabe stared at Lizzy, seated at the table with her back to him.
Sawyer was looking her over—not politely, but in minute detail. He leaned over Lizzy with his fingers grazing her cheek, so close to her she could probably feel his breath, for God’s sake.
Gabe’s brows snapped down to match Sawyer’s frown, and he demanded, “What the hell is going on?”
